Andy’s final report card proved it—his hearing was absolutely affecting how he was learning. He had lower grades the first quarter, low-average grades in the second and third, and then after his ear surgery in the fourth quarter… HIGH grades. That’s my boy!

I was so proud looking at that final report. I always knew he was capable—it was just a matter of figuring out what was holding him back and getting it taken care of. He’s signed up for a jump-start reading program for a couple of weeks this summer to help him catch up, and he is now officially a 1st grader!

School has been out for a little over a week, and my sister Destiny is staying with us for the summer. She’s been a huge help around the house and with the boys. Today was her first tough day. She’s been keeping Andy up way too late since they’re sharing a bedroom, and she tends to get Evan and Cory up way too early. After a few days of that, everyone’s been a little grumpy from lack of sleep. I’m going to have to tighten up the bedtime routine again before we all turn into sleep-deprived monsters.

On another note, we’ve had some strong storms here over the last month or two, and they’re expected to continue through the summer. It’s starting to feel almost as serious as the floods of ’93. A couple of nights ago, a tornado warning sent me scrambling—I had to get all four kids out of bed at 12:30 a.m. and across the street to shelter since we don’t have a basement. I made them hold onto each other, onto the dog, and onto me because I was terrified the wind would pick us up at any second. Thank goodness for helpful neighbors. Our house wasn’t damaged, but it easily could have been. A tornado touched down less than a mile away.

Life feels a little wild sometimes—but we’re learning, growing, and hanging on tight.

This is a true account written in my own words during the time it happened. I’ve lightly edited it for clarity in the present day (2026), with minimal exclusions, while keeping the original voice and meaning intact.