Five states were ripped apart by the deadliest tornado in that area in over 20 years. The night of Super Tuesday, many people started the night with a house, a car and a full family. Some of those people ended the night with their homes ripped from their foundations and rearranged into thousands of pieces across the city- pictures, marriage certificates, furniture, baby cribs, home offices… everything just gone. Cars were picked up and thrown around.

Much of the south looks like it is part of a shaken snow globe- how do you recover from something this massive? We’re not talking about one building downtown or one part of town, we’re talking about FIVE STATES devastated. The death toll is at 58 today but expected to rise and thousands are now homeless.

We can’t give people back their memorabilia and we can’t mend their heartbreak, but we can [help] them rebuild. There are four ways that I am absolutely begging you to [help]

1. Donate as much money as your wallet can stand- $2 or $2mill (button below)
2. Put the [help] button on your own blog and ask your readers to donate (thank you to Benn at Agent Genius for rallying the blogiverse)
3. Get the word out by blogging about it, talking about it, emailing about it, twittering about it- get the word out!
4. Pray. Whatever your beliefs, take this moment to pray specifically for those who are hurting because of this terrible event

Please be generous and [help] in any way you can!

—-

We make sure to give money freely throughout the year because our faith tells us that it’s God’s money (we wouldn’t have received it if it wasn’t for his grace) which makes it easier to part with.   Most people are less regimented about charity and are likely to give at the first of the year as a part of their New Year’s Resolutions (which taper off just like those “work out every day” and “only eat salad for lunch” resolutions).

Whether you’re in a charitable mood from the egg nog, or you’re feeling called to regiment your generosity, here is where our money goes and we encourage you to donate as well:

1. We donate weekly to our parish to support a large number of ministries. 
2. My husband has spent great effort on micro-financing.  If you haven’t heard of this or considered it, please take a moment to read about it and find out how your money loaned to a small business owner in Zaire can support recovering economies in suffering areas. 
3. Multiple animal shelters see our cash.  We have a rescue dog (but you wouldn’t know it, he’s super smart and is almost AKC certified if it weren’t for the cream color on his ears).  The Real Estate Bloggers shed light on the Foreclosure Dog (pups given up as fallout to foreclosures).  I would be absolutely heartbroken if I had to part with Cracker!
4. ****We give to Into Abbas Arms, an orphanage in Kenya (see this article’s photo).  Over a year ago, my grandmother gave up all of of her earthly posessions (okay, minus some outfits and toiletries), packed up and moved to Kenya for good.  She lives with the orphans and cares for them and plans to for the remainder of her life.  She emails every now and then when they can get power (it comes on for a while in the night and a bit in the day).  They are up in the mountains (not the hot desert), so it’s cold year round and multiple layers are required since there is no heat.  The children are beaten at the school if their uniforms are not pristine (yet they have no parents to buy their uniforms).  I will write on this later, but I want to encourage everyone to support Grandma Campbell.  At least sign your kid up to be pen pals with one of the kiddos!
5. Catholic Relief Services helps the poor globally, usually focusing on disaster areas (they beat FEMA to New Orleans, were among the main forces in the Pakistan as well as the tsunami recovery efforts).  This is a newer charity brought to our attention. 
6. The American Heart Association is close to us (my husband and I).  Benn’s father had his first heart attack in his twenties and is now beyond heart donor status (poor health, failed final stint), my paternal grandparents both died of congenital problems and my father has a minor heart issue that he refuses to fix (but I’m praying for that).  Knowing our family health history, we pray that our money will help find solutions to various congenital problems before they affect us or worse- our children.
7. The Lance Armstrong Livestrong Foundation is here locally in Austin.  The yellow bracelets were born here and are still widely popular.  It seems that most Austinites are fairly generous to Lance Armstrong’s foundation- we’ve all followed him since long before any Tour de France win and were all touched deeply when he won his battle against cancer.  Cancer seems to be the modern day plague- I don’t know a single person who hasn’t lost (or is losing) someone to cancer.  We must all be aware of how widespread this problem really is and how far we have to go before finding cures.
8. I would assume most of you know that I lost my brother this fall who left us the gifts of his two baby girls.  I will always and forever hold money aside for the girls the same way many of you have pledged to do.  He was such a good boy man, and it’s not charity to help fill the space he used to- it’s our call.
9. Mobile Loaves & Fishes feeds and clothes the houseless.  This is a new cause for us.  We typically just send money but are now getting involved in food delivery.  We learned (and had a “duh” moment) that the homeless population wears socks (duh).  But then they get dirty and get holes (oh).  Then there are no more socks (oh no).  A simple bag of socks help these people!  One of tomorrow’s “to do” items is to buy a case of socks- people who aren’t homeless don’t realize what a gift this simple act can be (we already understand what a hungry belly might feel like).

***************
The needs of our globe are endless.  I believe people give to charity for personal reasons.  All of the charities that we give to are because we personally relate to the cause.  Don’t just give money freely as a part of your “to do” list- give to your chosen cause because it was never your money in the first place. :) 

Share with us in the comments which causes are close to YOUR heart.

When you’re young and death seems so far away, you just don’t see the need for a plan.  When my brother (24) was killed a few weeks ago, the family had to scramble to figure out how to bury a young father and husband who had no life insurance or will.  His wife held a beautiful non-denominational memorial and he was then cremated.  The time has come for Aaron to have his formal Catholic mass in the church he was confirmed in exactly 7 days before his death. 

This Thursday, Aaron will have his cremated body laid in its final resting place.  This couldn’t come at a better time as Benn and I have been inundated with family funerals this fall- being able to visit Aaron every weekend after mass is heartwarming.  I can’t even express the relief that closing this chapter brings- he deserves having the community share communion as he receives his final rites.  Benn and I will be extremely busy this week as we host more out of towners, prepare fresh eulogies, coordinate funeral and burial efforts and balance normal business so please forgive me if I’m slow to blog.

I want to personally invite all of you Austinites to his Memorial Mass at St. Thomas More on November 15th.  The Rosary will begin at 7pm and the Mass will begin at 7:30pm where he will be laid to rest, followed by a reception on site.  I sincerely thank you all for your time, fundraising and most importantly for your prayers.  Amen.

The local news picked up the story of Aaron’s accident (and the fuzzy details) and interviewed Aleisha today.  Story aside, here is video of our baby girls Eleanor & Mackenzie.    Please don’t watch this video, Mom (or others who are sensitive to news coverage of the death of my brother including the scene of the accident).

Eleanor (12 months) almost did her trademark open mouthed laugh!

Judging by the large spike on analytics in Austin traffic to rerevealed we thought we would post the funeral arrangements here:

Vigil: 6-8pm Thursday night 09/27
at 15709 Ranch Road 620 Austin, Tx 78717 - Beck funeral home
Memorial: 10am Friday Morning 09/28
at 15709 Ranch Road 620 Austin, Tx 78717 - Beck funeral home

There is a dress code request by Aaron’s wife that attire be casual in nature- no black, no suits or ties, come as you are.  Aaron would have hated anything stuffy, and we agree, he would have. 

Also, we know you want to send flowers and we’d love to have them, however, we’re asking that you just click the button over to the right under the green ribbon and make a donation instead, no matter how big or small- remember, $10 is a can of formula or a bag of diapers.

If you are wanting to send flowers or cards to Lani personally (I’ve had a few emails) please send them to 2719 costa azul cove leander TX, 78641- but a donation to the kids is preferred.

Again, the love we’ve experienced this week speaks volume for our profession. We always knew the re.net community was special, but you’ve all truly humbled us.  We would also like to thank those not in the real estate blog community that have donated, commented, picked up the donate button, blogged about, linked to, prayed for & God knows what else.  Your support has meant the world to the family and Aleisha sends her many thanks and tears . 

Thank you all so much, Benn

I don’t even know where to start, or what to say.  First, I’ll introduce myself to those of you who do not know me.  I am April Groves.  Lani is my “BBF” - Best Bloggy Friend.  Over the past months, we have become really close and her feelings are very important to me.  Today, I ask them to be important to you.

The handsome young man in Lani’s video posting yesterday is 24 year old Aaron Anglin - Lani’s baby brother.  On his way to Lani’s house yesterday, he was killed in a car accident.  She has asked me to come relay this message.

To me, the important thing to know is that the crazy kid in the funny video is my newly 24 year old little brother Aaron who died yesterday on impact. He was driving to my house (to make another silly video) and was driving with his wife (Aleisha Anglin, 25) and their two babies (Eleanor who turns 1 THIS week and McKenzie who is only 6 weeks old). Aleisha & Eleanor should be released today and McKenzie is in the ICU in improving condition. We have tons of family surrounding us and St. Thomas More parish is providing food this week for our entire family! Aaron was awesome and his marketing work can be found at http://benaaronanglin.carbonmade.com. He was confirmed in the Catholic faith last week, laughed his butt off at ICanHasCheezburger.com with me this week. We were born 18 months apart (Irish twins) and grew up as best friends with so many lame stories.

The details of the accident, while not factually correct, can be found at KeyeTV and KVUE.  Lani asked that they be linked anyway.

She has asked that the video not be removed.  Not from here or the other places it is posted.  But I am asking three things

• If you have the video posted, or intend to post it, please mention the circumstances.
• Lani would never tell anyone how to run their blog, but I am asking that we moderate our comments based on the nature of the situation.  We all know that everybody does not have a sense of humor and flaming would not be appropriate at this time.
• Just enjoy the video as it is - it a a wonderful memory of a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend.

When she called, I didn’t have the words. I still don’t.  Please keep her and their family in your prayers. 

Lani had one final thing to ask.

My brother and his wife are not rich by any stretch of the imagination and Aleisha has a very hard time ahead- if you or anyone else can think of any way to aim finances at her, she really needs it. Assisting in an optometry office is a great profession but pays very little- certainly not enough to cover a funeral, medical bills for three people and a life ahead as a single mother.

I can be reached at aprilgroves@gmail.com if anyone has any desires to pass personal messages or offer assistance.

This last week has been a whirlwind if you can’t tell- I feel like everything has just whizzed by.  A series of events led me to abandon everything… the blog, my email, your blogs and even work to tend to funeral arrangements out of town.  My husband was very close to his grandfather who passed away last Friday.  When I met grandpa a few years ago, his Parkinsons was very advanced and he had lost most of his hearing, speech and movement.  I didn’t know him directly, but he impacted so many lives.  He bought groceries for the poor, cheered up fellow fighters with a grin and a guitar in WWII abroad, raised a brood of children and remained focused on his faith in God.  The legacy he leaves behind was unquestionable when my husband helped move his casket into the packed church that generations of their family had (and continue to) spent their lives worshiping.

We came home late on Tuesday night.  Why no blog?  I didn’t want to.  Wednesday I slept.  I rarely take a “sleep day” but I really needed it.  Like I said, I wasn’t close to grandpa but there is something draining about the rush rush rush of funeral events and time with upset family.  Today I unpacked, scrubbed the house and ironed any shirt I could find with a wrinkle in it- I had to control something.  To end the evening, my husband and I went to a concert at our church- Matt Maher’s Adore Tour 2097 was really amazing; I had no idea how thirsty my soul was.  I’ve been humming ever since.

I have faith that He makes all things new- my spirit, my attitude, and most importantly, my husband’s grandfather who has become God’s angel.  Thank you for your emails of well wishes and for your calls- know that I intend on calling you back!

This week has been a tad bit tough in our house.  My husband has been deathly sick all week and we thought he’d be able to work this weekend but were woken up this morning with news that his grandfather passed and we have to go to Oklahoma City.  So much for catching up on work this weekend!  On top of that, our car made a funny noise today that I’m worried about, I saw a mouse in the garage (of our 2.5 yr old house), it has been raining off and on forever and not only can the lawn chemical company not provide our regular treatments, we can’t mow it when wet.  I’ve been having a hard time sleeping but I’m always tired- plus I’m sniffly and fighting off allergies myself.  I can’t get comfortable at night and my hips hurt when I lay on my side (which is required for me to sleep). 

Boo hoo, right?  Yes- boo hoo.  Life is tough by design.  Let’s look at this crap pile differently, shall we?  Boo hoo that I can’t get comfortable at night- I don’t need a new mattress, I should just flip the dang mattress!!!  Oh, that’s better…  As for being sniffly, I’m not taking any medication and I’m being stubborn, so I should simply take something.   The lawn?  Boo hoo about the lawn company- this rain has created the most lush green grass we’ve had since it was installed- it looks like a golf course; so what if it’s an extra two inches tall?  Boo hoo about the rain- this is the coolest summer I’ve experienced in my entire life, it’s been wonderful!  Boo hoo about a mouse- it isn’t bothering anyone, we don’t use the garage as storage for much other than tools and a palette of bricks, plus it’s kind of cute.  Boo hoo about the car making a noise- I’m paranoid because we just spent thousands of dollars on my new transmission, so I’m just listening more intently.  Boo hoo about my husband being sick and not being able to work- he’s gotten to work from home on his soon-to-be-launched website (so of course I too opted out of going to the office) and we’ve taken naps together almost every day this week!  I’m sad about grandpa passing, but he has been in a lot of pain and lost his beloved first wife years ago and was ready to be reunited with her.  We said “amen” to his passing because he’s in heaven, plus we get to gather the entire family to celebrate his life.

This week would normally turn me into a whiny baby, but it’s all so minor in comparison to other weeks we’ve had, plus every sad/bad/irritating/frustrating story has a positive side- you experience life through the attitude you choose to adopt in every situation. 

It seems like a lot of people are having a rough week- tell us something negative about your week and how you can look at it in a positive light… you KNOW that there’s always a silver lining, you just have to choose to see it!

My best friend Jessica always makes my community service feel insignificant… seriously.  She is cycling this weekend to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation to find the cure for cancer. 

You all know about this well established organization (and you probably wear the yellow bracelet), and I ask you to support Jessica as she possibly dehydrates while bruising her butt this weekend on a bike to raise funds to find a cure against cancer!  GO TEAM JESS!