Families Forever Changed Gather in Garland to Remember Tornado Victims

GARLAND--Kenneth and Natasha Briggs and their four children had avoided the area near the Bush Turnpike and Interstate 30 in spite of, and because of, what it had done to form their family.Monday, however, Natasha sat front-and-center under the tent at John Paul Jones Park, holding her girls, 12 and 7. Technically, they're her nieces. But a year ago to the date, and about a quarter mile away, they became the Briggs' children. Nine motorists were killed after a tornado ripped through Garland Dec. 26, 2015, including the girls' mother and their brother. The city remembered the victims at an event Monday. "We haven't been back since everything happened," Natasha said. "But the reason to be here today was because of the outpouring and support we received from the community. We really appreciate every single deed and action."The family, including two younger children born to Kenneth and Natasha, say they felt the prayers for victims Kimberly Tippett, 30, and her 1-year-old, Kamryn Crain, and want those prayers to continue."Kim is very prevalent in our lives," Kenneth Briggs of McKinney said of his sister-in-law. "We don't put Kim and Kam in a box and tuck them away."  Continue reading...