'I Can Make Memories Somewhere Else': Barnsdall Family Gathers Keepsakes From Rubble Of Longtime Home

A Barnsdall family is cleaning up what's left of their home after a tornado destroyed it.

They said although the journey has been difficult, they're glad to have each other.

When the sirens went off Monday night, Sydney McKee and her mom grabbed a mattress pad and locked themselves in their bathroom with all of their pets.

On Saturday with the help of friends, her family is foraging what's left.

The holiday decorations associated with treasured memories and the joy they spread during the most wonderful times of the year lay scattered and broken around what's left of Sydney's childhood home.

"We had to dig our way out of the house to my bedroom window and we had to climb over my desk to get out and had to do that about fifteen times to get all the animals out and then we got in the suburban and the lightning was flashing, and I could see that our house was gone," Sydney said.

In the days since, Sydney and her neighbors have been hard at work collecting any keepsakes and belongings intact.

"I found a lot of my sister’s items from when she was a small child and I found a lot of my childhood toys and things fully intact. The tornado just kind of redecorated," Sydney said.

Their family friends drove from Kansas to help and it was clear that the most valuable thing they found was left unharmed, were the people inside.

It's hard for Sydney to stand where her house once stood, but she will hold onto the memories of the Christmas' and Easters' spent there.

"I did grow up in this house and so did my friends and so it's really hard, but I know that I can make memories somewhere else," Sydney said.

Sydney said her family is planning on relocating to Bartlesville.