Carlotta Barclay

 Carlotta Barclay, known to the children she cares for simply as ‘Lotta’, has forever wished for children of her own, though through hope and failure, her and Harold’s endeavors have not been fruitful. She settles for the next best thing, however. She has become a licensed daycare provider, caring for other people’s children on against a backdrop of horses, cows, ducks, and chickens. She met Harold Barclay when he swept through her hometown of Ada Valley, Arkansas with a travelling carnival, and was enamored by his ability to make her laugh. The eventually wed and relocated the Kansas plains where they struggled to make ends meet tending cattle. After a tragic miscarriage, she believed she would never be able to have children again, until her miracle baby arrived in the midst of an early-summer tornado. That’s when the whirlwind truly began.