Sunday night as I was sitting at my computer, hubby mentioned we’d be getting bad weather that night.  I didn’t think much about it at first because it’s pretty common for us to hear talk of tornadoes.

But then I remembered April 27, 2011 and decided all precautions needed to be taken.

We’d already put the kids to bed and were starting to head to bed ourselves when I started to worry….”What if the weather gets bad and we don’t wake up in time to get the kids to a safe place?”  So we brought them into our room around 11pm and went to sleep.

About 3am Jonathan woke up to the sounds of sirens and asked me if I heard them.  I didn’t at first, but then started to hear them louder and louder.  Jonathan turned on the TV and we watched James Spann and his team deliver the weather coverage.  It was in fact heading our way and it was just a matter of time.

I tried calling my mom when they started mentioning her city on the news.  I couldn’t get her and soon our phones stopped working.  I got in one last tweet before it went out:  “Tornado reported less than 10 miles from here.  We are in our safe place.”

About 4am we all piled in the closet, the kids with bicycle helmets on and covered with blankets.  Our power went out and we closed the door to the closet and prayed.  “Lord, protect us and our loved ones!”

All I could think was if we did get hit, if the roof flew off or we got picked up, all I could do to protect the kids was to lay on top of them and hope for the best.  We heard the rain coming in sideways hitting the windows hard.  After a few minutes it got really quiet.  We waited a bit more and Jonathan said it had to of passed by now.  As soon as he stepped out of the closet, the power flicked back on.  We didn’t get hit!

But what about my parents?  They were in the direct line of the storm and my phone wouldn’t dial out.  Jonathan immediately offered to drive over and check on them.  I made note of the time, 4:42am, so that I would know when I needed to be worried.  He should be back no later than 5:15am.

When he finally got back he said he couldn’t get to their house because the roads were covered with trees, but he had talked to my stepdad and my parents were ok.  However, they did have some damage…down trees and broken windows.  I felt at peace enough to try and get at least another hour of sleep before the sun rose and I would try my mom on the phone again then.

A few hours later I still wasn’t able to make calls.  I had no idea how bad her neighborhood was.  I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for it.  It’s so hard to imagine what the damage must look like until you see it in person.

My brother was able to get a call in to me and said my mom was pretty shook up.  They were trapped inside the neighborhood and several businesses at the end of her street were demolished and the main road there was shut down too.

I tried driving over around lunch time with no luck.  Too many blocked roads.  When Jonathan got home 2 hours later, we tried again.  We were able to go in the back way and park at the opposite end of her street in someone’s driveway and walk to her house.  There were still too many trees in the road to drive down it.  The closer I got to her house, the more upset I got.  And when I finally walked into her yard, I was in tears.  Nothing looked the same.  The treeline was gone.  Her roof had holes in it and windows were broken.  But by the grace of God not a single tree fell on her house and they were ok.  I hugged her tight.  They had damage, but it was minor compared to some of her neighbors.

neighbor’s house, no roof and bedroom ripped off the side

roof and siding destroyed.  mine and Rayna’s shadows

demolished. piece of roofing from the school behind their street.

this neighbor’s house shifted off the foundation into the back yard below

Looking from Mom’s front porch, this is why I couldn’t get into the neighborhood. Trees everywhere.

the tree in front fell forward exposing the massive root ball…it pulled the sidewalk up and stairs forward away from the stoop

these stairs used to be flush with the stoop

the front yard

this metal roofing was everywhere

Amazingly there were no injuries to anyone on her street.  My parents were so blessed.  Yes they have damage, no water, no power and no gas.  But they still have their lives and their home.  It won’t need to be completely rebuilt, it’s salvageable.

Other neighborhoods were hit all around ours as well.  It’s amazing we came out unscathed.  So far I’ve only heard of two confirmed deaths and we know people connected to both of them.  It’s so tragic, but I think so many people {myself included} learned a lesson after April 27, 2011.  Never underestimate the power of these tornadoes.  Take cover because they don’t come to play, they come to destroy.