July 14, 2010 Babysitting and a Tornado

Joel wanted to go to dinner and asked Matthew to babysit Daniel and Samuel, Benjamin was at Grandma Marie’s, so they could watch a movie and we’d be gone and back no problems. Well the weather had other plans for our family this day. As Joel and I were eating the sirens went off so we QUICKLY finished up and watched the weather that was on the television at the restaurant and Matthew called very frantic that the weather was getting bad and we needed to get home NOW. As we drove through the pouring rain I listened to my 12 year old son scream “mom get home now! We having a tornado”, as he recounted what was happening it seemed so surreal. My children were at home in a tornado and we were speeding home. Matthew told me, they couldn’t see out the window, then there was a huge noise-windows from the porch were sucked out, then he said “trees are falling all over I think the house was hit”, “mom it’s so loud, get home”. As we sped down our road and over the last hill Joel hit the brakes the last ¼ mile to the house was covered with downed trees. I jumped out of the truck and took off running through over and under trees and Joel took off to drive around the block. About half way home I could see the boys standing at the end of the driveway with the local Sheriff. I slowed to a walk, sweating heart pounding as I walked to the end of the driveway and said outloud ‘My boys have just lived through a tornado”, with Daniel’s arms wrapped around me I sobbed deeply. Then it was a recount from Matthew going over all the trees (over 200 ripped in half, knocked over with the roots exposed, or twisted). God graced us this day, trees destroyed ALL around the house and only minor issues with the roof, oh and the chickens and calf were untouched – they too with trees torn in half all around the coop and pen. What has amazed me is that there was a bale of hay sitting next to the chicken coop – not a blade of hay moved and yet only three feet away two heavy dog kennels had been removed from the property – perhaps we’ll find them in the woods next to ours.