hit

As the sun was shining Thursday evening, with Andrew sleeping peacefully and Morgan on her way to bed, with the dishes nearly completed and the toys picked up... the severe-weather sirens went off. When the storm approached, we made a beeline for the basement.

Hearing the booming thunder and pelting hail, Morgan was concerned. As she looked out the window wells up at the trees blowing fiercely in the gusts, I reminded her that we were safe in our basement. God was with us. He would protect us from the storm and keep us from danger. And He certainly did.

One tornado later and we are still without power in our one-mile by half-mile subdivision.

The destruction is pretty amazing. It is heavily concentrated in the neighborhood in which we live. We saw several cars crushed by trees, roofs with holes, limbs down, and lots of caution tape with power lines dangling across streets. At the end of our block in both directions, substantial trees were snapped in two and found atop houses and garages. We are blessed to have escaped with only damage to our downspout.

The time given for power restoration has come and gone, with no new estimate available. We are thankful to have the use of a generator from Scott's parents. It has saved our fridge and freezer, and allowed us to run some fans. Tonight, in celebration of Scott's birthday, we are giving the appliances a break and using the generator to watch some of his favorite Major League sports on our TV, including preseason football. What more could our Scott ask for on his birthday.

While the adventure was fun on Friday - Scott skipped work, we toured our neighborhood by bike and stroller, and swapped stories with neighbors - our enthusiasm about flashlights and candles is gone. Hoping to be re-energized soon. Literally.