Natalie's Graduation & Black and Gold Day

To show support for our town and what we've been through these past several days, the school superintendent advised all people that they would be having a "Black and Gold Day" for our first day back to school. Well, beings Katie didn't like her school colors, I gave her school shirt away. I asked Katie if I got her another shirt, would she wear it to school. She agreed that she would, so here we go looking for another shirt. At "Cummings", they had a few in stock, but not in her size. Fortunately, the clerk said that they could make us one within minutes. We would just need to pick out which design that we liked the best.  She loves her new shirt because it's shiny.  LOL! 

Black and Gold Day

My niece, Natalie, graduated from a local junior college last Friday. She received an associates degree in General Studies.  She will begin UAH next Fall to achieve her dream to become a Physical Therapist.  We've joked around saying that I will go back to school and become a Physical Therapist Assistant.  Jon also said he could become a PTA.  That way, when Natalie opens up her business, she'll have two assistants and Maryann will be the receptionist/bookkeeper.  LOL!  Of course, Natalie smiles and says that it sounds good to her. 

She graduated with "Who's Who In America's Junior Colleges and kept a 3.5 or above GPA.

Natalie gives me the thumbs up after receiving her diploma.

Proud parents: Maryann, Natalie and Kevin

Proud grandparents: mom, Natalie, and dad

Proud great-uncle and aunt: Roger, Natalie and Sherry

Nathan and Natalie

My mom can never remember Nathan's name. The night of the graduation, she called him Nolan.  To make light of the situation, I told her "no, mom, Nolan is her granddaughter's husband.  May I introduce to you, Nathan."  Nathan's been around for almost a year now, so it's not like he just started showing up.  LOL!  I guess we all get this way from time to time.  I'm just as guilty for calling someone by the wrong name. 

I forgot to post a picture of mom's flowers that I picked up for Sandy.  The flowers to mom was a gift for Mother's Day. Sandy, here they are and they look so pretty on mom's back porch. 

"Roses" by Leila Meacham - Book Review

Roses by Leila Meacham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What intrigued me enough to pick this book up was the cover page "Roses". I love flowers, but for this particular family it's not just a type of flower - one color can say so much more than words can ever say. As I read the reviews on the back of the book, I noticed that it was compared to my all time favorite Southern Civil War Romantic novel, "Gone With The Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. Being from the South, I welcome novels relating to the Old South and a glimpse as the way it once was back to pre- and post-Civil War. I loved the fact that the town was based in East Texas, which is great because I have family in East Texas. Finally, the twists and turns in this love story and obstacles that kept Mary and Percy from coming together.



I loved this book! I wouldn't compare it to the great novel by M. Mitchell, "Gone With The Wind". The only similarities would be that they are both in the old South, timeline is post Civil War, the heroine is tore between two loves in her life and of course you have to have that one person with a foul mouth (Lucy).



I loved how the book starts right off the bat with Mary at ripe old age in her 90s, at her lawyer's office adding a codicil to her Last Will and Testament. How the events are dealt out in front of her attorney, Mr. Amos, brings up so many questions and gets your curiosity peaks. Why was she not leaving her plantation and business to her only living heir? A heir that has been studying under her Aunt Mary for years and has been successfully running the Lubbock branch. Why would she leave the plantation, minus the house, to a Percy Warwick? Then, Mary begins to daydream of the past when she fell head over heals for a boy that was one of her brother's best friends. One of the first big things that hit her like a bombshell right off the bat was when her daddy left her the farm/plantation and a small portion to his only son. How she was to handle the "Toliver curse", her mother, keep her only brother home, hang on to the only love of her life and still run the family cotton business. Will she be able to succeed before her death or will she loose it all?



My Aunt Sherry from East Texas came by for a visit. As soon as I read it, I passed it down to her and she was so excited to start reading it.



I recommend this great read. Don't be intimidated by all 75 chapters, they are short and it's hard to put the book down.



View all my reviews

Why I'm So Busy

(This was written Friday)

Happy Birthday Doug! 

I Love You Very Much!

Doug's Birthday Dinner
Yesterday, my wonderful husband celebrated his 43rd birthday. Yay! I think he had a good day. Colton and I met him for lunch with a few other colleagues from work. Later, Doug and I met up with a few family members for supper at Wintzell's Oyster House. We had such a good time.

Sisterly Love

By the way, mom got an epidural the other day and was fitted with a back brace.  So far, it's doing the job and she felt great yesterday.  The doctor wants her to come back soon for another shot.  Thank you dear Lord above, mom is actually out of severe pain in a long time. 

Meet Sarah, Ryan's new friend.  Isn't she so pretty?  Her personality matches her beauty. 

And these two will be busy, busy these next few months.  Leslie will be graduating Nursing School in December and then planning their life together soon after that.  They are so cute together!

Dad ordered two dozen oysters on the half shell and only got to eat 6.  LOL!

Uncle Roger and Aunt Sherry's visit
Uncle Roger and Aunt Sherry stopped by for a visit on their way to spend some time with his family. We always enjoy them visiting. We got so tickled at Sherry last night. She tried her very first raw oyster. It was hilarious watching her eat it and the terrible faces she was making. So funny! To top it off, she pulled a Grandma Annie. If you don't know, my Grandma was the best at what she did and that was steal everything from restaurants and hotels that's not nailed down. LOL! I know that sounds terrible, but it's true. At restaurants, she loved taking the sugar and creamer or on a rare occasion, with the waiter turning his/her back, she got to take a keepsake glass or tray. HAHA! Well, last night Sherry stepped up to the Ann plate. Apparently, Kevin mentioned that he wanted the Yuengling pitcher from our table. Aunt Sherry asked the waiter and he was nice enough to say that he didn't see anything. HAHA! Doug had a hard time believing that Sherry walked out of Wintzell's with a plastic pitcher in her purse.  I couldn't believe she fit that big ol' thing in her purse!  LOL!  Oh, the laughs. 

Natalie's Graduation
We are so proud of Natalie and all the other nieces and nephews.  Natalie graduates with an Associate Degree for General Study from our local college.  Next Fall, she'll be headed to UAH and playing ball for the school. 

Congratulations Natalie!

Katie's Ballet Rehearsal
We are going to be busy for the next few days and weekends until the big recital. Katie likes to tell everyone about her pretty Spanish tutu for the performance.  We had pictures last weekend.  She chose her pose.  She was a little disappointed that she couldn't stick her leg out, like actually stuck out without bracing herself.  I told her that she couldn't do that because it takes too long for the photographer to set up everything and get the pose just right and she would be tried with her leg out during that time.  Of course, she didn't listen to me.  Thankfully, Mrs. Anna told Katie what her stance should be for the picture.  I think it will turn out very pretty.  I love the background this year, a nice Spring background. 

School coming to an end
Because of all the CRAZY weather, Katie's school will have to stay in session until the very last day of May. Fortunately, starting Monday they will not be overloading this time together with book work or worrying about placement scores. Instead, they will be taking this opportunity to make memories with each other and just having fun. Mrs. M sent home her schedule for the next two weeks and I'm jealous that I only get to attend two events. LOL! I think about every day the kids will have an opportunity to bring something of theirs from home to share with the class. I still can not believe that my baby is turning 6 in the next couple of months and she will be going into the first grade. Yikes! Where has time gone?

Katie's Summer Plans
I've been making out a Summer schedule for Katie. I would like for her to have a great kid fun Summer, but I also don't want her to forget what she's learned this past year. I hope to make her vacation time fun, memorible and yet always a learning experience.

She'll get to have a break from dance, but will have the opportunity to try out gymnastics. She seems excited because she's been begging me for the past few months to take gymnastics, I really think it's because her few of her friends take it. One day last week, I got to speak with the Gym Coach and ask her opinion. I told her Katie's history with dance and how she wants to try out gymnastics. You'll laugh because I know absolutely nothing about gymnastics. On the Summer sign-up, there was a list for Tumbling and another one for Kindergym. They were both being offered for Katie's age, but what's the difference? After being enlightened by the Coach, I signed Bug up for Kindergym. Coach said if she loves dance as much as she does that she'll probably enjoy the bars and balance beam a lot better than the mats. Plus, the mats are more preferred by the older kids or parents that want to encourage their star students to enter into cheer. Sounded good to me. Thankfully, you can pay tuition a month at a time. I told Katie that we would try it out next month and see what happens after that. Wish us luck!

Katie is so excited to get back into swimming lessons. This will be her fourth year of swimming lessons. RA is doing such a great job with her in the years past. I'm excited to see what magic she can get Katie to do this year. This year's swimming lessons will tell us if Katie will be ready to try out for the swim team next year, if she wants to try out. Last year, I spoke with the swim coach and eventhough the eligible age is 6 years old, we all feel Katie should wait to try out next year; however, she encouraged me to take Katie to a few of the meets this year. We'll have to work it into our schedule.

As far as school work. You know, reading, writing, and actually learning something new during her Summer vacation. Well, I've got a list of assignments that I want her to accomplish. I would like to work on a few small trouble areas that I've noticed this year. She writes pretty good, but her word spacing needs attention. So, I hope I found a great writing trainer. It's called "RediSpace Transitional Notebook Paper". It may help students to transition from primary paper to wide-ruled paper and promotes legibility (another weak spot), but it will teach her proper spacing and help her with the appropriate letter size. Yay! I'm so excited for her. She absolutely loves to draw and picture and write a story about the picture. So, I found another great thing for her to continue to write these incredible stories. I purchased a "Primary Journal". I love it! To help her review the proper formation of letters, I purchased "Lowercase Letter Stories". Towards the back of the booklet, you can practice writing specific words such as "eat, queen, fan, funny, etc." I'm really going to focus on how to write these words as part of her sight word section. I have a list of the sight words that she's learned this year, so I'm hoping to exercise them with her and I might add a few more. I've got a Problem Solving booklet to exercise her logic. Basically, it's a little bit of everything. She loves to do these type booklets. I've got a few sites bookmarked online to help us with math and science. We've got a few science experiments to try that I found from one site. You'll have to check in from time to time to see what fun and messy experiment we've tried. I'll be sure to share the experience with you.

Katie's New Friend
We have fairly new neighbors down the street. They moved in a couple of days before the tornado hit town. Doug and I meet them during the tornado tragedy, while we were checking in on our neighbors. We found out they had a 6 year old little girl that will be starting the city school system next Fall. Meanwhile, her mom is driving her to her current school until school is out for the Summer. We introduced the girls last week and they really hit it off. Now, "S" comes over after school and the girls either hit Katie's room or outside to play. I couldn't be more happy with the two girls becoming good friends. "S" is so well mannered and polite. It might be because of the age difference, but I'm hoping S will be a good influence on Katie. Katie and S are already planning their Summer together with spend the night parties and going places together. My gosh the memories these two girls are going to make with one another. I hate the fact that we found a new friend for Katie during this type circumstance, but I'm pleased.

Cinco de Mayo

As we all celebrate with a Mexican dish and Margaritas in hand, my favorite is a Chicken Burrito Mexicano and strawberry virgin margarita. YUM! The history of the Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the Mexican militia over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Why was Mexico at war with the French? Mexico was in debt with several countries including France. The French wanted Mexico to pay up, so they invaded the Gulf Coast. The army was well on their way to Mexico City with plans to put one of their own as the official Mexican ruler. Knowing the intentions of the French, England, Spain and others withdrew from Mexico. Pres. Lincoln wanted to help, but he was in the middle of a Civil War. At Puebla, the French army encountered a small militia led by a Mexican General Seguin. At the battle the small militia was able to stop the large French Army from succeeding their mission. The French leaders were outraged from the defeat, but the Mexicans still celebrate this day of national unity, honoring all the brave militia soliders that stopped the initial invasion despite being outnumbered. Wow!  Enough of History.

I'm jealous, I look through the blogs that I follow and everyone's posting Mexican recipes that they throw together for their families.  We love Mexican food and we visit our share of different Mexican Restaurants.  If I make it at home, it's more than likely accompanied with an Ortega box like for Tacos or Burrito mix.  HAHA!  I do know how to make Cheese Quesadillas, I just don't make them a lot.  Does that count?  LOL! 

On Netflix, I found two movies/documentaries that I've really enjoyed watching. "America's Godly Heritage" and "God of Wonders" just got me on fire for the Lord this afternoon.

America's Godly Heritage reflects the big question that's been pressing for decades.  Was our founding fathers' intentions for this country, in the first amendment, to keep religion and state separate or should they be hand in hand?  Should all candidates running for the President's position of the United States of America profess if he is indeed Christian or not?  Where is it written in the Constitution?  Was this country absolutely claimed to be of a Christian faith?  You will get answers and opinions in this documentary.  One thing that is so simple, I got from this movie is that if someone keeps saying something over and over for decades and decades, you evenually begin to BELIEVE IT as TRUE.  We have believed a lie for too long. 

I've been told several times to read George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams' biologies that I won't regret reading them.  I like to watch the documentaries around President's Day and 4th of July about each president and Ben Franklin.  I was able to download one of Ben Franklin's novels on my Kindle, so I'm kind of excited to get started on it.  It was a free book, so if you're interested just type in Ben Franklin or founding fathers in your search.  Believe it or not, but I'm still reading "Roses" by L. Mecham.  I am almost done though.  I think I've got close to 10 chapters left.  I'll post my complete review as soon as I finish. 

God of Wonders is not only a beautiful documentary, but very informative on both a Christian and Scientific aspect.  Yes, I said Scientific.  If anyone still has doubts of God's existence, you MUST watch this movie.  I came away learning lots.  I love science, but I must of missed the day that they compared the sun to stars.  I didn't know there were particular stars, forgot the specific names, that were in fact larger than the sun.  I'm still in awe of God's precision and perfection in all He creates.  From every star in the universe to the tiniest molecule.  He is indeed AWESOME! 

Documentaries may not be your forte.  I promise you, you will get something out of them and will be glad you did.   

Don't forget Mother's Day is this Sunday.  What are giving your Mother, Grandmother, or that special someone that you love just like a mom? 

I've already given mom some of her gift.  My sister, Sandy, lives a long way from us.  Our mother loves flowers, so Sandy asked me to pick her up a flower pot full of annuals.  You talk about getting you in the Spring mood, just go to your local nursery.  Oh, just the smell of fresh soil, sends me to a frenzy.  I love getting my hands dirty.  I'm going to tell you a secret.  After someone finishes plowing or tilling up the ground, getting ready to plant, I love to take my shoes off and stick my bare feet into the soil.  The cool earth pressing between my toes is so relaxing for me.  I just love it!  Anywho, enough about that.  Sandy - Katie and I had a very hard time finding the perfect pot of flowers because there was so many to choose from.  After many disagreements, I picked a beautiful pot of multi-colored pink petunias.  I love petunias!  I know mom likes them as well.  I'll send you a picture of them.  They also had pots of Mandevillas.  I love the climbing Mandevillas whether they are pink or crimson, I just think they are so beautiful.  So, I thought mom should have a small pot them on her porch to enjoy for the Summer.  For the past three or four years, I've bought Mandevillas for my place and they are pretty hardy flowers.  Last year, mine lasted until the end of September.

Poor Katie was working on special Mother's Day cards tonight and ended up making a mess.  Bless her heart, she cried and cried.  The problem began with her using glitter glue pens.  Yeah!  There were three brand new pens that she received as a Christmas gift and she finally got to use them on something special.  She was trying to write with them like a regular pen.  It turned out really blobby and I expressed my concern saying that she would have to wait a very long time before all of the glue would completely dry.  She didn't care.  It wasn't long before Colton stuck his finger on one of the blobs of glitter glue.  "MOOOOM!"  I could hear down the hall.  "Colton's ruining my card!" Katie warns.  Well, yeah, he had some red glitter on his finger and a little on his shirt, but it wasn't the end of the world.  I told her that she could fix it.  So, I got him out of her way.  Next thing I know, Doug tells me that he hears her crying.  So I go to check on her.  She accidentally, got glitter glue all over her elbow and it smeared her red, silver and green glitter written Mother's Day card.  She was tore up.  She didn't like the idea of having to start all over.  It was late, so I told her to rest overnight and she'll do fine tomorrow making another one.  Wish her luck! 

Picking Up the Pieces

The Convoy

On our way home from picking up the generators that we rented, we began traveling along side a convoy of utility trucks. The side of their trucks read: "Blue Ridge Electric Company Emergency Reponse Team" from South Carolina. If you want to get into an emotional rollercoaster, pass several of these vehicles on your way home where you have no power and nature has spread her rage across your hometown. During this whole time, I think I've kept pretty level headed and in shock up until that point. I was happy, relieved and feeling very humbled when I saw them.  I got choked up and I couldn't stop the tears from falling.  I couldn't control myself, all I could do was wave and mouth "thank you".   When one driver nodded as in "you're welcome", here come the tears again.  It was an emotional moment in my life.  The convoy followed us all the way to our exit and followed us as far as our street.

Ground Zero
Friday was the first time; I got the chance to see just a glimpse of what destruction was left behind. Doug and I were humbled and in awe. In our discussion, we talked about “The Last Days” that the bible teaches us. I’m so thankful I won’t know what it will be like during the Armageddon. Just reflect for a second on the last days of the world’s existence. No power, no phone service, cars and airplanes either crashed or in the middle of the road without anyone inside of them. Rotting meat from people’s houses, thieves and murderers will roam the streets, while looters will do anything for their next meal. FRIGHTENING, FRIGHTENING thought. I hope this example will wake people up and let them see what it will look like when the church will be up in heaven with Jesus. I don’t want anyone to go through this HELL.

The media interviewed a lady, living not far from here, about what she felt during the event, how scared she was and if she thought she would ever make it through the storm alive. I applaud this lady for speaking the truth. She answered their questions with class and honesty. The last question about if she thought she would ever make it out alive, she simply took a breath and said “you know, I figured if God was ready for me, He would have taking me on. I’m here though, so my time’s not up and I still have a purpose to fulfill.” Hey, it’s the truth y’all.

Rumors are already started about why our state got hit so hard with tornadoes. Of course, the first one is that it’s God telling us that we need to straighten up and fly right. That God is punishing us because a couple of the cities turned wet or voted to have alcohol sales. Now, I don’t believe God punishes those for the wrong choices. I do believe that He has to mold us in the figures that He has to in order for us to be more like him, even if it hurts like heck. God is good and doesn’t bring destruction; however, he does allow it to happen from the devil. Whether its to help us grow spiritually, to balance out life or to create new (new homes, development, new life, etc.) to the greater good. We never know what His reasoning is, but He is our Heavenly Father and Father knows best. I trust Him and know by faith that he will take care of me and my family.

Tractor Trailers drove up to different stores like this CVS with loads of ice, water and other supplies for the victims.

It didn't take long before the whole community came together and just held each other.  Sunday night, Mayor Townson encouraged everyone to come together in the community for a "Faith Rally" at the fairgrounds.  Casting Crown was so gracious to make time in their busy schedule to put on a concert during the rally. 

We came across this shop in the West Point area - looks like a bomb went off from the inside. 

Clean Up!

Saturday, Susan and I drove to the Command Post at the high school, to volunteer for clean up.  We hated that it took so long before the City Police would accept volunteers to help clean up the worst hit areas.  June explained that it was because there was a wide range to be assessed and make sure it was safe enough to get back in there to clean up.  The City Police Department and United Way received so many donations that they had to stop receiving clothing because they ran out of storage space for all the donations.  Their main needs right now are baby items (diapers, formula, wipes, etc.) and personal hygiene items (deodorant, soap, shampoo, etc.).   Susan and I went through our orientation, got our wrist bands, sack of water and sunscreen and got on the bus, headed to ground zero.  We were advised that the area we were headed was currently under Marshall Law and the National Guardsmen were instructed to shoot to kill, if they see anyone looting.  Yikes! 

I want to tell you first hand, it was heart wrenching to see what a tornado can do.  I’ve seen coverage on television, read about it in papers, heard the horrifying stories, but never in my worst dreams thought it would happen to my community and neighborhood.  I became disoriented as to where I was in the middle of the 3^rd street looking down the road of rubble, twisted metal, old large oaks uprooted resting in the middle of once was someone’s Living Room or Bedroom.  One person’s home was picked up by the tornado, turned to a different direction and sat back down.  We were able to work on four houses.  Our main objective was to clear a path for the homeowners to get out of their home or easy access for a moving truck to pack up all of their belongings to be moved out of their homes.  All the volunteers had to work as fast as possible because the rain would be here by Monday (yesterday). It was so hot that day with the temps in the upper 80's, but God gave us a cool breeze.   

The first house our group worked on had a boat trailer, turned upside down, resting on top of the resident’s  Jeep.  The Jeep was beat up pretty bad and all of the windows had been blown out, but it started up right off the bat.  Once we lifted the trailer, moved the Jeep, we were able to flip the trailer over and the men pulled it out of the way.  Another historic two-story home had all of its vinyl siding pilled off and all the shingles were missing.  Of course, all the windows were gone and there wasn’t the first old oak standing.  The trees had entrapped the entrance into the home.  We had to clear a path, so a moving truck could get this family loaded and sent to another location.  Susan said it first, this house looked like something off the movie “Twister”.   We were talking about the house with a few of our team members.  One of the members was a contractor and he said that eventhough the house looked awful, it could easily be fixed because it is an older home and kept up.  The structure itself was in good standing.  There were foundations with no buildings. 

We absolutely loved seeing the church organizers coming up and down the street, offering food and COLD water.  They were a God send, helping us to cool off and feed our hunger. 

Today, Millard and Peggy said that they were able to drive along one street over that once was closed because of all damage.  They had the chance to see the vacant lots that once stood 2 story buildings, including the "Busy Bee".  By the way, the "Busy Bee Cafe" owner passed away due to the injuries she sustained from the storm.  Rumors are flying that the cafe will be rebuilt. 

I believe 80% of the town's power has been restored; therefore, the city is still under curfew.  If you need something at Walmart, gas or what have you, you had better make sure you get it before dusk.

Before and After Photos

Storm of the Century 2011

APRIL'S FURY

It's so good to be back online!

I'm in awe as to all that surrounds me today. Sometimes, I take for granted all that God has blessed me with. Often, I'm reminded how others' situations make me hit my knees to praise and thank God for what He has done in my life.

Aerial View of Downtown's Destruction. This photo was supplied to me by Allison.

All the news media called Wednesday's tornado outbreak “April’s Fury”, but I call it a glimpse of what’s to come. Death and destruction is tainted all over the South. Our fatality is currently at 250 statewide. Out of all the wreckage, there were 2 deaths in the county. An EF-4 tornado, which can produce anywhere from 175-200 mph winds, ravaged our community last Wednesday. I want to thank you for all the prayers for our state. My family and I are all accounted for and doing well. No one was hurt and we are all very thankful to God for sparing our lives. No one had serious property damage. The only inconveniences were the lack of power and phone service for a couple days, which can be easily tolerated after seeing all the destruction on the news and in the newspapers.


June, Pat, KimAnn, mom and dad saw this tornado right out their back windows of the house. Scary huh! This tornado was a multi-vortex that became one big EF-4 tornado that from what I hear ended up being a mile long. This is the tornado that caused all of the destruction in downtown.

Roof tore off of this barn.  Notice the hay stacks are lying neatly in the loft without being touched. 

Damage to family's property.  This beautiful home was surrounded by trees.  Trees that are dound are all found on the ground because it was in the direct path of the storm. 

This homeowner's frontporch roof collapsed 

On the way to my in-laws, we discovered a lot of powerlines down and power polls twisted like pretzels. 

Photo of First Baptist Church in Cullman. The cross ontop of the steeple is bent over.

First and foremost, we will not let Satan get his glory from this tragedy. As Christians, we have all come together to help the needy, nurture the hungry and give an ear to the victims that cried out. There is hope and his name is Jesus. Glory be to God in the highest, peace has been spread across our community and goodwill to all men.

Tragedy
It was reported April 30th that the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell tornado was in fact an EF-5, which is one nasty and angry monster of a tornado with winds at 200+ mph. Several people have told me that they've seen the pictures on TV and the community is basically wiped off the map.  Yesterday, I watched on television a Sunday morning service from the concrete slab that once was Church of God in Phil Campbell.  The camera panned around and there was nothing but rubble surrounding this group of church goers.  The pastor encouraged the attendees to come and knee at the only remaining piece of the original building, a wooden altar.  I was amazed.  Here the walls, pews and podium was gone, but the small wooden altar still stood untouched.  Praise be to God!     

According to reports, Tuscaloosa was the worst hit.  There are still hundreds missing with destruction all around The University of Alabama campus.  On the National news, they showed clips of U of A students staying to help others recover from the storm. 


Doug's uncle and aunt that live in Pleasant Grove probably witnessed the worst of the tornadoes.  Their community was the worst hit in Jefferson County.  I spoke to aunt Vonell Wednesday night to make sure they were alright.  She said that if the tornado had turned just a little bit, they probably would not have been here today.  Their section was spared, but the tornado got the corner of their street.  Of course, they are very upset for their neighbors.  Their neighborhood is on complete shut down until further notice.  This means that they have to have photo ID in order to get in and out.   

Damage from probably the same tornado that ripped through Pleasant Grove.

Damage in Fultondale.  You can see daylight through this Fire Station because the roof was ripped off.

Panic Spreads
Once the Browns’ Ferry Nuclear Power Plant and several steel TVA power stations got hit by tornadoes, our power went out and stayed out for a few days.  Widespread panic hit the northern portion of the state because we were receiving word that it could be anywhere between 5-10 days before the power would be restored.  Millions of people were without power and some people, like us, didn’t have phone service including spotty cell phone service.  Our land line, didn’t work and our cell phone service was sketchy.  There were even rumors that people would be out of water because the pumping station can't keep up with the demand when they have no power.  Of course, several gas stations were without power and therefore could not pump gas without a generator.  Thus, everyone was scurrying around trying to find generators, gas, a grocery stores open to get food and water.  You talk about complete chaos. 

People waiting in line to get gas

State Troopers had to help with traffic at one point

The radio kept everyone abreast on closings, where to find gas, water, food and shelter.  If you were looking for gas and generators, your best bet was looking somewhere South of Cullman at the time.  Fearing the power would not be on for several days, Millard, Doug and I loaded up and headed to Birmingham to the Sunbelt Rentals and rented a 5000 watt (I think) generator.  While we were there, we loaded up with gas for the generator and our vehicle.   

Fortunately, our power and phone service has improved since yesterday.  Several sections of the community are slowly regaining power and phone service.  We had access to a generator to keep our refrigerator and freezer going.  We used our huge cook pot to warm up water on a gas eye to heat up some water for a hot bath.  Once we got our service up and running, I took it upon myself to get to know my neighbors a little better.  We invited them all over to charge up their cell phones, have a warm bath and access to cook their food that was thawing.  We had a good time, sitting around talking and getting to know one another.  At Millard and Peggy’s, Katie made a friend her age very quickly and she had a blast.  Both Katie and Colton had to have an afternoon nap because the fresh air would just wipe them out. 

You'll find more footage from the storms on YouTube.

Remembering When
The media for the past few days has compared Wednesday’s tornado outbreak to April’s 1974 disaster. My sister, Susan, recalled the event to me the other day. I was only 3 months old during the storm of 1974. Susan, at the age of 9, remembered how upset my parents were and the only cover was a storm drain. She said she had never been so scared in her life because she could see the nighttime tornado during the flashes of lightning. Now, our local meteorologists are stating that this year’s event supersedes the 1974 tornado outbreak. I can’t tell you which area was hit the worse because it was all bad. As far as number of deaths, I would have to say Tuscaloosa has a large count. It was weird Wednesday how the evening tornadoes would take the same exact path that the morning tornadoes ripped through. So a lot of the communities that got hit early that morning, more than likely got hit that evening. This didn’t help the situation at all. Tuscaloosa, Cullman and Walker for sure got hit multiple times throughout the day.

I have to write one more paragraph before I end this post.  As I was taking pictures of all the disaster on our way to my in-laws house, a lady came on the radio all upset.  She said that she didn't like the fact that people were driving by and taking pictures of her misfortune.  How she thought it was disrespectful and ashame.  I want to express my sincere sympathy out to all who were affected.  My intentions for taking the photos that I took were to show how my children one day the devastation and to remember.  This week will be marked in the history books and I did not in any way want anyone to feel like I was invading their privacy.  The only time I did not take photos was when I worked in the middle of all the destruction in town.  I felt it wasn't the time nor the place. 

Keep in touch for more photos and my experiences.