Storm 2011... my nightmare

OK, so I've never really taken storms seriously, I've actually been know to laugh at how hysterical people get over the warnings of them. Not anymore! It only takes one they say and I would agree. Here's the story...
So we go to bed as we normally do on any Tuesday night. We knew there were warnings, but didn't get to concerned about anything happening. At about midnight we both sat straight up in the bed after waking up from a LOUD noise. Walker told me to go get Davis and he headed to the kitchen where we thought the noise was coming from. I grabbed Davis about the time I heard glass crashing in the house. I immediately screamed for Walker and he assured me he was OK, it was just the windows. I waited on him in the bathroom with Davis sleeping in my arms and he joined me to let me know we had no flashlights and he was pretty sure water was coming in the house. Neither of us knew what to do and we were both pretty frantic. We decided to put Davis and myself in the bed and attempt to stay calm. Walker tried to search the house and see what had transpired. With little light from his cell phone he knew we needed help and began calling friends, family and neighbors. Within minutes we got word there was no way people could get to us by car. Walker got really nervous and began looking outside to see what the strong winds had done. He could tell our cars were covered in trees and knew it would be impossible for us to drive anywhere. FYI Davis remained asleep through all this commotion! Finally people arrived at our house on foot and they were able to bring flashlights and find where the noise was coming from...the hot water heater had busted! After doing as much as we could do we packed up some clothes for the night and headed out to the Vego home. (ah thank goodness for friends!) By the time we got to their house (took us over 30 minutes when it usually takes us about 5 minutes) we all tried to just go to bed, especially since there was still no electricity and we were all exhausted! Davis decided to wake up during this leg of the adventure and we spent the next 2 hours convincing him he was OK and we were all together. We prayed, sang and talked to him until finally he gave in and went to sleep. He slept about 3 hours before waking up screaming. He was very frazzled and had no idea where we were and he wanted to make sure we were both with him. We calmed him down after about 20 minutes and so began the day AFTER!!!

That morning after some yummy breakfast the boys and I decided to head to the house to clean out the freezer/fridge and clean up whatever we could. We arrived...I CRIED and CRIED and CRIED. Never in a million years did could I have imagined what had happened. Not only was our neighbors house demolished, but the tree that was the culprit of tearing the house and cars to shreds was also VERY close to my baby's room. Talk about rocking your world. I was so thankful we made it out safe and were not hurt physically. ( I fear emotionally I will remember that night for far too long). I hugged my precious hubby and tried to get a grip on the task at hand and did what Liz does best..work fast so I wouldn't think about what could have happened.

So that's the story here's what I am dealing with. The first night I prayed to God and thanked him for saving our precious baby and ourselves and giving us friends to come even when it wasn't easy. The second night I prayed asking God to remove the fears and memories of the night before so I could sleep. I finally was able to nod off by listening to my baby breathe. I knew if I could hear him breathing we were all OK and we were gonna be just fine.

Lessons I have learned: Be Prepared, storms are not a joke. Friends become family when they think of You before themselves. (thanks to Peggy and Jim Belue, And Ross and Jenny Lynn!) Prayer can heal all wounds. Don't get in a hurry for anything to return to normalcy after a terrible storm.
Just a few pictures from our worst nightmare!