Toto, I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore

But our family is safe--thank the Lord. Our daughter who is in school in Atlanta had just made it home on Friday when the tornado hit there (Atl)--she lives in the heart of downtown not far from where the tornado touched down. We are so grateful that she was already home for Spring Break. Atlanta traffic is scary enough without the threat of bad weather! :)
On Saturday there were reports of tornadoes spotted all around our little town and we were under several different tornado warnings throughout the day. So I spent most of the day glued to our weather radio. It didn't help that 2 of my kids were in 2 other areas where the tornado warnings were being issued also and I was stuck at home with the weather radio -- one was with a friend at a track meet, and the other was at work at a golf course. They're both fine and were able to find shelter before any really bad weather came their way. Thankfully, most everyone around here only experienced some strong winds and lots of hail, and one church not far away lost a roof.

Our hearts go out today to those west and south of us where the damage appears to have been much worse.

Our little community experienced a direct hit from a tornado a few years ago--it's really amazing and frightening how much damage can occur in just a few seconds. I was in my car and actually saw it go over head and didn't realize what I was witnessing. I remember looking at a grove of pine trees and marveling at how far they are able to bend with the wind--Duh! It was only later that I realized what had happened when I saw trees down, mangled metal wrapped around an electric pole, a tractor trailer overturned, a path of woods mowed down like grass, roofs off of many buildings, and the home of one of my neighbors completely gone. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries in our area. And everyone rallied around those whose property was most affected. So many folks helped and I didn't even see my husband for close to 3 days, because within minutes after the storm cleared he (and so many others) and his truck and his chain saw went to work clearing trees and debris.