Tornado Alley

Sunday, November 17, 2013 about 11:15 am a 200 mph tornado about an eighth of a mile wide tore through Washington, Illinois...including our neighborhood. Luckily, Ben was at the hospital and the kids and I were at church so no one was home. We were huddled in the bathroom at church, so I was aware there was a tornado in the area, but I had no idea it hit our neighborhood. The traffic on the way home should have clued me in, not being able to get to my house should have told me it hit home, but I guess I was in denial because I really wasn't worried about our home...until I got a phone call from a ward member asking if there was anything valuable we wanted them to get out of our house. A short while later Tom Muraski and Matt Hancock from our ward picked me up in an ATV and took me to my house.

 At first sight it looks ok:

If you walk to the west side of the house you will notice that we are missing walls, and anyone can walk right into our house. I was in shock as I saw all of the damage:

 There were pieces of wood sticking out of every surface, like someone had stabbed our house and fence and shed:

 The inside was a huge mess. There was glass and insulation covering every surface. Our belongings were strewn about the rooms, some in a different room than where we left them, and many in the yard or strewn down the street in our neighbors yards.

  

 I thought it was pretty funny that the bananas were still hanging on the table, yet everything else was thrown about. It was like someone ransacked our house, but didn't bother with the bananas.

 The window in the front of the house didn't break, but the blinds were sucked out the top of the frame:

We must have been on the edge of the tornado. As you look across the street and down the street it gets progressively worse: 

 A few houses down everything is just piles of rubble. No standing structures at all.

 This is the view looking down our street from the other end. 

 And this is the view looking to the north of our street. Nothing but debris.

It's inspiring to see the flags peppered throughout the devastation. It's a reminder that we are strong. We will support each other. We will survive.

The kids and I stayed at Craig and Heidi Johnson's house after church the day of the tornado. I was still in shock, just going through the motions. Ben was having a hard time getting to us because the city had been blocked off by the police. Craig went on his motorcycle and ignored all of the police to get to Ben and get him to us. When he finally got to us we went to Mike and Kristen Miller's house because they had a generator. The whole city was without power and water, so a generator was a big deal. The Miller's took care of us for the whole week; housing us, feeding us, helping at the house and helping with the kids. They were amazing! 

After that first day the shock wore off, and then the tears started. It was devastating to go back to our house and see it in shambles. We didn't really have anything I was worried about losing, besides personal documents. It wasn't that things were broken or missing that was devastating, it was the reminder that we were homeless and our life was in shambles. It's all really overwhelming. Our kids have been great and handled it all really well, just gone along with the flow. Ben has been amazing, and his residency very supportive, giving him the whole week off. We have had so much support from friends and our ward, securing and cleaning up our home and neighborhood. Our family and friends who live away have also been very loving and supportive. We have received so many offers of help and monetary donations. It has been inspiring, overwhelming, and heartening all in one. 

Maryn and Casey even brought their families out for Thanksgiving and helped a ton! They were planning on coming before the tornado, and decided to still come and help us out. Maryn and Kreg flew into Chicago, Kreg rented a car and picked up our kids, and then took them back to Chicago and they kept  the kids so Ben and I could get things done without worrying about them. It was a huge help. Then Ben and I took a day off from Tornado stresses and met them in Chicago. It was a much needed break! When we came back home Casey and Lindsey met us and we celebrated Thanksgiving together. We have amazing family and I'm so grateful for them!

 It's devastating to see the mess in the city and to know that there are some who lost everything. I know that we are blessed to not have lost much, and to have insurance to replace what we did lose. We were also blessed to have a real estate agent who found us a rental as soon as she heard about the tornado. Our ward and our stake were amazing and brought in food and supplies. The community came together and provided food and supplies for all the tornado victims as well. It seemed like everywhere we turned someone was wanting to give us something to help. It was humbling to be in need and to receive so much. I wish that I could have been on the other end giving instead of receiving. But it was inspiring to see everyone come together and take care of each other. We live in an amazing city, state and country. It's nice to know that there are good people out there who follow the example of Christ and take care of others. 

This EF4 tornado that devastated our community didn't destroy our community. We have become stronger. We have become more charitable. We have become closer. And personally I have seen so many blessings amidst this trial. The Lord has strengthened me to be able to endure this trial. I have seen so many blessings through this that I am actually grateful that we get this trial. I know it's true that trials bring blessings, because I have seen it in an extraordinary way. Trials make us stronger, better, more Christlike...if we let them.