We didn't hear a train

Our world was turned upside down yesterday shortly before dawn when Mother Nature, who was apparently in quite a foul mood, decided to drop a small tornado into our neighborhood.

I woke up when the motion-sensitive light on our shop came on. Me sitting up in bed woke Jeff up to inquire what was the matter. Within seconds of him asking what was wrong, we heard what we thought was hail hitting the sides of the house and the floor of our deck. The wind was very loud during this event, but it in no way sounded like a train as so many people before us have described the sound of a tornado. 

Almost as soon as it began, it was over. We, honest to God, had no idea a tornado had just passed through. After making a stop in the bathroom, Jeff retrieved Amelia from her bedroom and brought her to our bed. She was frightened because two photos had fallen from a shelf in her room and woke her up.

Now in hindsight we realize this should have been our first clue that something was amiss, but it never crossed either my or Jeff's mind. The fact we were both still quite sleepy and it was pitch black outside preventing us from seeing the damage didn't help the situation at all. The three of us laid in bed for a bit trying to catch a few more winks but were startled awake when we heard a knock at the door.

Jeff got up and looked out to find a police officer at our door. The kind man in blue asked if everyone was okay to which Jeff replied, "Yeah, why?" The officer said he was checking to make sure we were okay considering the state of our property. Jeff asked him what he was talking about and the officer pointed out the tree leaning upside down against the front of our house and the portions of roof missing from our shop.

Jeff thanked the officer for his concern and announced to me, "We've got some major damage." The tree had landed on Lola's room, but she had not made a sound. Worried something terrible had happened, Jeff ran to check on her. His fears were squashed when he opened the door and she greeted him by saying, "Hi dada." 

After making sure the girls were safe with me, Jeff got dressed and went outside to survey the extent of the damage. This is what he found:

The tree that landed on Lola's room.

The mangled remnants of the girls' swingset.

What's left of Amelia's playhouse.

The "bones" of two Bradford pear trees in the backyard.

Holes in the roof of our shop.

Hoping to protect our belongings stored in the shop, Jeff made a quick run to Walmart to get tarps to place over the holes. He and two neighbors placed the tarps on the roof in the pouring rain. Despite their efforts, though, too much water got into the shop and soaked through the ceiling of our home gym.

Later in the day while Jeff and our friend Michael, who also helped pull the tree off Lola's room, were trying to remove wet insulation from over the home gym, this is what happened:

Thankfully, we have insurance. Our insurance adjuster is supposed to visit us today to inspect the damage and get our claim processed. We hope to have begun clean up and repair by this time next week.

While we lost a lot of material things, almost all of it is replaceable. We are most grateful that no one was hurt, our home is still livable and we came through this with our peace of mind rattled but overall intact.

We were also reassured by all the well wishes, prayers and help we received from neighbors, friends and family. To every single one of these folks we offer our heartfelt thanks and our sincere gratitude for your presence in our lives.