Last month our area got hit hard with a severe storm - "our area" being pretty specific. A storm hit my parents house in north Dayton and a storm hit my sister's place just a few miles away. But THE storm hit our house and nearby surroundings very signigicantly. We think it was straight winds which can do as much damage as a tornado. Below is proof of that. And our house wasn't the worst I saw. Massive trees were uprooted and a roof of an apartment building was torn off (which was about a mile from our house). We thank God for his protection! 
On this particular evening, Jake and Lydia had their last swim meet. Jake left after his first heat (with previous permission from the coach) because basketball camp was starting. We got through probably 3/4ths of the swim meet when they had to have all the swimmers exit the pool due to lightening and thunder. We waited the 1/2 hour and they called it. Dan had left with Claire to go pick up Jake. Since it was the last meet, the kids all lined up for their ice cream sundaes. Just moments later, the pool manager ran up and told everyone to take cover under the shelter. It hadn't started raining yet, so most people had stayed. About a minute later, the swim coach ran up and yelled to the volunteers, "Quit passing out ice cream...we have to get everyone out of here." I looked up and agreed wholeheartedly. The dumping of rain looked imminent and I've never seen clouds so low before and in such a swirly fashion. Of course, when the coach made this announcment, the purpose of it wasn't to induce panic, but that is exactly what it did in Lydia and her good friend, Holly. Holly was in line with us and I made sure she found her family before we booked it out of there. As we ran to our car, Lydia asked if we were going to die. It was the first of 4 or 5 times she asked. Tornado sirens started going off, so when we arrived home (thankfully, it was a home meet so we were right around the corner), we went down to the basement and prayed. Still no rain...just very windy. I called Dan and asked if they were going to wait at the church till it past. He said, "no," much to my dismay. Lid and I stayed in the bathroom for a bit then we went upstairs to the living room to wait for the others to get home. I started to read to Lid to distract her. Didn't get too far. The rain decided to pour and the lightening, thunder, and wind picked back up. And of course, the power went off. Right when we lost power, I saw lights in the driveway. What scared me was that I also saw tree limbs falling everywhere, including all around the van. I wasn't sure if Dan was going to stay in the van or make a run for it or if they were trapped or what. I was going to run outside to help (don't know what difference I would have made in hindsight). I told Lydia to get under the table. She begged me not to leave her. I told her I would be right back...I just needed to see if they needed help. I started to open the front door and then Dan made his move. He was carrying Claire and Jake was running close behind. Everyone was safe inside the house. During of one the lightening blasts, I heard Dan say, "whoa." He showed me our neighbors partially fallen tree with leaves just inches from our living room window. We hadn't even know it, but God also protected Lydia and I inside the house. We had been reading on the couch with our heads and backs to that very window. Dan went back outside to go check on our neighbor next door who is a single gal. When he was out, he noticed our trampoline had been carried across 4 lanes of traffic to the people's house acoss the street! From the pictures below, you'll see it didn't fare too well.
This was in the backyard. Big limbs had fallen on the patio covering, as well as a couple of them impaled in the ground (don't have pictures of those).
Downed power lines in the back yard.
On this particular evening, Jake and Lydia had their last swim meet. Jake left after his first heat (with previous permission from the coach) because basketball camp was starting. We got through probably 3/4ths of the swim meet when they had to have all the swimmers exit the pool due to lightening and thunder. We waited the 1/2 hour and they called it. Dan had left with Claire to go pick up Jake. Since it was the last meet, the kids all lined up for their ice cream sundaes. Just moments later, the pool manager ran up and told everyone to take cover under the shelter. It hadn't started raining yet, so most people had stayed. About a minute later, the swim coach ran up and yelled to the volunteers, "Quit passing out ice cream...we have to get everyone out of here." I looked up and agreed wholeheartedly. The dumping of rain looked imminent and I've never seen clouds so low before and in such a swirly fashion. Of course, when the coach made this announcment, the purpose of it wasn't to induce panic, but that is exactly what it did in Lydia and her good friend, Holly. Holly was in line with us and I made sure she found her family before we booked it out of there. As we ran to our car, Lydia asked if we were going to die. It was the first of 4 or 5 times she asked. Tornado sirens started going off, so when we arrived home (thankfully, it was a home meet so we were right around the corner), we went down to the basement and prayed. Still no rain...just very windy. I called Dan and asked if they were going to wait at the church till it past. He said, "no," much to my dismay. Lid and I stayed in the bathroom for a bit then we went upstairs to the living room to wait for the others to get home. I started to read to Lid to distract her. Didn't get too far. The rain decided to pour and the lightening, thunder, and wind picked back up. And of course, the power went off. Right when we lost power, I saw lights in the driveway. What scared me was that I also saw tree limbs falling everywhere, including all around the van. I wasn't sure if Dan was going to stay in the van or make a run for it or if they were trapped or what. I was going to run outside to help (don't know what difference I would have made in hindsight). I told Lydia to get under the table. She begged me not to leave her. I told her I would be right back...I just needed to see if they needed help. I started to open the front door and then Dan made his move. He was carrying Claire and Jake was running close behind. Everyone was safe inside the house. During of one the lightening blasts, I heard Dan say, "whoa." He showed me our neighbors partially fallen tree with leaves just inches from our living room window. We hadn't even know it, but God also protected Lydia and I inside the house. We had been reading on the couch with our heads and backs to that very window. Dan went back outside to go check on our neighbor next door who is a single gal. When he was out, he noticed our trampoline had been carried across 4 lanes of traffic to the people's house acoss the street! From the pictures below, you'll see it didn't fare too well.
This was in the backyard. Big limbs had fallen on the patio covering, as well as a couple of them impaled in the ground (don't have pictures of those).
Downed power lines in the back yard.
Ironically, our power company would not hook the lines back to the house. If there had been something "live" or "hot" or whatever the term is, I believe they would have. We hired a man in our church who is qualified in this area. We still have to cut down a hanging limb and hopefully, insurance will cover the cost of a new trampoline...then our back yard will be as good as new.
While God is always good, I am so glad our family was under His hedge of protection this particular evening!
