UPDATE: NC Tornadoes – We are OK
As many of you know on Saturday most of North Carolina was slammed by a severe storm front that produced dozens of tornadoes across the state. We live in Raleigh and while our house had no damage just a few miles away homes were completely destroyed. We consider ourselves extremely blessed.
Joe had to work on Saturday and even though there were storm warning Jude and I headed over to my brother’s house to celebrate my niece’s 8th birthday. We had a great time celebrating with the family but as the day went on the sky started looking ominous. Jude and I slipped out and headed home so we could beat the storms. We arrived home about 10 minutes before the storms hit. Jude had fallen asleep on the way home but woke up as the rain pounded us as I tried to carry him to the front door. He was tired and super grumpy, throwing a fit while I tried to gather essentials into our hall bath. We hid in the bathroom, laptop in hand, watching the storm updates online. Jude ate a few snacks, read a few books and I tried to not freak out. I could hear the wind and hail pound the house and I could only imagine what was going on outside. I figured the worst. About 15 minutes later it sounded calm and after the news reported the storms were past us we left the bathroom to survey the damage. Surprisingly, there were only a few limbs down in our back yard. I was most concerned about trees falling on our house since we live in a densely wooded area.
I checked twitter, facebook and email to see updates from family and friends. I learned that everyone was relatively safe, some with no power and trees knocked over but that was the extend of their damage. However, so many others across the state were not so lucky.
Last I heard there were over 20 deaths in NC. Approximately 700 home damaged or destroyed and thousands without power. To drive around our neighborhood you would never know but just a few miles away the destruction is unbelievable. I am truly thankful for our protection and continue to pray for those that are suffering.
