Pray for Oklahoma

By now, you've probably heard about the tragedy that hit Moore, OK. There are so many stories...uplifting and heartbreaking.

We're safe. Our home is fine. We live about an hour from Moore. 

Moore is strong city. I lived there in college and am in shock watching the video and pics coming through...it's unrecognizable. 

Everyone we love is safe and for that, we thank God! Many have damage. Some have lost everything.

Pray for Oklahoma. Pray for Moore. Pray for the families from Plaza Towers Elementary, the children and the teachers. Pray for my friend Emily.

Ooooo-klahoma...where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

We had a very exciting evening last night. It started when the tornado sirens went off just as we were starting dinner. The news wasn't showing anything but we pulled up the weather radar and there was a nasty storm on it's way with rotation. Because we live in a rural area, our local meteorologists don't always interrupt the broadcast to tell us exactly what's going on but living in Oklahoma, you have a pretty good idea of what to look out for when the sirens go off. So, while we waited for Gary England (our local go-to weather guy) to explain the situation, we threw a collar on the dog, packed up the laptops, my camera, some diapers and put shoes on everyone all within about five minutes and all while still eating dinner. There's a sense of pride in the ability to get everything that matters most together and ready to run into the storm shelter in a matter of minutes that comes with living in this area of the country.

Thankfully we never ended up needing to go to our trusty "safe place" but there was some really beautiful rotation and some down right crazy hail. 

Crazy strong rotation that never fully developed.

After the first wave...baseball to softball sized hail.

The boy and all the kids in the neighborhood made the rounds to gather the biggest pieces. This wasn't the largest (and it had melted a bit before I got a pic) but it was his favorite.

Even the boy was getting into the "cool clouds" and it provided a great teaching opportunity. So today, we're going to the Science Museum to learn more about tornadoes and all things weather before more storms break out this afternoon.

Memorial Day

Today has different meaning for me than ever before. Last year it frightened me. This year it humbles me. My husband came home from his deployment but 14 other soldiers from Oklahoma's 45th did not. 

* Second Lt. Jered W. Ewy, 33, of Edmond, on June 29

* Spc. Augustus J. Vicari, 22, of Broken Arrow, on July 29


* Staff Sgt. Kirk Avery Owen, 37, of Sapulpa, on Aug. 2


* Sgt. Anthony Del Mar Peterson, 24, of Chelsea, on Aug. 4


* Second Lt. Joe L. Cunningham, 27, of Kingston, on Aug. 13


* Lt. Damon Leehan, 30, of Moore, on Aug. 14


* Spc. Joshua Michael Seals, 21, of Porter, on Aug. 16


* Pfc. Tony J. Potter Jr., 20, of Okmulgee, on Sept. 9


* Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, of Collinsville, on Sept. 9


* Sgt. Bret D. Isenhower, 26, of Lamar, on Sept. 9


* Sgt. Mycal L. Prince, 28, of Minco, on Sept. 15


* Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, on Sept. 25


* Pfc. Sarina Butcher, 19, of Checotah, on Nov. 1


* Spc. Chris Gailey, 26, of Ochelata, on Nov. 1 


We will never forget them or their families. 

Please remember that today is about them and all the other men and women who gave their lives for our country.

Weather Review

It's been exactly three months since Joshua left for OSUT at Ft Leonard Wood today. I could write about a ton of stuff that the boy and I have done and all that I've learned in the last three months but I'm not in a nostalgic or sappy mood right now so instead, I'd like to recap the weather we've had to endure...(around here, the weather is always a good topic of conversation because it's never boring but these last few months, it's been even more adventurous than normal).

We have...

*been snowed in, twice-once was more ice than snow but same principle

*had the worst hail storm in the state's recorded history

*had 2 tornado watches for our area and one warning which was close enough to send us to the storm shelter (another first in recorded history)

*experienced triple digit degree weather beginning in April (not at all normal for our neck of the woods)

*had a handful of electrical storms-one of which came close enough to bring the neighbor's tree down (kind of glad they're on the other side of the street)

*lost power for at least an hour on 4 separate occasions

and yesterday, we saw the metro area flooded. Over a foot of rain in many parts and one creek near a popular lake rose an estimated 30 feet...yeah, FEET. The local news broadcasters are saying that it was a once in 500 year flood.

Thankfully, through it all, the boy, the dog, the house and I managed to stay undamaged (well, apart from our wind chimes which were taken out in the tornado warning).

I'd like to say all this record breaking weather surprised me but I pretty much expected it as soon as Joshua left. I also expected a plethora of mechanical issues to come up and so they have. My hope now, is that when deployment comes, it'll be boring.

OKLAHOMA...

...where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...

Well, this state that I love has been living up to it's name as tornado alley (I never understood why Dorthy was from Kansas...they don't get half the tornadoes we do but whatever).

Yesterday was an adventure to be sure. We live precisely in the middle of no where and to live in the middle of no where in the middle of Oklahoma, is truly the middle of no where. That being said, our particular corner of no where just so happens to be a rarity-there has never been a tornado (in recorded memory) to touch down within our town limits. One of our neighbors informed me of this great distinction and went on to say that it's because "we're surrounded by water like a horse shoe." I'm not sure if she was suggesting that the water keeps the tornadoes away or if it's because it's in the shape of a horseshoe...she's kind of special like that and since we've only lived here about a year, I have no idea how true the distinction of no touch downs really is. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me, but mostly because of the size of the town than anything else. It's easy to miss even when you're not a violent rotating column of air.

Yesterday nearly changed all that...even before the meteorologists began their 24 hour coverage and while they were still just trying to update people during the commercials, we saw the signs that all Okies know. The temperature was hot all day and even humid and then it quickly changed, the skies got lower and darker and we knew something was coming.

I should say that I have family in California that think I'm crazy and one (of many) reason(s) is that I LOVE living in tornado alley. I love hearing the sirens go off and running outside to see if I can spot, or even better photograph, a wall cloud form a funnel cloud. I love knowing what "hook echo" and "take your tornado precautions" means. Also, I think they're crazy...earth quakes don't give you dark skies to warn you. You can't feel the pressure change and know it's time to take cover with an earth quake. I have to qualify that although I love the power and the excitement tornado season brings, I hope and pray every year that no one will get hurt...that the touchdowns and damage will be in the middle of a field (preferably not rain-wrapped or at night so we can see it). Yesterday, that's nearly what we got. There were some minor injuries and several buildings were damaged but considering 16 tornadoes hit Oklahoma and 8 touched down in Kansas, it was a good day.

By the time our sirens went off (just for those who don't or haven't lived in an area with tornadoes, when storm systems are suspected of coming in and look to have the same conditions as a severe storm with the ability to produce a tornado, we go into Tornado Watch...when a tornado is suspected of either touching down, about to touch down or conditions are prime for a touch down, we go into Tornado Warning) I knew we'd end up in the storm shelter before the night was through. I had already put our emergency bag together and got the dog's collar on him. The sky was spinning before the sirens went off and when they did, I took a couple pictures with my phone and went into the shelter. Thankfully the tornado closest to us touched down a couple miles north (which in tornado language is pretty far...our meteorologists are the BEST!-they can warn people mile by mile, even block by block to take shelter or be assured it has passed your area and you'll be ok). We came out of the storm shelter to discover we had no power. It took about 4 hours for the power to be restored but I can't complain, I love living in tornado alley.

This (not my picture) was the tornado closest to our home...

right where it should be...it the middle of a field (in the day and not rain-wrapped).

Snow For The Weekend!

Well, it's nearly 9am and my beautiful baby boy is still sleeping (I LOVE that child!). God knew what He was doing when He gave me a kid who also isn't much of a morning person. The hour I get in the morning to read, watch something I DVR'd a week ago or hop online and see what my friends are up to is often my favorite part of the day. Today, it's even more appreciated than most days...yesterday which I previously, erroneously, prematurely labeled as OK didn't end so well but I'll get back to that later.

Just for those who don't live in Oklahoma, we don't get snow (real snow) very often...we do get slush that falls every year and those of us who are not natural-born Okies laugh at some of the locals as they FREAK out. Well, this year's been a bit different. We've had real snow and actually quite a bit of it. The last week has been beautiful...the kind of weather you go outside in jeans and a t-shirt and play "catch me if you can" until the toddler collapses of exhaustion but alas our meteorologists who have all been predicting a blizzard this weekend (in Oklahoma we don't have weathermen, we have meteorologists who all went to the the best meteorology school in the world, the University of Oklahoma-BOOMER SOONER, ok I'm biased, I went there but it really is the best...we have pretty much every weather situation known to land-locked mankind). Of course, alot of people will dismiss our meteorologists predictions but that's most likely because they've never lived somewhere with "weathermen." We have. It was unpleasant. In Oklahoma, when we get a tornado, we're warned mile by mile what's safe and often they break it down to the street level. When my husband was in college and we had to move 750 miles away, the "weathermen" weren't quite so accurate despite the fact that the city we lived in could trump every city in Oklahoma by two fold easily. There was a tornado warning, there was a tornado...unfortunately, the warning and the tornado were about 40 miles apart.

Tangents aside, we knew a blizzard was coming so I loaded the boy up and we headed to Walmart for milk and bread (I normally like to bake my own but sadly, this week hasn't allowed that to happen). There was the typical mayhem before a storm but additionally there were unruly teenagers everywhere waiting for midnight so they could purchase New Moon. I'm a fan of the movie and I admit I went to the midnight showing but I just have to say, if my child EVER behaves like some of those children behaved, his world will end. I'm talking he'll have 3 meals a day, a mattress and maybe a sheet on his bed but not much beyond that. After fighting the crowds and saving my son from being trampled by teenage hooligans who I'm certain were doing some sort of primitive mating ritual, we loaded up the Suburban (yes, I have one child and a suburban...the 90 lb dogs have a little to do with it but mostly I like them). When we got home, I got the boy inside and went back to open the back window...not sure why I didn't just open the hatch but I didn't and when I opened the window...it broke. Not the glass, just the hydraulic arm things that hold it open (btw, "hydraulic arm things" is the most scientifically accurate term). I should mention this has happened once before and my loving husband fixed it in less than 5 minutes...sadly, I'm not so skilled. One side was off and the other side's hydraulic arm thingy wouldn't close so as much as I really just wanted to lay it on the open whole, forget it and go inside, I couldn't. After about 20 minutes of crying and pulling and really not doing much of anything, I think I broke the other side. I'm not really sure but I was able to lay it in the hole and it seems pretty secure...the thing is, in Oklahoma we have really strong winds and as my home and garage were built in 1948, my lovely Suburban must live under our carport. Every couple of hours I would go out and check to make sure the wind hadn't pulled it off and shattered it. I was able to eventually get ahold of two of my husbands friends and it looks like I am going to take it into the shop on Monday which just means that I'm stuck at home for the weekend (probably would have been anyway with the snow...predictions of 6-12 inches is pretty severe for our neck of the woods).

On a positive note, last night was the first night since Joshua left for BCT that our son didn't have a nightmare...I think we may be finally adjusting to our new (temporary) life without him. It's still so strange to have your heart living somewhere else and having NO contact. I'm hopeful he'll get a mailing address soon and maybe even earn some phone privileges. Meanwhile, we have snow to play in!