Oh, the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL...Part I

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll notice that I've not posted in a several days. This is because we've had a terrible ice storm hit our part of the country and it has wreaked tremendous havoc. I will post more details later, but thanks to those who called, emailed, texted or whatever form of communication you used to contact me.

We are doing fine, no, we are doing great. There are a lot of people staying bundled in layers to keep warm because that's all they can do. I'm so grateful to say that we are back in our house powered by a generator, but we are not expected to get full power back for another 3-4 weeks.





Sounds crazy, but we are functioning. You know things are slowly working its way back to normal when Wal-Mart finally re-opened and the place is jam-packed!! But it is a slow process and it will take time before we see any normalcy in the midst of the chaos. UPDATE(2.1.09 12:30 a.m.): Some places in town are getting power back as I type, so maybe it won't be as long as they are quoting.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who do not have any means of keeping warm in their own homes. I know of families who are staying in various "warming" centers at local churches and I've even heard of families with small children who are keeping warm in coats and blankets, and that just breaks my heart to know that there are children who are literally freezing in their homes. Please keep all of these people and children in your prayers and hopefully power will soon be restored.

Keep up with my blog for more upcoming details. For now, I am posting a few images I captured on the first day of this magnificent storm, with more to come at a later time.
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Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009
The two images below were taken at 7 a.m. on Tues. morning. After enduring the power loss beginning at 3 a.m. and listening to the crackling of trees and their limbs, I didn't know what to expect when I went outside. At 4 a.m. I heard a loud crack and loud pop right outside my window. Of course, all the kids were in bed with me. I got up to look out the window, but all I could see were limbs--my favorite tree had lost a significant portion and the top off toppled limbs just barely grazed our windows. My husband left for work at 4:30 since we all knew of the impending ice warnings, he thought he'd get a jump start on the day(he's in law enforcement). Although I was awed by the visions of Tuesday morning, little could prepare me, or anyone else for that matter, for what we would see come Wednesday...





The east view of our house on Tuesday morning



A beautiful, up-close image of the ice-covered limbs



What was left of my dogwood tree on Tues. morning



Downed power lines in our back yard and my neighbor's back yard






Our driveway on Tuesday morning



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The following images are from my near-miss catastrophe when one of the trees started falling at my mother-in-law's house in Caruthersville, where we went to stay since she still had power and a gas heater. I took our dog out for a potty break when part of a tree began falling in a spot where I had just been standing with our dog. As I turned, I heard the crackling and saw the ice falling and I started running with our dog.

Then, as I thought briefly about how that could've been a different stroy, I ran up to the back porch and watched in horror as another huge part of the tree fell. I was screaming because I just knew it was about to fall on my truck. And as if God wasn't already beside me, the tree missed my truck by literally, inches, where I had left my camera. And yes, my kids remained inside at all times due to the volatile and unexpected nature of this storm.


This is the "small" branch that fell just seconds after I moved from this spot. Let me tell you, my heart was racing!



If you look close, you can see several "snapped" power lines.















Stay tuned for more of my photo journal of Ice Storm '09, starting with the unbelievable photos from Wednesday! It was truly amazing and beautiful, but incredibly terrifying and sad to think that such beauty could destroy so much. I will leave you with a preview of a few of Wednesday's images.

God Bless. And hug your children tight.


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This is the east side of my house on Wednesday. Notice that the dogwood tree is no longer standing, except for about the 4 foot section sticking up from the ground. And look at the rest of the trees in our yard.








This is the road leading up to our driveway, about two blocks. Quite the image, I literally had to pick my jaw up off of my lap as we drove on Corrinne.