...April 27, 2014. Around 7:??pm, I was in my bathroom with Sadie getting her ready for bed. Jonathan, thankfully, was watching TV on a channel that interrupted his show for a weather alert. A tornado was coming, and they basically gave our street address. Jonathan calming came into the bathroom, and said we should probably go ahead and get in the closets. He grabbed the cushions off of the back porch furniture (so they wouldn't blow away), and we had the tv on in the bedroom to hear the news. Within a matter of minutes, the lights went out, we covered ourselves with the cushions from the back porch, and i have never felt so unsure of what was about to happen before. The darkness and the silence I will remember most. It was so silent, it was so eerie and unsettling, but it didn't last long. I heard a crashing sound and some wind, so I knew something was happening, but would never have guessed just how bad it was. Jonathan describes it as very loud, like a plane taking off. I think I blocked most of it out. I was talking and calming Sadie, and praying with cushions on my head, so it wasn't all that loud to me. It went by quickly. We waited a few more minutes, until we felt like it was safe to come out. Jonathan went outside first and discovered that our fence was down. I thought, "oh wow, it was bad." I had no clue. I was in shock at what I began to see as I looked down the street, and on the street behind us. It literally looked like bomb went off. How is it that we only lost a fence, and some siding, and other homes were wiped completely away??? It made no sense. God not only chose to save us, but our home too!! I felt so grateful and guilty all at the same time.
Knowing we were ok, Jonathan went to some neighbors homes and helped pulled people out of their destroyed homes. Then, he decided to go check on his office (only 5 mins down the road). By the grace of God once again, his office was spared. It had some roof damage, trees down, and windows blown out..but it was still standing, unlike most everything around him. Unfortunely, the area was so bad, and they stopped traffic both ways so he got stuck and couldn't get back to us. Sadie and I both were very uneasy at this point, and phone service was awful, so Jonathan was almost impossible to get a hold of. I had no idea where he was or when he was coming back. Sadie and I were sitting in a dark room with flashlights and candles, praying he would show up any minute. By around 10:00pm or so, the national guard came around yelling and banging on doors. we were being evacuated from our home because of busted gas lines. I almost completely melted down at this point. They were telling me to leave, I couldn't get ahold of Jonathan and had no clue where to go. I grabbed a few essentials for Sadie, and nothing for myself or Jonathan and continued to call him over and over. As we were leaving the neighborhood; he finally answered his phone. At this point, he was literally running back to the house from his office, which is around 5 miles away. At some point someone gave him a ride to the entrance of our neighborhood, which was perfect timing, as we were about to pull out of it. As we left, they took our names and addresses, trying to account for everyone.
We then drove into Maumelle, and got a hotel for the night. None of us (including Sadie) fell asleep until around 4am. The next night we stayed with my in-laws in Greenbrier, the next 2 nights we stayed with our wonderful pastor and his family in their guest house, and the next 3 or 4 nights we were back in the hotel. Then our electricity and water were turned back on (under a boil order), so we were able to go home. The week was exhausting emotionally and physically. None of us slept good, Sadie was way off her routine and her behavior shoed it. Jonathan began running a 103 degree fever, as well as coughing and sinus issues. Oh and did I mention I was 32 weeks pregnant!?
I cried everyday for at least a week, as I came in and out of our neighborhood. Sadly, one lady in our neighborhood died, but so thankful it wasn't more. It could have easily been us or our home. So very thankful for Gods protection, and having our home to bring our baby home too. It would take to long to write it all out, or even try to describe all the details, and emotions that came along with it all. I never liked thunderstorms before, but they have a whole new effect now. Sadie is terrified of a cloudy day, rain, darkness. It is still hard to get her to sleep in her room sometimes.
It is a night I will never forget, and hope I never relive. Our church was amazing through it all! Their prayers and support were wonderful, and the amount of money and gift cards given to us was unreal. The cash alone covered the cost for damages, that our insurance did not (because of our deductible). God has been so good to us!!!
These pictures are in order from the start of the neighborhood, leading up to our house, and then move to the street behind us.
This home is the last house on our street. 
The back of our home. 
Minimal damage on the front. 
On our back porch. 
So glad you guys were okay!
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