Our Story

Last Wednesday (8/19/09) Nate called me on his way to work and told me to turn on the TV. He has just heard a tornado watch was in effect for our town. Nate and I talked about how upset we would be in if the wind from the storm uprooted our garden, while I walked through the house and closed all the blinds. I told Nate I loved him and said good bye. I had just put Aliya down for her nap in her bed, Dylan was sleeping on the chair in the living room and Trent was watching cartoons on the couch. I grabbed a blanket for Trent and I to snuggle under and changed the channel to the weather. I watched for less then a minute and determined that because the tornado watch was now a warning, we needed to go to the basement. I told Trent to get his shoes on. I lied a blanket on the floor of our basement and lied another blanket, flashlights and my cell phone next to it. I told Trent not to move from the blanket while I went to get Aliya. I woke Aliya from her nap, grabbing her pillow and running her down the stairs to the blanket. I then ran back up the stairs, woke Dylan up and carried him to the basement. We sat down for a moment. The sky out our little basement window turned black and the wind started to beat against the house. The lights flickered and then went out completely. I held my children as close as four people could possibly get and told them that everything would be okay. I threw a blanket on top of them and I arched myself over them. They didn't cry, they just sat there waiting. The sirens went off and we began hearing glass breaking. The noise was so loud it is indescribable. The house shook and we prayed and cried. The basement door was sucked open and glass began pouring into the basement. The sliding glass door banged as if someone was using all their might to try and get in and we could hear the sound of wood breaking and things falling upstairs. The wood began to creek and crack so loud. At that moment, I thought the house was going to fall in on us and that I may never see my wonderful husband again. I held my babies kissing them and told them over and over that I loved them. Then the noise stopped. The wind stopped. The sirens stopped. I stayed with the children for a long time, until I thought everyone was calm enough that I could walked up the stairs and check the damage. What I saw looked like a scene in a movie. Glass and things were all over the inside of our house, but when I opened the door and looked outside the shock really set in. It was quiet, with a haze everywhere. Homes, trees, cars, everything was in places where they didn't belong, upside down and broken. Neighbors were walking checking on each other. I felt lost. I was aware of where I was but everything had changed so much in a short time that it was almost unrecognizable. My neighbor came over and helped me carry the children up from the basement so we could them into a safe place. Every minute since then has passed in a blur, some have been good and some bad. Everything we lost can be replaced in a matter of time. They are all things. I am incredibly thankful that my family and all of our neighbors made it out safely. We are okay. Everything of our life has changed since that moment, except for the five of us. We are still here. We are moving forward inch by inch and clinging to each other and not taking one single breath for granted.

Our Home

This is a picture of the storm that hit our house it was a EF3, 140 mph and 200 yards wide.

This two story home is directly behind our house. As you can see, it was turned upside down and is now sitting on its roof.

These shingles were tossed by the tornado with such force that they broke through our ground.

Eight hundred people live in Loami and almost everyone of them has volunteered and helped us out in some way over the last week. We love our town!!