Shelter from the storm

A week ago I was awakened in the early morning (about 3:30 am) to the worst storm I've ever been in. The wind was so loud and the light was flashing all different colors. I tried to turn the TV on to see if there was a tornado warning. Unfortunately the TV didn't turn on because the power was out. The power was out for three full days (almost to the exact moment). No TV, or microwave, or fridge, or AC. After the sun went down everything was done by candle light. Despite the inconvenience and the loss of a lot of food, I appreciate the perspective that the experience provided. I feel truly blessed that our house was completely unharmed. The morning after I was brought to tears of gratitude as I drove around out neighborhood to find huge trees completely uprooted, fallen branches everywhere and the baseball field dugouts and fences torn up and crumpled. Despite the storm going past our house nothing happened on our property. We have a whole forest of trees and not one branch fell. The garbage can, a large piece of cardboard, a bucket with paper hanging out of it, our grill cover, were all left outside but were still right where I had left them. We were truly watched over and protected and I am grateful.

The pictures are the yards of a few houses in the neighborhood. The bottom picture is of the roots of a tree that took our the fence and leaned on the house.