Through the storms

I've been slacking on catching up with our trip because the evenings are the quiet time in our house to sit down and type it out.  This week, we've been spending our evenings watching the weather and getting in our 'safe place.'  Monday was bad.  A funnel cloud was forming over us and touched down a few miles from our house.  It did major damage to the local Air Force Base and a high school.  Another tornado had a very long track and hit a few communities.  Friends of ours had damage to their houses, but luckily no one we know had major destruction or loss of life.  However, several died in this storm and so many people lost everything.

Our 'safe place' is in the little cubby of a hallway we have.  I got blankets, Cooper collected a large stack of books in the bathroom, we got the flashlight, a candle and lighter, and our cell phones.  I got the baby, a blanket and a bottle.  Justin got Cooper's mattress to lean over us as we huddled in the hall.  The satellite went out and we then relied on our phones.  I hate the sounds of the sirens and the hail and the winds.  For some reason, Cooper thought this was fun!

Tuesday was predicted to be worse than Monday so we were gearing up for something terrible.  It ended up not being as bad, thank God.

We watched the weather most of the evening and Cooper was upset he couldn't watch any cartoons for two nights in a row...I say, waaah!  :)  He decided to make his own 'hiding spot' and got his Handy Manny tent, a blanket, some books, and played with the flashlight.  We then let him go to our bedroom to watch TV when Silas went to bed.

As the storms died down in Arkansas overnight, they revved back up as they crossed Mississippi on Wednesday.  As we got home Wednesday night we started seeing the footage of HUGE tornadoes hitting Alabama.  I can't even imagine.  Hundreds of lives lost and entire communities depleted.

Last night we were gathering things to give to a family nearby who lost their home to the tornado.  I asked Cooper to look for some toys that the middle boy might like.  At first, he cried and didn't want to let go of his toys.  We talked for awhile and I was so happy to see God work in this sweet boy.  He decided to give away a few cars, we went to his play area and found a baseball, then on to his closet where he found art supplies and tried to give away a few of his games (I figured this family didn't have room to house many toys right now!).  Then he picked out a small stack of books to donate.  By the end of the process he was so proud of himself I was too!  We took several bags of stuff to a friend who will organize it and send it on and Cooper told her, "There's a little boy and he doesn't have any toys because the storm came and bwowed aaaall his toys away.  So I gave him some of mine!"  Brought tears to this mama's eyes.

I'm thankful to have a God who softens hearts and works in us to do for others.  Through the tragedy of these storms, my sweet Cooper was given the opportunity to give.

Firefighter sunglasses from his kids meal the other day.

Chef's hat made from a fruit snack box.  Silly.