Where to Begin....

I feel like I need to talk about the last week, but I'm not sure where to start. Claire has had quite and entry into her new life! My heart is so full of thankfulness for God's faithfulness and the Community He's given us with other people who love Jesus.

Last Wednesday morning we heard that we'd be having thunderstorms all day. Being from Florida I never take the weather alerts here very seriously since we had afternoon thunderstorms there everyday in the summer time. However when the wind really started to pick up around 9 AM I decided to take the kids (thankfully my sister was with me too) down into the basement and just wait it out for a few minutes. While we were down there the power went out - little did we know we'd be without power for a whole week. Roger was scared so I decided it'd be a great time to instill some theological truths - we talked about the wind and the waves knowing Jesus' voice and how He was the one in charge. When we prayed a minute later, he prayed that Jesus would stop our storm with His voice. The wind died down and we went upstairs. We were sad to see one of our bird houses had fallen down along with half of one of our pear trees. Our neighbor came by with a chainsaw, cut up the limbs, and laid them in the yard for us. No big deal.

We kept hearing more storms were coming - the next one around 3PM. We went out and got candles and flashlights to prepare. 3:00 came and went - thankfully Gerald was allowed to come home early. Around 5:50 I decided to check the weather on my phone - it said a tornado had just come through Trenton at 5:45 heading NE @ 45 mph - right into our path. We figured we should probably head down to the basement at least until 6 just in case. We took our time getting down there, gathering a few things for the kids along with a couple candles and flashlights. About a minute after we got down there, the wind really started to pick up and it sounded like there was constant thundering for about a minute. Gerald ran up the stairs once the wind died down and yelled that our front two trees were down. Then he yelled down that all our trees in the back were gone too. We all ran upstairs and cried for joy at the sight of five of our 80-100 foot pine trees fallen in our yard with no damage to our house or any around us. It's hard to describe how we felt - so thankful and so surprised at the huge strong trees being snapped like toothpicks - all at around 10 feet up.

I quickly called our good friends, the Ibachs, who live about six houses down from us. Willa told me no one was home which was very good news. I stood out on our front steps and saw there were several houses down at their end of the street that didn't have any shingles and were cleared down to the decking. I counted the houses and told her it was her house. Immediately she was like, "That's ok, we wanted a new roof anyway." Gerald and Laura quickly threw on their shoes and ran down to check on their house. Gerald was on the phone with her husband, Stephen. When they arrived Gerald was yelling that their house was gone - Willa thought he was kidding. She told me, "Gerald's trying to freak Stephen out saying the house is gone." But when she heard him yell to other neighbors there, "There's no one home at the Ibachs check the other houses for survivors," she knew it was too real. It was amazing to see how the neighborhood pulled together - banging on doors, busting through locked doors to find people. Amazingly, everyone was fine.

Willa gave a testimony in church on Sunday to God's goodness and faithfulness to His people and their family. She said she doesn't think of herself as a victim, but a recipient of God's good gifts. She talked about how if her house had not been completely destroyed, she would not have the same platform to stand on with her neighbors to talk about His goodness. They have been an incredible witness to us as well - they have said on numerous occasions, "We're so glad it wasn't you guys, you didn't need that with a new baby." Their daughter, Syndey, who is such a precious gift to our family has been staying with us for the past week and it has been wonderful to journey with her and their family through this nightmare/gift.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. I especially covet your prayers as I am still on a newborn schedule of sleep and am now riding solo with my parents and sister gone to Florida. God has been really sweet to me and I have experienced a calm that I usually find I interrupt by my own anxieties. I am not naturally a "go with the flow" person, but this past week I have been able to take everything not just by the day but by the hour. I know it's because people have been praying.

I was trying to link some pictures Willa took the night after the storm, but I can't figure out facebook. If you're on facebook you can try and look the up on willa williamson ibach. Here's a video that was taken on Tuesday - seems almost silly to share now because the neighborhood looks a million times better than it did those first few days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWptV5SfaXI But at least it gives a little feel for how Eagle Landing looks now. Keep praying for us - and especially that we will have a chance to connect with our neighbors and share God's goodness with them as we journey along through this with them.