Saturday, April 30, 2011

{a tea kettle and a Weber grill...}

Most of you have heard by now of the horrible storms that passed through Mississippi, Tennessee and most of Alabama. Even though I have so many posts to catch up on from previous design work and photo sessions, I wanted to share a little bit of what we've been going through... My heart goes out to Sweet Home Alabama. Please be in prayer for the victims of the storms and the countless workers trying to locate everyone and clean up the state.

I listened to the radio the whole way back from Birmingham to Huntsville on the historic morning so that I would be aware if I needed to pull over and take cover. See some of the shots I captured with my smart phone along the journey home.
 This photo is while crossing over the Tennessee River... minutes before the radio man said, "Decatur area, you have 6 minutes until the tornado reaches you, take cover NOW."

Simply. Ominous. I was close to the exit that would bring me out of the direct path of the storm, according to the local radio station. Notice: no one else is really out on the roads with me...







 Almost home... the storms are rolling in.

Trees were down from the previous storms..


















I love this image of the storms rolling in behind this precious country church. I am reminded of James 1:2-4. Talk about testing your faith.... driving in the storm. But this picture shows the whitest most perfect steeple even in the midst of the storm and uprooted trees.... "Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness..." James 1:2-3
 
By God's grace and mercy, I arrived safely home. But to my dismay, my sweet husband was still on his way home from work. Finally, he made it home... We still had power for a few minutes, and I watched the storm roll through on TV. Sometime around 5pm our power went out and we scrambled to find an old radio that had working batteries... After waiting out the storm, we praised God in thankfulness for our lives, our home and our safety.

It was a torrential down pour and the sound of hail beating down on our skylights did not exactly comfort me. However, I did remember something my grandfather (whom I call D'daddy) always quoted a verse from Matthew 10:29-31, "His eye is on the sparrow," as I looked out the window, even as the tornado sirens blared and saw a couple of cardinals resting on the gutter out my window. They, too, had shelter in the storm.

a tea kettle and a Weber grill


With no electricity and grateful for our lives, we said grace over a yummy plate of chicken salad (thanks to a stocked pantry of canned chicken). It was a dark night, but we slept soundly in our home, unharmed by the storm.  The next day, my sweet mother reminded us of the "cowboy way" to make coffee.... after we had suffered through the morning without any coffee, or caffeine for that matter. So our remedy was what I like to call, the "cowgirl way"... on the side burner of our Weber grill with our faithful tea kettle. Thank goodness for my husband keeping us stocked with 2 tanks of propane!
Making decaf coffee by candlelight.
I absolutely love how creative we can be when we use all the resources we have! My husband found his LED headlamp and we made decaf coffee by candlelight the night after the storms. We even played UNO by candlelight after dinner with our decaf coffee. What a sweet memory! He won both games, of course.

So with our faithful tea kettle and a Weber grill, we survived 24 hours without power....
Please continue to pray for Alabama!!! Stay updated with the Tennessee Valley here.

XOXO,
Sarah