Tornadoes In February . . .

You have probably seen the news reports about the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma on Tuesday. We only experienced severe thunderstorms here in the Tulsa area. I have lived in Oklahoma my entire life & have seen the devastation of tornadoes, but I've never experienced it in February. Just 2 weeks ago we had a serious ice storm. Oklahoma weather is infamous for it's sudden & drastic changes.


My Uncle Jack, Aunt Lucille, cousin Cheryl @http://cherysapplebasket.blogspot.com/, & Great Aunt Hermina live in Edmond, OK. I wasn't able to make contact with them until late Tuesday night. I was relieved to hear they were safe. The tornado touched down about 2 miles from them. My blogging friend, Stacey, @http://poofingthepillows.blogspot.com/lives in Edmond, she was spared any damage to her home. Another blogging friend, Darlene @ http://darlenesdays-darlene.blogspot.com/, lives in the community of Lone Grove, OK, where 8 people were killed Tuesday night when a tornado touched down. Please pray for this town as they face the days ahead.

We're fortunate & blessed to have a storm shelter in our garage. We had it installed a few years ago. The company is called Ground Zero Shelters, http://www.groundzeroshelter.com/.

The concrete is cut out & a hole is dug with a small backhoe. The door slides open for easy access to the shelter that holds 6 to 8 people.

As you can see, you drive your car over the shelter, which means when you need to take cover you don't have to move the car or open the garage door. We have only used the shelter twice, but we feel it was a good investment in the safety of our family. We lived through a horrible tornado in Mannford, OK in 1984 which destroyed many homes, churches, & schools. We took shelter in our neighbor's cellar that Sunday morning in late April. We were blessed with no damage to our home. Those nearby were not as fortunate.