One year ago.

One year ago, at this time of the morning, I was irritated at our school system because they refused to delay/close school for the day.  A severe thunderstorm was rolling through our area right at the time the school buses were out on the road.  Our local meteorologist, James Spann, was on the air telling everyone to "STAY AT HOME" because the weather was going to be bad that day.  He said "If your school has a problem with it, tell them to come talk to me!"  Both of my children are deathly afraid of bad weather, so we decided to listen to Mr. Spann and keep them home.

I am eternally thankful I did!

When we woke up that April 27th morning, I'm sure nobody had any clue of just how bad things would be.  The weather people can warn you what the numbers and predictions are, but nothing could have prepared the South for what was to come (even though Mr. Spann went above and beyond to warn everyone).  Our state would experience devastation like they've never seen before.  It wasn't just homes that were lost....entire towns were flattened.

Entire families were killed.

When the sun came up on April 28th, the amount of destruction seen was unimaginable.

But, our state pulled together like never before and slowly but surely started the rebuilding process.  The phrase "WE ARE ALABAMA!" became the state's battle cry.  We saw so many things that renewed our faith in the generosity and compassion of mankind.

One year later, there is still a lot to do.  There are still people without homes.  There are still many people grieving the loss of their loved ones.

One year ago, our state changed forever.

April 27, 2011 - Never Forget

I can't believe it happened again.

Early this morning, parts of Alabama (along with Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee) were devastated by tornadoes....again.

I mean, it's not even been nine months since the horrific April 27th tornado outbreak that did millions (billions?) of dollars in damage, injured thousands, and killed hundreds of poor souls.  Many people have barely even started rebuilding their lives....and it happened again.

When I went to bed last night, I never imagined I would be waking up to James Spann's (meteorologist extraordinaire) voice telling viewers to "TAKE COVER!" and hear the words "Dangerous storms"...especially this soon after April 27th, 2011.

But it was happening....again.

 

Fortunately, we were spared...again...and didn't receive any significant damage.  But many, many others, were not so lucky last night. 

My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with all the families who were affected by these horrific storms!

The one good thing that did come out of those April 2th storms was the HUGE outpouring of support that rallied together immediately after they hit.  In most cases, if there was a need, it was met within the hour.  It has been said that when FEMA finally arrived, they were blown away by the amount of assistance (food, shelter, money, donations, clean-up) that had been provided strictly by volunteers.  They had never seen anything like it!  But those of us that live here see this kind of support every single day.

Photo from here

Now that this devastation has happened again, the volunteering is going to continue!  The Christian Service Mission, an organization that has been crucial to Alabama's recovery, has set up this fantastic page to help make donating to the recovery effort very easy for everyone!

They have agreed to donate $25.00 to the Christian Service Mission for every blog post written by someone who was directly or indirectly impacted by the 2011 and/or 2012 tornadoes. You don't even have to live in Alabama!  All you have to do is write the post (go here for instructions), then comment on their page and let them know about your post. Their goal is to donate $1,000 by March 1!

Come on bloggers!  We can do this!  

WE ARE ALABAMA!!!

Oh yeah, Happy Mother's Day, too!

Thank you for your patience over the past two weeks.  The Blogging community has been FANTASTIC, PHENOMENAL, INCREDIBLE, UNBELIEVABLE in it's efforts to raise awareness and funds for our state's plight.  The sheer effect social media as a whole during this time of need has just been beyond amazing.  And the spirit of giving and helping from our fellow man has been beyond anything I've ever seen.  It has been said on the Toomers for Tuscaloosa FB page:

"The volunteers like you have come in the thousands. We assumed that happened in all catastrophes, but FEMA says this is something special like they never see."

Well, you are dang right....that's because WE ARE ALABAMA and will not sit by and watch our neighbors suffer!

Two bloggers that I know personally, have really just blown me away by all they are doing to help the tornado victims:

Rachel @ Grasping for Objectivity has started the Mommies helping Mommies fund that 100% of the money raised will go directly to buying formula, food, and diapers for these families. Rachel has also been very instrumental in using social media to raise awareness during this time of crisis.

Rachel, you ROCK girl!

And then there is Kim from Live from the 205.

Goodness gracious, Kim has been a MAD WOMAN.  She's spends her entire day buying, packaging and delivering much needed supplies to anyone who needs them, all over the state.  She's also trying to help the many animal shelters that have also been affected by the storms.

                         Kim has also started the WATER (We are Alabama Tornado Emergency Relief) fund.

She is using these funds to buy supplies for all of those in need.

I am literally in AWE of Kim and her untiring efforts!

Like I said before, I personally know these two amazing ladies and am 100% sure that any funds donated through them will absolutely go to those who really need it.

And the Christian Service Mission has set up a wish list on Amazon.com. that includes hundreds items that are desperately needed for those families who have lost everything. All you have to do is purchase items from this wish list, and they’ll be shipped directly to the mission, who will immediately deliver them to the dozens of communities that have been devastated by these tornadoes.

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Oh yeah, let's not forget, it's MOTHER'S DAY!

It has been a good weekend, and we've really been blessed by Marty actually being home for a few days.  We've really missed him being around while he's been on storm duty.

The kids outdid themselves on the "cards" they made for me:

And Jameson also made me an incredibly sweet note using all the letters of the alphabet.  I love my kids so much!

And Marty may have overdid it a bit, too:

We spent the day with my mother and Marty's mother and had a really great day!

Jameson working really hard on the finishing touches to his cards he made for both his grandmothers.

My Chelsea-Belle!  She's the one that made me a mommy first! :o)

My precious Mama!

My wonderful mother-in-law!

Me and my precious little man!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, soon-to-be moms, hope to be moms, moms who have lost their children, single dads who also serve as moms, friends and relatives who are raising children whose moms couldn't, foster moms, adoptive moms, and fur-baby moms out there!

I'm still here!

It's been 5 days since deadly tornadoes ripped through my home state of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia.  It's hard to believe that this time last week, we were still blissfully unaware what would happen on that horrible day.  Thankfully, we were unscathed, as were all of my family and the majority of my friends.  How in the world did we get so blessed?

I have definitely been on information overload.  I think I've watched every video, interview, photo stream that's been posted on the Internet.  I've read every Facebook post at least 5 times and every Twitter post, too. My husband, who is a utility worker, has told me some things that I really wished I didn't know, as have friends and family that were indirectly affected by the storms.  But even after all this information, it's still hard to believe that it really happened.

But it did!

It can be difficult to figure out who/what/where to help, so here are some detailed lists of where supplies can be brought and/or sent:

Alabama Possible

A wonderful, detailed list of WHO, HOW, and WHERE you can help.

James Spann's Facebook Page

(Just a side note: I've talked about James Spann several times before on this blog. He is our local Alabama Meteorologist. This man (and his crew) probably saved thousands of lives on Wednesday.  Since the storms, if he's not live on the air, he's on Facebook/Twitter trying to helping those in need, and actually out in the middle of the devastation helping.  He is incredible and Alabama is EXTREMELY lucky to have him!)

Toomers for Tuscaloosa Facebook Page

OK, I am going to say this right now for the entire world to see....Auburn University has shown this state, and the entire country what class and the spirit of helping is all about.  In a matter of days, they have mobilized their entire AU family and have made such a HUGE difference in this recovery effort.  I can't even begin to explain all that they are doing.  PLEASE, if you don't click on any other link, click on the Toomers for Tuscaloosa link and just see them in action.

ROLL TIDE ROLL & WAR EAGLE!

Football season will never be the same again!

My blogging may be off for the next few weeks, as this state slowly begins to rebuild, but I promise, I am here and I will be back!

The calm after the storm

For any of you who don't know, my home state of Alabama was devastated by storms and tornadoes yesterday.  

We are fine, praise to GOD!

But thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, ARE NOT OK!

They have no "Calm" after their storms!

PLEASE pray for all of the families that have been affected by these tragedies!

HERE is a link to thousands of photos.

Go HERE to see video and see how you can help.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!