We may have temperatures that reach the high 60's in the middle of February here in the Volunteer State...and we may enjoy them by riding our bikes and playing a little tag football....but when that glorious mid 60's weather gets hit by a cold front, well...that's a recipe for some don't even think about getting any sleep cause you are gonna be up all night watching to see if your house is about to be blown to smitherines nasty weather here in the new extension of tornado alley Tennessee. And although helping our 6 year old push his bike after 5 minutes riding our bikes on bike trails....and sliding down slides at the playground....and playing a little tag football is where you will find us when the weather is in the glorious mid 60's in February in Tennessee.....
THIS my friends is where you will find us, when the weather is gloriously in the 70's by 10am and there is a cold front pushing through from the west, in Tennessee! Camping out in our Tornado Shelter! Ahhh, the bliss of being held up in a 4x6 room with my 3 children...2 of which had just been diagnosed with strep a day prior (hence the pj's and nappy hair) and our 3 dogs (because my children scream bloody murder if we don't bring them in too)...two of which being freakishly large poodles...and the third our diabetic, deaf, with slight dementia mini-schnauzer...awesome. And it just kept getting better as we locked ourselves in and I discover that my youngest son has brought along a bag of Funyons incase he gets hungry while a tornado is barreling over us! It's sort of a drill we go through....watches and warnings go off from the National Weather Service, and we head for the shelter and pray for God's protection over our house and our city as a whole. We have been hit with 2 deadly tornadoes just within the past 5 years here....all within one county....so this is something we do not take lightly, yet at the same time, we choose to trust in the One whose hands calm the seas....and even orchestrates the storms. We sit in darkness, listen to our NOAA weather radio and read scripture....it's amazing how much peace can be found in the midst of a storm....literally speaking and spiritually as well. 
Don't let the lighting fool you...it's just my flash...
If you look closely you can see that the Funyons made it about .5 seconds...did I mention I eat when I'm nervous???....it was not full don't worry! And of course no storm shelter is complete without my Bible, my phone, and my Diet Dr. Pepper...the Rubbermaid totes? Those are full of all of our paper photos (pre-digital) and the kids baby books and art over the years. I figure it's the safest place for it all even in the event of a fire. Although, as you can see, it doesn't leave much room for us all....not sure where Adam would have fit that day! And yes, I did say it was 70 degrees out...and yes, that is a jacket you see...I am think blood thinners ridiculously cold natured I tell ya!
As I look at this picture I am so joyed to see the laughter on Aidans face...the winds were SO strong and LOUD outside...but look at that face....no fear. Thank you Lord for your peace that day!
It's actually very dark inside if not for our little flashlight.
There were no tornadoes in our town that day....although a couple popped up South of us. But we did lose a HUGE 20 year old tree to the Straightline winds we had....that exceeded up to 70 mph in some areas. I was gonna snap a photo of it since it was pretty massive and spoke volumes to the power of the winds..and literally took up half of our yard...thankfully AWAY from our house... but my very strange & particular little man neighbor had already started sawing it up by the time I could get out of our little 4X6 filled with dog breath strep breath and funyon breath tornado proof box.
"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"
If you look closely you can see that the Funyons made it about .5 seconds...did I mention I eat when I'm nervous???....it was not full don't worry! And of course no storm shelter is complete without my Bible, my phone, and my Diet Dr. Pepper...the Rubbermaid totes? Those are full of all of our paper photos (pre-digital) and the kids baby books and art over the years. I figure it's the safest place for it all even in the event of a fire. Although, as you can see, it doesn't leave much room for us all....not sure where Adam would have fit that day! And yes, I did say it was 70 degrees out...and yes, that is a jacket you see...I am 
