10:22 and 24 seconds

I have no new pictures for you, I havent figured out my husbands laptop. Our desktop is dead consequently.
As shown by the previous pictures, we moved to Ks just in time to endure a tornado! We bought a home in Chapman Ks and spent some time at a friends house, and a few days at a hotel waiting to close. We closed on our new (beautiful) home on Tuesday June 10Th, at 10 am. Our things were moved in that same day, and we spent Tuesday and Wednesday unpacking. My loving husband stayed up all night Tuesday night unpacking for me as he knows it makes me feel more at home.
Wednesday night were were sitting on the porch shortly after 10 pm enjoying a far away heat lightening show, not a lot of wind, no rain. Perfect night... our children were in bed. A firetruck went down the road with the sirens on which brought the children downstairs screaming as they thought it was a tornado siren. I tucked them back in promising if there ever was one, we would go to our basement. Within 5 min, they were sound asleep. And a couple of min later, sounded the first tornado siren. We stayed on the porch, surely this is a drill. Police and firemen are now going up and down the streets, sirens blaring. Frank goes to the van to listen to the radio, I begin moving children down 2 flights of stairs. They don't want to wake up. Another siren sounds, still police and firemen and their sirens. I go back for blankets. Frank comes in and says a tornado has been sighted in the area, coming our way. I go back up for pillows. He goes for water, he comes down and moves their blankets and pillows to the far wall. Why didn't I think of this? Because of course this is a drill. We sit on small toy chairs, the children are laying down. The electricity goes out, Frank gets up and lays down between the children. I get up and he says, "Where are you going mommy?" He doesn't call me mommy. He sounds comforting, and knowledgeable. I realize its really coming. That's why our electricity is gone, it took it coming towards us. The lines are down. He doesn't want me to go back upstairs, he wont let me. I wasn't anyways, I lay behind Nathalie. We are in a row. I cover her ears. All of this is happening in seconds, I know this later. But it feels slow. There is a noise, like playing chicken with the train. Loud and hurting, and you cannot move away from it. Even if you tried. Then there is a very big sound, Frank says that was a window. It wasn't, it was our chimney crashing into the house as its torn off. In a comforting voice, he sounds calm. Then he gets up, its over with and my mouth and eyes are full of something and Nathalie is coughing and choking, it hurt my ears. My head aches. Frank goes upstairs, "My F---ing Garage is gone!" Oh hell. We bought this for the garage... "Its on my Camaro!" He still sounds funny, is he serious? "Hey baby girl, I am going to need you to come up here." I say no. And the children cry. He says them to. And he comes to get one of them, I carry another. The 2 of them and myself are in a nightgown, well them in Franks shirts. No shoes on them. Me in flip flops. I carry their pillows, I don't know why but I cant get past things with them. Frank says put them down.
My house is a mess, glass and stuff everywhere. Things are broken, and gone. I can see out the back door, the garage is indeed in pieces where the camaro was previously parked. There is a man on my broken porch, with no shirt on. He has a large black dog. I cant see anything but him, he has come to make sure we survived. Are we okay? He knows we just moved in. My house is okay, come on, come on. I will take you there. We walk across the street. I turn to look back, my house is broken. But partly there. My roof, my whole top floor is gone. The kitchen nook, Nathalie's bed porch. Oh we almost didn't go down! We thought it was a drill. Now I want my mother. And then I am crying and frank is calling her. Then another one is coming, I wait in the neighbors basement and then it goes around, or goes away. I don't know which. I am not sure of the rest of the night, its sort of surreal. We stayed in their home, the children asleep on the couches. I fear Nathalie will wet their couch. Frank goes back for things, important papers, clothes, the laptop is full of water. The clothes are dirty but glass free, they were in the basement. Some are clean but wet. We wear them anyways.
The next morning at 4:30 I wake up curled next to frank on the couch, very cramped. But very alive. And grateful. Thankful to God, and to my husband. I go out to walk around town. The red cross is here, and the salvation army. And I watch from the porch as 9 humvees roll by, with soldiers in them. How I love to see soldiers! They are safe and strong. I walk around town, and its broken. Many houses are pick up sticks. People are already in their yards, looking for things. Looking under things. Sitting with their dogs. People speak softly and sometimes touch each other, reach out and touch another persons arm or hand, goodmorning. I am glad you are okay, were you in the basement? Are you okay? Do you need anything? Your house is destroyed... And you ask do I need? What amazing people!
By 7 am their are chain saws, more people here to help. All night the police and firemen and rescue workers from our town and surrounding Ks towns were going house to house, checking each house in the town. Marking them for occupants, checking over and over to be sure no one is trapped. Those who were trapped were dug out. I don't know much about this, I know that everyone was okay. Except for one mama, 21 yr old mama. She died trying to go for shelter. One volunteer was critically injured. His name was Leon Lerouche and her name was Crystal.
The police are still working, all of the rescue workers haven't stopped all night. People are asking if I am okay a lot, I wonder at their worry for others.
I am okay, losing things is nothing. Being alive, saving my children's lovies. Finding some of their toys, finding hand made blankets and a few pieces of their baby clothes. My family and friends from everywhere are calling. Everyone wants to know what they can do. My mom is coming to get the kids and the cats. Even my Evil kitty cats are okay. Mama was downstairs with us, and little weathered it somewhere. I guess in the main floor, because I don't think she would have made it in the children's room where she sleeps.
I am grateful to the people in town, to my family and friends. To God, for watching us. To my husband for being the strongest man I know and to my children for their bravery and acceptance. At 10:22 and 24 seconds, we lived. for that I am grateful.