Oklahoma Ice Storm

Well, it all started on a Sunday morning. I was awakened by freezing rain hitting our roof. I wondered how bad it was and if there would be church. We got out of bed and pushed on to get ready for church. I got on the computer to check to see if there was an email stating cancellation. There was nothing. As I was searching, the first power outage happened. Zapping power to our computer and all other household electronics. Yikes! I decided to call the pastor. Pastor said we could skipped Sunday School...otherwise, we are on. The trek to church wasn't too bad. Electricity came back on before we left the house. There was power at church. Praise the Lord. We were about in the middle of the service when the power there vanished. The kids in our kids church were pretty scared and we could kiss the PowerPoints goodbye! Thanks God we were done with worship! Church soon ended after 3 different power outages and surges. We wondered how bad it really was outside. We went home and thank God we still had power. The night time would bring a whole new set of problems.

Hang in there I will get to pictures soon.

Tracy noticed out our bedroom window something flickering. Soon to find out, our neighbor's tree was on the power line and on fire! Ahhhh! I called 911. That was a first. The fire trucks came and they told us that it had been happening all day. The fire would burn through the limb and the limb would fall. Oh, so comforting. By this time though, everything had a good coat of ice on it. We hoped it would help not spread the fire. Little did I know that was not the worst of our worries.

After praying and spending time with God I tried to crawl into bed around 11pm. That is when it started. One after another, limbs cracking with a snap! And the fall...Shhhhhhh! And the boom hitting the earth! It was constant. And soon the power went out. No lights, no more heat, no more hum of electronics in a whole neighborhood. The only sound that we heard were the incessant crashing limbs. I couldn't sleep. I called my friend at 2 am knowing they were up too. We all sat in our houses like being trapped in a war zone. There was no way out. All this disaster happening all around us and not even being able to escape. I never really drifted to sleep for long. The constant snapping and crashing kept me awake and wondering what limb hit what. Not to mention the constant prayer for our safety. Morning brought this...

There were so many trees down we couldn't get out of our neighborhood. Getting out of bed to chainsaws was something I have never done before. All our neighbors were out and checking their damage. And trying to get rid of the limbs in the street. It was surreal. Our power had been out for only 8 hours and we couldn't feel our toes anymore. It was time to move. To the Shipley's we go! They had no power but a fireplace. Warmth is what we were seeking.

We encountered so many trees on the short trip. As soon as our attention was diverted to a major tree down we turned our heads back to the road and one was right in front of us. Ahhhh! And we really didn't want to drive under any trees. You never know when one would break. Once there, the boys left to find ice and other things for us to survive. We took some food with us for the night so we could have a nice dinner. Thank God for gas stoves. On the flip side of that, I never knew how hard it was to cook in the dark. Hmmm. I hoped the hamburger was done! After a late dinner, we all gathered in the living room to get warm and ready for bed. Darin pulled out his guitar to play a little before the girls drifted off to sleep. It was a time to worship and we all tried to drift off to sleep. So calming to sing in the fire light. It was a moment that would keep me going for the next week.That night Jolie woke up sicker that I have ever seen her. I again didn't get any sleep. I called a nurse to talk to her because the Dr's line was out too. By morning, we decided to go check out our power situation and take Jolie to the ER. We had no power at home so, the 12 hour ER wait was actually welcomed. We powered up our phones, and enjoyed TV and heat.

An answer to prayer...our pediatrician showed up to help out because she had no power at her office! After 3 1/2 hours we were seen and Jolie was being treated with IVs for a serious infection. They sent us home much to our dismay. She had an IV still in her hand so she could come back the next day. Where would we go? I forgot to mention that the hospital we were at was the only hospital open to new patients in the entire Tulsa area. Can you say crazy!

We managed, by the help of Marie, to find a place that had at least heat. The Alvarez's were gracious to open their home up to us. They had a wall furnace that kept them warm, but no electricity either. So, a family of 5 and a family of 4 hung out cozy and snug in a 900 square foot home.

For the next 5 1/2 days we did the same thing. Got up and packed. Went to the house to check on power. Dropped dirty clothes and soon had to start wearing dirty clothes. I didn't mention before, that Monday, the day this all started, was laundry day. Then off to the Dr's and some days the hospital. Eating out at every fast food place there was open. Yuck! Then back the the Alvarez's.

After cooking all our meat one night for dinner, due to the fact it made it to 40 degrees one day and all our food thawed, their electricity came on! I even had to fry a roast because their oven was electric light. It was welcomed though and we even got to see how red the roast still was after frying it for 45 minutes!

After church the next Sunday, we went to eat at the Bell's for lunch. They wanted us to be back home so they offered us their generator. We said yes and loaded it up to head again back home. To our surprise 7 days later we had power! Praise God he gave us power! Our ordeal was soon to be over.

After no power for 7 days, sickness, losing all our food, ice damage, trees everywhere, extreme cold, being homeless and running ourselves ragged looking for the basics to survive. We did! We made it only by the grace of God! But, I can never look at this picture and think it is beautiful. (Like my mom can.) This to me is devastation. This is a community that will never look the same.

I will never forget what it was like riding over the river toward town and not seeing any lights! No signs of life in town or out. No hum of electricity, no one busy with life. Only people hiding out, weathering the storm, and seeking the basics to survive.

One week later I was watching TV when a commercial for Tide came on. It was Tide people helping do laundry for victims of the fires in California and hurricane Katrina. I burst into tears! (God bless the Tide people! Lord knows how good it feels to put on fresh clothes!) That's how I knew. I knew we were survivors!