The Haas' take cover

One of the fascinating things about living in central Oklahoma is the weather, especially this time of year.  In the 5 years we have lived here, we have had to run for cover on several occasions.  Thankfully, we have yet to suffer any major damage from any of the crazy weather that has come our way.  Yesterday proved to be one of our closer calls.  I was in the middle of making dinner when the tornado sirens started going off.  Scott had just gotten home and was about to get in the shower to prepare for a meeting later on in the evening.  Liberty was sitting at the table eating and Emory was in her highchair eating.  Around here we have learned not to hesitate when the alarms go off.  I turned off the stove, grabbed both girls and headed to the basement (we have to go outside to get to the basement).  Scott grabbed his clothes and headed down after us in his underwear =) (I'm sure he will appreciate me sharing that bit of information).

Thankfully I had gotten the basement ready with our supplies last week.  I didn't, however, consider that our basement would be full of water.  Apparently when it rains all the water drains into our basement.  The floor does have a drain in it, which keeps the water to a minimum, but it was still quite unpleasant to stand in water.

Once we all got down there, we realized that we had forgotten several things.  This was our first run, so I was impressed we didn't forget more.  We had no alternate light source if the power went out.  Scott's phone was almost dead and he didn't grab chargers, no radio (we have radio on our phones so this wasn't critical), and Emory didn't have her binky.  Not to mention that Liberty wasn't even wearing shoes.  After listening to the news for a minute, Scott felt is was safe enough to run back into the house for these forgotten items.  It worked out fine because the storm didn't hit us for several more minutes.  Next time we will be more organized.

Liberty had grabbed her food on the way out of the house and immediately sat on her mat and continued to eat her chicken.  She, of course, was terrified but was being so brave (she had already spent a great deal of the afternoon in prayer for her safety.  God definitely granted her peace when she really needed it).  After she finished eating, she curled up in her sleeping bag on the floor.  It wasn't long before she just fell asleep.  It is her defense mechanism.  If she is too scared or overwhelmed, she just crashes.

Emory was extremely bored and fussy.  Turns out when I stocked the basement that I didn't prepare to entertain the baby for an extended period of time.  She refused to go to sleep like her sister.

We ended up staying down there for about an hour.  The tornado alarms were blaring the entire time.  Scott and I had our phones so we could listen to the radio.  One of the storm chasers had set up at the hospital in Guthrie which is literally right down the road from us.  It was nice to have someone that close to keep us up to date.  There was a lot of rotation, but nothing on the ground.  We got some pea sized hail and a lot of rain, but that was the worst of it.  I guess today, I will spend time resetting the basement in preparation for the next storm.  New supplies needed:  toys for Emory, extra pacifier, travel cot, and towels.