Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We hope that everyone has had time to reflect on the things/people they are thankful for and hopefully do a good deed onto others.  This month I'm going to do something a little different.  The reason why is to reflect on the things/people that are most important to us and how thankful we are for those around us.  Recently Jeff decided to take another storm chasing trip to Illinois mid November.  I thought he was crazy and told him to be safe.  Next thing I new, he was loading the car, the new car, and heading off on his journey; alone.  It never really hit me about my feelings about the storm chasing until the next day when Jayden and I were home alone and tending to the house.  What if something happens to him?  What would I do and how could I manage on my own?  The answer wasn't there right away, but then my mind cleared and it was obvious.  My family and friends and my trust in God would pull me through if anything happened to my love.

We are thankful for everyday even though we don't get the chance sometimes to voice it.  Our family means the world to us and if we ever needed anything, we could depend on their help.  Friends for so many memories and so many "talks" in time of need.  My faith in God, knowing the protection I receive and the trust in knowing I'm never alone.  Our home to keep us warm and safe.  Our jobs to support our family, our many adventures to make so many memories, the food on our table...I could go on and on.  We are thankful for the things that we all take for granted such as the service the troops do for our country, the mail person for delivering our mail, the garbage people, the firemen/women, the police, nurses and service workers.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

I want to share with you some pictures from Jeff's storm chase and share some of the stories he shared with me about his journey.  Even though I'm not a fan of his travels and love for the storms, I learned that it is beyond the storm.  It is the warmth in his heart to help those that are in need afterwards.  What an amazing things to be able to do when help is needed greatly.

The day started out with this warning.

The beautiful skies were a good sign it was going to be a pretty active day.

Here the storm had just started to  build.  This is of one of the wall clouds, the beginning of the storm.  You will notice that there are no more pictures of the storm here after since the storms were moving so fast, Jeff had to keep on the move to stay safe.

After hours of chasing the storm and being chased by the storm, Jeff seen some power flashes(when a transformer blows) from a distance and seen a tornado on the ground.  He headed to the town, thinking it was a different one, not knowing this little town was even there.  The town of Gifford, IL, population of about 1000 people.  He pulled up to this area not knowing the extent of the damage.

Here are some pictures of the damage right after the storm.  Jeff didn't take too many pictures since his real mission was to help those in need and start the rescue mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 I don't think I need to say anymore about these pictures; they say enough on their own.

 

Help has arrived as some of the community arrive to see how there neighborhood was torn apart.  Just put yourself and your family in their shoes and wonder for a moment, where would you begin and what would you do.  Most people couldn't believe what they were looking at and wept.  Jeff said it was very emotional to see these townsfolk "come home".

 

This picture if you look close, there is a cop and a towns person.  They are trying to get to this tractor so they can start clearing debris from the roads so help can get into the town instead of just the the outer limits. Jeff thought this may have been a town garage for the community.

I do want to share some stories behind some of the pictures Jeff took.  I hope I can share them as well as Jeff did and hope that you can find how touching they were to me as he shared them.

 

Jeff and another man were out looking and calling for anyone in help.  They stumbled upon a woman sitting on the ground holding her purse in her pajamas.  They asked if she was hurt and checked her out a little.  They asked her story...I was in the basement and remembered my purse upstairs.  I went up to get it and that is the last I remember.  So the tornado tore through her house with her in it when she grabbed her purse.  She was a little banged up and she was full of mud.  They found a chair for her to sit in and covered her with this blanket.  Jeff mentioned that she was such a brave 82 year old that was so up beat and didn't seem too shaken.  After Jeff told me this story I asked if he took a picture of this brave women and he said no, that he wished he did.  When looking at stories on the internet, he stumbled upon this picture; it is the woman they helped.

 

This house was torn to shreds.  Jeff and the other man walked around asking if anyone was in here and they heard a lady cry for help.  Jeff kicked in the front door and weaved through the debris to find the women in the room to the left covered by a mattress.  She was very shook up, but mostly unharmed.  Every home they walked upon, the hiss of gas leaking and the smell was so strong.  Jeff said that you had to be so careful, but people needed help.  A lot of the towns people left there home, knowing the storms were going to be bad and some were at church not know what was even happening.

 

This couple on the right are searching through there home for their dog Cooper.  If you look close enough, there home used to sit to the left on this picture.  Jeff helped them dig through the rubble for about 15 minutes before moving onto the next home.  The man wept the whole time.  I couldn't imagine loosing your beloved 'friend' in something like this.

I hope this moves you as much as it has myself.  Please thank those around us that do the little things in life and don't take it for granted.

This time of year there are red kettles everywhere for the Salvation Army.  Please, if you have even an extra penny, please drop it in the kettle.  It is a way to help those in need and those that are in need will be thankful for all that you can do.  We wish you Happy Holidays from our house to yours.

Until next time,

Jeff, Heather and Jayden