"Auntie Em, Auntie Em!"

Hurricane Ike hit Kentucky and nearly blew us all away! Last Sunday afternoon we had the most unbelievable wind storm. We knew that the remnants from Ike were headed this way. We were not expected to get much rain from it, but were warned that there could be some stray thunderstorms. Apparently, what the weather guys didn't expect was that the sun would come out just long enough that morning to warm up the atmosphere and force those strong winds that were supposed to stay up in the clouds down to the surface. The result: hurricane-force winds all day long! No kidding. Our church family had planned a baby shower that afternoon. What a sight we all were with our little pink packages trying to walk upright in 80-mile-an-hour winds.

All joking aside, the damage was amazing. There is a whole region of Kentucky and Southern Indiana that has been without power all week. Many of our own friends and family are still in the dark. I can't imagine! We were so fortunate. No major damage, and we never lost power. Gracie and Emma did lose their playhouse from the back yard, but our sweet neighbors collected the pieces for us. The wind was so strong all the way to the ground that it actually blew the three inches of mulch out of our flower bed in front of the house. Here's the weirdest thing: it looks as if the wind actually blew the life out of the pretty pear trees in our front yard. The trees themselves are okay, but the leaves are black, dry, and crispy. Weird.

Makes me wonder: if it was this bad by the time it reached Kentucky, what was it like when it hit land in Texas. Our prayers are certainly with those folks.

Our little playhouse sustained serious damage, but Daddy fixed it!

If you look closely, you can see Emma's swing and Grace's disk swing wrapped around the tree.