((Abbie)) thanks for thinking of us.

Everyone here is still very nervous after Sunday's devastating tornado in Parkersburg, IA (about 35 miles from here). The whole state is still in shock over that one. Category F-5, and that puppy was huge. The tornado itself was 1-1/4 miles wild, if you can even imagine that. The people who died in it were actually IN their basements. The stories we hear every day are heartbreaking. I'm still in shock over a few in particular. A mother and her friend with her child were in their basement, the house lifted into the tornado and started to suck the little girl up. A large piece of PVC pipe came flying onto the mother so she grabbed it, threw it over her child, and she and her friend held her down with the PVC pipe until the eye hit.

She said being in the eye of that mile wide tornado was, of course, unlike anything she'd ever seen. They said they could see cars, etc., swirling around in it. They took that opportunity to run under some stairs (?) before the tornado's eye passed and the devastation began again. Oi.

Anyway, yup, wild storms again last night. Twice I went to the storm shelter, twice getting soaked in my pajamas. Grabbed Bruna and took her with me and she was SO scared. We were sopped.

Lucky. We just have branches etc laying around all over town though a couple of places were hit with the ferocious lightning and one house caught on fire from the lightning.

Otherwise, just fine! No worries. The prayers that are needed are for those poor souls in Parkersburg.