Blessings in the Dark

Hello bloggy friends.  I'm not sure how many of you are aware that I live in north AL.  Yeah, that little part of the country that just got devastated by massive tornadoes.
In my neck of the woods we didn't get much damage.  But it doesn't take much of a drive to see areas that look like a bomb went off. 
We however did endure a minor inconvenience.  We have been without power/electricity for almost 5 days.
Sounded really crazy Thurs morning when listening to a radio that we would be without for so long.
Now it feels weird to hear the sound of my dishwasher and washing machine running as I write this.

Oh and kids still haven't gone back to school.  It's been like a camping vacation in our own home.

We had a really nice set up though.  We have a gas water heater and stove.  Yep hot showers and hot meals....we were super blessed!!

Here you can't see the hail on the deck.

Supposedly there was a tornado spotted just up the street from me, but it never touched down.

A lake was dumped into our yard in less than 10 mins.

A break after the first wave of storms...the couch cushions are in our most interior room. 

Kids prepared with their flashlights.

Next few days.  We had land line in and out over those days.  Luckily I had this old cord phone...the kids asked me what kind of phone this was.  Our cell phones did not work for days...or was very spotty..not to mention only way to charge was in our cars.

I got dishpan hands.  :)

This is how our front door remained for days all day.  Kids lived outside.

So of course there were/are many flies in my house...ick!

Our lizard required a heat lamp.  He seemed fairly happy in the sunshine.

We played and lived outside. 

 Board games and other things on a picnic blanket in the shade in the front yard.

We ate every meal but breakfast outside.

This was our entertainment unit.  

My old school 'jam box' I had in high school came in quite handy.  

We got all our info from radio and some entertainment at night with the crazy people calling in to the stations...lol

After we put the kids to bed at night, hubby and I played 'black out basketball for an hour. 

 Then we'd sit and listen to the radio by candle light.

Speaking of, luckily the kids' sound machines they sleep with took batteries and I used battery operated tea lights for make shift night lights.  They were pretty comfy.

This was truly an amazing experience.  Neighbors were out everywhere.  

Sharing generators, checking on each other, passing info, bringing bags of ice.

Shopping at Target in the dark is an eerie experience.

Ice and bread were really hard to come by for a few days.

People were panicking in the beginning and driving hours away for supplies and waiting in 3 hour long lines for the few gas stations opened in the area.

The best was having a crowd of people over for 'meat fest' when we grilled all our thawed out meat.

Today after a full day of power, Kalla said she missed not having electricity.

I understand her sentiment.

Hope you all count your blessings.

Prayers for all those who lost family and homes from this storm.