Granny and Granddaddy came for a visit early Saturday morning. Lexi was so excited to see them. She had the biggest grin on her face when she saw them coming to the door. We had a nice breakfast and Lexi played with her new Baby. She must have given that thing 100 kisses by the end of the day.
Saturday afternoon we took Lexi to the Galleria to see the Easter bunny. She was all dressed up in her pretty pink Polo dress and white sandals. We were lucky to get to the mall at a good time. The line was very short. She absolutely LOVED him!!! She giggled the entire time she sat with him. He was holding her for the picture, but she kept turning around to look at him and smile. It was so cute! I had to literally pry her out of his arms. I think she would've stayed there all day if I would've let her!
Saturday night Danny and Erin were able to stop by for a quick visit!!! YAAAAY!!! We miss our besties so much. It is so awesome to see them both. Even though Erin and I talk daily, it is still such a treat to see her beautiful, smiling face! She never leaves without telling me how amazing I look and how much she loves me. That never hurts to hear! :) Gotta love a best friend!
Late Saturday night I whipped up the Bunny Cake for Easter dinner at Brandon's mom's house. I was so honored that she asked me to make it this year. Since Brandon was a child this has been a very special Easter tradition. Since Lexi is here now, Judy asked me to do it. Super cool. I had fun making it too. I love a good hour or two in the kitchen. There is just something so therapeutic about baking.
Sunday morning it was all about HAPPY EASTER! HE IS RISEN! The Easter Bunny also made a visit by our house! Since Lex isn't quite old enough to enjoy a good old chocolate bunny, she got baby food, an Elmo video, an Easter outfit, and books instead. It's all the same to her.
We knew we had a really busy day ahead of us, so we decided to have a special Easter morning breakfast with just us Rhotons. I got up really early to make sure I could get all the preparation done before little Lexi poo woke up. We dined on delicious southwestern omelets and hashbrowns. The hashbrowns are my breakfast specialty, so I definitely made sure to include them in the holiday meal. Lexi, of course, skipped the omelets and instead enjoyed her usual banana flavored oatmeal.
After breakfast, we got dressed and headed over to Mom's house to get ready for our day at the lake. We packed up and drove to Smith Lake. Mike has just recently bought a lake lot out there with a pontoon boat and jet skis. We figured this was the perfect occasion to officially break them in. Just as we suspected, Lexi loved riding in the boat. The wind would get in her face and she would smile so big. Brandon and I had fun riding together on the jet ski. Lex could not have looked any cuter in her life jacket!!! We had a delicious lunch of Mom's Perfect Pasta, potato salad, ham on croissants, cheeses, and homemade rice krispie treats in the shape of a cross. The day went by too fast. We packed up and drove back to get showered up and ready for dinner.
After getting dressed, we went to Judy's house for dinner. The traditional casserole and ham meal was so good!!! I was excited to debut my Bunny cake. We had lots of fun laughing and playing. Little Lucy is almost 2 and so much fun! We would say, "Lucy, are you ready for the picture?" and she would say in the sweetest little voice, "Reeeeeadyyyy!!!". So precious. We visited for a while and went home after a looooong but fun day with family.
What a fun first Easter Alexis Rainey had. If only we had known what we were in store for the following week. :(
Tuesday night the news around town was all about the severe weather heading toward Alabama. Everyone seemed to be fully aware that starting early Wednesday morning and into the night would be a rough patch of severe thunderstorms and possible tornados. This is pretty normal for April here in Alabama, but we had no idea how bad it was to get.
We were woken up at about 5am on Wednesday morning with horrible rain, wind, lightening, and thunder. The power had gone out sometime in the night, so I shuffled around for my phone to check the weather. Sure enough, Jefferson County was under a tornado warning. The weather reported that the tornado had touched down at the Bessemer Airport and was moving along Morgan Road toward Hoover. This put it right over our house. I was pretty nervous, but after a few minutes it seemed to calm down. We got up as usual around 5:45 and got dressed for work. Many schools and businesses had closed for the day. The power had not come back on. Daddy helped Lex and I get to the car. After 50 minutes of sitting in traffic to only travel 1/4 of a mile, we started to realize that this would not be a normal Wednesday. I turned around and headed home with no gas, and no gas station open to get it. Brandon was also at home for the day.
The weather men were warning of more severe storms in the afternoon, so we sat around waiting and waiting with nothing happening. Just when we were beginning to think it was another false alarm, all Hell broke loose. We still had no power and were only keeping up with the weather on my phone. Everyone we knew seemed to be calling and asking us to get somewhere safe because things could get really bad. We decided to drive over to mom's house just to be safe. She had a basement and power, so we figured we would be better to wait it out there. Thank goodness we did.
As soon as we packed a bag and got in the car, Michelle was texting me that she had just watched a devastating tornado sweep through Tuscaloosa. She was horrified that Chip or Granny may be hurt and was begging me to attempt to get in touch with them. Having not seen the footage of the tornado, I wasn't too worried. I did try to call Chip, but didn't get through. I then tried to call Granddaddy and Granny, and again didn't get through. I tried Chip again. Nothing. I realized the phones were not working and started to worry a little. By this time we had gotten to Mom's house and watched the footage that Michelle and just seen. We freaked out. This tornado was MASSIVE and had directly hit Chip's neighborhood. We tried and tried to call him. After a few minutes, Mom heard Chip's voice on her phone screaming, "MOM! MOM! MOM!". Somehow they had been connected. Chip informed us that the tornado had gone directly over his house, but that he was ok. THANK YOU DEAR LORD FOR SPARING MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be thankful every day for the rest of my life. His house was completely destroyed, as was his car. Everyone in his neighborhood and surrounding areas lost pretty much everything. The devastation was unbelievable. Never in my life could I had imagined that this would happen. The weather men were warning that Tuscaloosa was to be hit by another tornado, and the huge one that had just hit Chip was headed toward Birmingham. We were all terrified. It was the absolute worst feeling. We were attempting to call all of our family in Tuscaloosa, and eventually found out that somehow no one was injured. What an amazing blessing. So many people were not this fortunate. The tornado heading toward us went north and hit Pleasant Grove and Pratt City very hard. The devastation there is just as bad as in Tuscaloosa. It's awful. Luckily, the second tornado that was supposed to hit Tuscaloosa never fully formed and turned out not to be a threat afterall.
We spent the next few hours worried sick about Chip. Where was he? Did he have shelter? Did he have a place to stay. With the phones still messing up, no calls were going through. Finally, he was able to call us. He had gone to Logan's Restaurant with his friends and dog for shelter. The people of Logan's kicked everyone out fearing the gas leak in the shopping center would cause it all to explode. He said they walked and walked looking for somewhere to go and examining the horrific scene. They finally found a friends house to stay at for the night. We were so relieved and could not wait to get to him.
Boy was that a long night. Right before bed, we received a picture message from Chip of his street immediately after the tornado hit.
It was sickening. The thought of him going through that literally made us all sick to our stomachs. I could not imagine how someone could get hit like this and walk away from it. We got no sleep.
Early the next morning we coordinated our efforts to get to him. Mom, Mike, and I headed down in Mike's truck, while Brandon took Lexi and got her to school. We had to park a few blocks away from Chip's house because the streets around him were not passable. We started walking and made it to Chip. We all cried. The devastation surrounding us, and the looming thoughts of what could have happened were overwhelming. We were just so grateful for his safety. We walked on to Chip's house and saw first hand the damage. The den was demolished. The kitchen was shredded. The windows and glass doors were shattered. The cars were smashed. Huge trees were flattened. And his house wasn't even the worst. We cleared what we could of his stuff, hugged the necks of his friends, and headed home. What an emotional day. I was so thankful to have my brother sit next to me on the ride home, but so sad that he had to experience such horror. The thoughts that he must have had in the moments before the tornado hit. It breaks my heart. My heart is also broken for the families who weren't able to bring their loved ones home. I believe the death count is now well above 200 just in Alabama alone, with over 450 still missing. They are presumed dead at this point. Chip's neighborhood of Forest Lake was hit the hardest of all. Over 50 people were dead just in his neighborhood. I can't thank God enough for my brother's safety. I really can't. Mom took several pictures. Here are some of them. These are specifically of Chip's house and his street.
Relief efforts are under way all over our great state. If there is a silver lining in this terrible saga, it is the response of the people of Alabama. It proves that we are such a family. Strangers are volunteering everywhere. People are donating their time and money. Goods and supplies are stock piled at shelters all over. It is amazing the way our fellow Alabamians have stepped up to help out in any way they can.
If I take anything away from this tragedy it is to be grateful every second for your loved ones. You never know when disaster can strike. Life is so fragile. Please continue to pray for the missing and injured people, the quick recovery of the areas hit, and for peace in the hearts of the families effected by this event. God bless Alabama.
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