Dear Noah: Your stress test was normal!

THESE photos do not do the clouds and black skies justice. They skies were very black at one point..something you only see in movies....eerie and scary!

(excerpt from our day)

We had to go to Children's Medical Center today for Noah to have some tests done. I did not want to go knowing it was supposed to be bad weather...even before we left the conditions were perfect for tornadoes...very warm and windy...our skies up here were almost black when we left but cleared in the Dayton area. Then coming back I wanted to come straight home to beat the storm but Noah was hungry. We stopped in Englewood at Perkins...it was not bad there BUT the farther we drove the worst it got. We hit approached our exit to take us the next 20 plus miles home and it was BLACK skies with unbelievable clouds and rain was starting and the winds! We turned on WHIO radio and tornado warnings were all around us. We did not know what to do. I called dad...he was just waking up from a nap so did not even know the conditions...I wanted to ask him if our area was bad and if so I figured we would make a pit stop at their house...but he had not heard. I kept listening to the radio and we decided to try going on North. BIG MISTAKE...the winds about blew me off the road numerous times...the rain was blowing across the road and car in WAVES...WAVES I tell you WAVES......it looked like we were riding on an ocean....and it sounded like something under my car was grinding. Noah took videoclips till he got too scared....the inside of the car sounded so loud.....the wind was unbelievable. We were almost near another small town and I decided we better pull off. A semi had almost hit us coming into our lane...no one could see.....I reached a little dairy bar restaurant right before you go into town....everyone was pulling off there....and I should have recorded that...the wind blew the car all around....the wind...I cannot say enough about the sound and the rain....and poor Noah crying and crying saying he did not want to die.....he just wanted to go home...etc...it was sooooooo nerve wracking. I kept the radio on....it seemed to chill a bit....and we started to leave...passed police cars and ambulance.....and the TORNADO SIREN RIGHT THERE BESIDE US WENT OFF......Noah was really scared then. I had no where to go take shelter.....and thought about a few places....but it looked a little clearer closer to our hometown area so we kept going....we were both praying...just wanted to not break down or have to get in a ditch off the St. Rt we were on.....almost to the town before our exit. Thought about going to my grandma's ...all the power seemed out up there....and there appeared to be a funnel cloud...so we kept heading North even though our town also had a tornado warning too.....so scary....SO scary.....I told Noah I did not know how he would ever be a storm chaser if he got that scared and cried....he said he would not mind if but from a SAFE distance. We were in the middle surrounded by tornado warnings to each direction we drove or came from...and again...the winds...sound of the wind and the rain....unbelievable. I told Noah next time he had to listen to me and when I said we were coming HOME we were coming straight HOME to beat a storm and not go through this again!

LOTS of damage in our area and many other cities around us. They have so far confirmed 6 tornado touch downs in surrounding areas....it was a very active weather day!

Noah and I were so thankful to be home. He was so afraid he was going to die. He was crying so much and was so very upset in the car. He kept telling me all the facts about fall tornadoes and how dangerous they are...and how they are rain wrapped like these were and you could not see them...until they were on top of you...and we needed to be taking shelter immediately. We had no where to take shelter...so I kept driving. Once home he was upset because our closet in the hallway is not accessible at the present time...our tornado safe zone. I told him I would clear it out fast or we could sit in the hallway. What a hectic day and evening.

Today the winds were still blowing but NOTHING like yesterday. I am thankful we could stay home today and chill.....we both needed to recover from that nerve wracking event!

Giving thanks we made it home and all was okay with us and my family and friends and others in the surrounding areas were not injured.

I love you Noah!

I was proud of your efforts on the stress test. You did much better than I thought you could do!

Mommy
XOXOXOX