Don't worry...everyone here is okay.

So, we had a bit of a scary day around these parts yesterday! I had just started tutoring a girl from church in biology when our friendly local weatherman came on and said that a tornado warning was being issued for our county. Then he said the location of the tornado and, well, it was a little too close for comfort! Especially when the tornado sirens went off.

Now, I will say that last year a tornado was in a town a good 30 miles from us and they sounded the sirens, so now we're all a little skeptical when they sound those horns....a bit of the "Boy Who Cried Tornado" syndrome, I guess. But when they showed the map of the storm, we decided to load up Johnny's grandma, the baby, the dog and Leah into the car and head over to Johnny's mom's house, who has a storm shelter in her garage.

We got to the main street by our neighborhood and school buses were pulled over right and left. Is that a law? If the sirens go off, buses have to pull over? What's that all about? Johnny said maybe the kids were expected to hop off the bus and tip it over and hide under it...."alright, first graders...on the count of three....HEAVE!" So that was a bit confusing. But on the way, we could see the lowering (what turned out to be the remnants of the tornado) a few miles north of our neighborhood! Now, I've never seen a tornado that wasn't just on the news, which is a bit shocking, considering I've lived in Oklahoma my entire life! So to see the lowering was pretty cool. A little intense, but cool.

So we made it over to Johnny's mom's house and the storm was over. No more tornado. Which was good. But then they started showing damage from the tornado and we finally realized just how close it was to us! Just a couple miles away were houses that were severely destroyed! Giant electric towers (the ones that look like the Eiffel Tower, not the measly little poles) were either twisted and gnarled or completely knocked down!

All that happened to us was we lost power for a few seconds about 5 minutes before the sirens went off. Thank the Lord that He was watching over us! But I have to wonder why there was really NO warning. Why didn't they sound the sirens sooner? Why did Mike Morgan wait until the last minute to tell us that a tornado was in the area? With all the technology they so readily brag about on all the news channels, what happened?

I don't know, and I guess I don't need to know. Just trust in the Lord and thank Him for protecting us. Because if I had known just how close the tornado was, I wouldn't have been so calm! And I might just have caused my hair to go prematurely gray. And nobody wants to see that! :)

So...we're okay. No damage, no injuries. Whew! That was close!

Walking, Vomit and other fun stories

So J.J. started walking in the last couple of weeks. Not just a few steps and then PLOP! No, we're talking full-fledged, "I'm consciously making the decision to get up and walk instead of crawl" walking! He's so cute! What is it about little babies that when they start walking makes them look like miniature adults? Little people just roaming around your living room. Hmmm.

Last week was a big milestone for the boy: we went to the zoo and he actually saw the animals! He's been 3 times and every other time he was asleep for the entire trip. This time he got to see the seals and the gorillas and the jaguar! And we went pretty late in the day, so there was hardly anyone there, which was nice. There's a new exhibit opening up soon called the Oklahoma Trails that features, well obviously, animals native to Oklahoma. We went to the preview last August and it looked like it would be really neat. One problem though. All the zoo workers are scared the bears will escape! Not a real big selling point...come one, come all to see the fabulous black bears. Feast your eyes on them as they feast on you! Apparently, the architect has never worked w/ animals before and built a big concrete tree that overhangs the fence, thus allowing for the bears to climb out of their so-called cage! Ummmm....I think I'll wait a few months to check that one out.

It's finally official: I am the early childhood director for our church. I'd been the interim since October (it's March now, people!) and there were no other candidates, but as I've become quite aware, things don't move very quickly in our little congregation. But I'm not complaining! I'm just glad it's finally decided! And I found an assistant to help me bear the load: the former director's former assistant! I took her place when she stepped down and now she's ready to jump back in...which means no training for me to do because she already knows the job! It's perfect! I ask for you all to pray for me in this position, that I would keep a God-focused mindset and always be sensitive to people's needs.

And finally, I officially became a mother on Saturday. One might think, "But Heather, J.J. was born last January!" To that person I would say "HA! You think a measly c-section constitutes motherhood?!?!?" Nay...you do not officially reach that status until you've been thrown up on by your child. Mm-hmm. Good times. Now I am a puke-hater like none other. I see it, smell it or hear it and I'm right there with the up-chucker. But I guess it really is true that God doesn't put you through anything He knows you're not capable of handling. I was down there stripping the nastied clothes off, throwing the kid in the empty tub to play while I cleaned up the mess. Then I was laying on the couch, commiserating with him when he launched a full attack again, this time all over me instead of the floor. Finally, I was there when he was in my lap and let loose all over the carpet and me (again), giving Daddy the scare of a lifetime! You see, Johnny had been either gone or in another room every other time it happened. So that last time, he actually got to see our little Exorcist baby blow! But at least I got to use my under-utilized steam cleaner that night, and now the whole living room carpet is clean! Wheeeeeeeeee!

So that's what has been going on here in the Hughes household. Here's to a cleaner and less barf-filled rest of March (in our house, it's safe to say it came in like a lion!).