On April 25, 2011 a tornado classified as an F2 bulled through our small town. It wiped out 50 or more homes and killed 4 people. Brent and I were with our two kids, his mother, two aunts, and his grandmother in our basement. We've went to the basement several times in the past for warnings of tornadoes. It's never been a big deal - almost a family get together. But this one was different. I still thought "no big deal" until I heard our windows and house rattling and Brent could see through our small basement window our barn roof fly off. I thought "okay, this is for real" Moments later, we walked upstairs and heard sirens, saw several trees down, and major damage. The side of town we live on caught the tail end of the tornado... the other side of town where the rest of his family lives got the full twister. Below is a photo that a friend texted me of the twister from the bank beside our studio and house. Note: I did not take this photo and I don't know who to give credit to - but it's a great shot!
Brent spent the next week cleaning up the damage. His aunt and uncle completely lost their home. His mother had damage to her home and numerous trees gone. And his grandmother had most of her trees blown over and some roof damage. Most importantly - we're all safe and I give glory to God!
Here are some photos that Brent and his sister captured on the day after the tornado came through....
This is Brent's aunt's house.
A view looking at his aunt and grandmother's property from the above the house.
This is his cousin's basketball goal in the field beside the house.
The front of the house.
A photo of Main Street through Vilonia.
