VBS, baseball, tornado, etc

This week we have VBS every morning from 9-11:30. The theme is Developing Godly Character, and each day we are focusing on a different character quality--righteousness, loyalty, honesty and kindness, with the last day being review and wrap up.

The boys have also been playing baseball in the Wildcat league, which is relaxed summer baseball. Since it is just two blocks from our house and since it is just easy going and fun, we decided the boys could play. Boys that want to get serious about baseball play Little League; boys that just want to play to have fun or get some beginning instruction, play Wildcat. All of they players wear the same shirts and hats--you can tell who the runners are because they have on blue batting helmets. There are three coaches who coach all of the teams and they give instruction while the kids play. There is one coach that also gives running commentary and comedy during the games and practices so it is a lot of fun!

Last Friday night, I had just dropped the girls off at Sauders for Youth Fellowship and was on the way home. The sky was pretty dark, and then the storm sirens went off. We still had our tent up in the backyard and rushed to take it down. We had it right by the sliding doors to the sun room when the wind hit. Luke was helping Mark and I, and it covered his face so he couldn't see where he was going. Then when he got out from underneath it, Mark thought the wind was going to carry him up over the fence with the tent. We finally got it in and slid the door shut. The wind was whipping and the sky was black, but we still didn't really think it was a tornado. We told the boys to both go to the bathroom and stay there. Mark looked out the front door and our basketball hoop had fallen over, knocking the sand bags off onto the ground and then the wind had picked it up and cartwheeled it across our lawn. It was part way onto the road, blocking traffic, so he dashed out and moved it to the ditch. The rain still hadn't really come, but the wind was whipping the trees wildly. Finally, the rain came down hard but not for very long.
Later, we found out that a tornado had touched down two streets past ours. It must have just hopped over us before it touched down. It really only did damage in about two blocks, but one lady had a tree come down on her trailer. Lots of trees were damaged, mostly branches torn off, but one huge tree looks like it got twisted off about ten feet from the ground. It looks like lots of toothpicks sticking up out of it, and debris and branches around everywhere.
We are thankful the tornado went over us--we don't have a basement here. We were also thankful that the girls were at Sauders. The guy who built their house was paranoid and built it with reinforced steel rods and extra strong construction. He even had an escape tunnel that goes from the basement to the outside. (It's great fun to use when you are playing Capture the Flag--you can come up from the tunnel and grab the flag before anyone knows you are there!) Anyway, we knew they were safe in "the bunker."