Devestation.....

....is the only word that comes to mind when looking at my small town over the past few days. On the evening of April 27, 2011, my little map dot town of Cordova was invaded by a large, deadly tornado which basically obliterated the town. Cordova was actually hit by the straight-line winds of approximately 100 mph (according to James Spann) during the morning hours and suffered some damage, but the major blow came approximately 12 hours later when the tornado hit the town.
This is the view from my neighborhood, approximately 1/4 mile from ground zero. This picture was taken by my neighbor (I was not crazy enough to be out taking pictures of the thing!) My family and I were so very fortunate and had no damage from the storm. However, just 1/4 mile away is total destruction at the hands of mother nature.

We spent the evening safely hunkered down in my parents' basement, approximately 2 miles away from the storm. The above picture is the hail we saw. I have never seen hail this large!

My poor town. It's hardly recognizable. The first big pile of rubble in the street is what is left of the bank. Up the hill the destruction continues. This hill was covered with trees and homes just 4 days ago.

This pile of rubble is what is left of the town's laundromat and a landmark restaurant, "The Rebel Queen." I sure am gonna miss those greasy burgers!

The pile of rubble on the hill is the town Doctor's office.

I think this is another picture of The Rebel Queen

This is the Piggly Wiggly.

Downtown

This broken building is my church. I am so heartbroken at the loss of my church. I realize a church is just a building and what really matters is the people inside, but this almost 100 year old church was a town landmark. It's were my entire extended family attends church, it's where Chris and I were married, and both of my children had their infant baptism there. There are just so many memories.

One of the things the church is most known for is it's beautiful stained-glass windows, which we worked so hard to preserve. They were full of vibrant colors and a truly remarkable. The church also had the original pews, which have been restored numerous times and still very creaky and uncomfortable, but I loved them. They are all gone now.

This is a picture of the church taken the day Chris and I were married. You will have to excuse the poor quality of this pic, it is a picture of a picture. The photo is framed and hanging on my wall.

This is one of the stained glass windows, taken on the day of Luke's infant baptism.

This is one of the other windows. Truly breathtaking.

This is my church today. A broken building. The windows are gone. The pews are broken. All from mother nature's fury. It's hard to believe just one week ago, we were all gathered to worship at the Easter Sunday service. Please pray for our town's strength to rebuild, as well as for those who have lost their homes and their lives.