April Monthly Moos {Storm Shelter Time!}

Do you remember this time last year that I wrote about the  F3 tornado that went through our area, destroying homes, businesses, and killing two people?  When Eldon and I came out of the stair closet where we had been taking shelter and went out on our porch and all we could see were the lights of emergency vehicles, we knew it was bad news.  

I told him that was the last time I wanted to take shelter in a closet.  But, as life happens tornado season passed and so did another year.  

I started thinking and worrying about it early this spring and when Eldon came home from a consulting job in Arizona we sat down to make our list of Spring to-do jobs, and we put tornado shelter on the top of the list!  

So, we scoped out the best spot, using the hill to our advantage and Eldon did the excavating.

Because of rain, muddy roads and a few other issues our shelter delivery was delayed about a week and we had to sit out the first tornado warning of the year in our closet again.  But, it was finally delivered this week!

It was a fun process to watch.  The shelter comes in two halves.

The truck backed up until it seemed to me that it was about to back into the hole.  But then things like that really make me nervous!  

He attached the bottom half to his crane and set it in place.  

I jokingly (sort of) told Eldon we should put our old twin size iron bed in there while the top half was off!  

The top half will bolt to the bottom half in those brackets that are already in place.

And the the top half came down.

This man made it look really easy!

There it is in place.  

Then Eldon started the backfilling.  

I don't know if you can tell in the picture above, but the shelter is located where the ground really slopes down from the house.  This area is where we will be bringing in dump truck loads of fill dirt to begin our landscaping for our yard.  So the shelter will be completely covered (except for the door that is actually in the hill).  We will even be able to plant grass on top!

I love that there is a little tiny window in the door.  It makes it not quite so dark and spooky inside!

Our kids and grand-girls came over to check it out and the little girls immediately decided it was their play house.  They were trying so hard to get Belle to go in with them.  

In the picture above they were begging her to come in and she was arguing with them!  They even threw her frisbees in there, thinking she'd come in for those!

Oh, poor thing.  She wants in there so badly but she just couldn't make herself do it!

So... I'm thinking I want to pretty it up a bit inside and make it a fun place to be.  What do you think?  

(Smile!)

So now, we are ready for tornado season to officially start.  And the bad news is my daughter and I have tickets and a day planned to attend the Country Living Fair in Nashville Saturday.... and a day of huge storms and tornadoes are predicted.  The last thing we want to do is stay home with the boys and the little girls hiding out in the tornado shelter.   We're hoping for a change in the weather.  I'll keep you posted!  

Happy April!