my guardian angel deserves a break.

i've had all sorts of quick little 'in and out' type things that needed to get done for a couple of weeks (which i despise doing with all three girls in tow).  so... while russ was home i took advantage of the opportunity to fly solo and skeddadled.   i knew there was rain forecasted on new years eve so i decided to get out early and get all my errands finished as quickly as possible before i got drenched in rain.  turns out i kind of had my timing all backwards...

while returning a broken glitter barbie at walmart i noticed the first tornado sirens going off.  strange, i thought but decided it would be fine to run over to toys r us to make a couple of other returns i needed to take care of.

once again, wrong choice.  had no luck and by the time i walked back to my car the sky was not looking good and the wind had really picked up. 

here's a pic of the scene maybe 2 blocks down about 10-15 minutes later...

so to top off my brilliant decisions for the day i decide to run into dierbergs really quick so i can get dinner stuff and not have to get back out in the rain....yep.  that would be my fenton dierbergs in all her newsworthy glory.

here's a picture of what the parking lot looked like when i came out with my groceries...

and the church across the street (st. paul's)....

and the neighborhood i drive past on the way home (summit heights).... 

the church across from the just mentioned neighborhood (solid rock ministries)... 

so thank you little angel for keeping me safe during my silly errands.  i have never been so grateful for the little nudges that helped me get home to my family safe and sound.  (who were happily playing in the basement completely unaware of the tornado damage one mile away.)  dierbergs can lose power any time and i will never ever complain about the time it takes to get the checkout lanes back up and running.  i was nice and safe in a dimly lit grocery store instead of mid-route when everything went crazy. 

here's praying that everyone else stayed safe and suffered minimal damage on new years eve...what a way to leave to 2010!!!

(and thanks to ksdk.com for the incredible photos.  you all should be proud of me and know i had my hands on the wheel at all times and never took the time to take pics with my phone...safety first!!)