The sun has come out, and I’ve had a chance to look around. The swarm came close, very close. Franklin Springs, the small town I live just outside of, was hit. It is the home of Emmanuel College, and the storm went right through the edge of campus. It spared the college’s buildings and students, but the fire station and city hall, right next door, had walls blown in. (You can see images here.) The storm cotinued north, roughly following Highway 51 to the interstate. I saw several poultry houses flattened, large hay bales scattered, many, many trees down, and quite a few houses destroyed or damaged. I’ll have some pictures up when I can get to them. Our place and our immediate neighbors places were spared.

<a href="/cameraphone/archives/001698.html" title="Awwww! "><img src="/images/legacy/weblog/cameraphone/images/200409161953/_t.jpg" alt="Awwww! " width="120" height="146" class="pic" border="0" /></a>
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Ivan is near, and it’s brought a swarm of tornados. Several have struck the towns between my house and Athens. Many homes have been hit, and there are more twisters on the way. Update In the last half-hour, there have been five tornados in my county, some hitting my town. There are fatalities reported. I’m in Athens at the moment, but Chris and Vivian are safe at home. Still more twisters on the way…

<a href="/cameraphone/archives/001696.html" title="Going Home! "><img src="/images/legacy/weblog/cameraphone/images/200408231900/_t.jpg" alt="Going Home! " width="120" height="146" class="pic" border="0" /></a>
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Chris has been discharged, but Vivian has one more day under the care of the NICU, so they’ve let Chris keep her room for the night. Tomorrow, Vivian should be tranferred to the pediatric ward for one final day (where mommy gets a room as well). And then, on Tuesday, it looks like they can both go home.

She gets to sleep with us tonight!

<a href="/cameraphone/archives/001693.html" title="It's all OK "><img src="/images/legacy/weblog/cameraphone/images/200408211847/100_2911_t.jpg" alt="It's all OK " width="120" height="80" class="pic" border="0" /></a>
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In case you missed the photos over on the right, here’s a quick update: Vivian Ruth Wagoner arrived just after five o’clock Thursday morning. The last hour of labor, after we arrived at the hospital and Chris’s water broke, was rough on Vivian. An obstruction in the pelvis forced Chris into having a C-section, and reduced oxygen levels to Vivian during that last hour, combined with heavy meconium, put Vivian into the infant Intensive Care Unit, where she remains. Her readings are nearly back to normal, so we’re hoping Chris and Vivian can both be transferred to pediatrics for the final few days. The full story, with more pictures, will follow when I can get it written.

<a href="/cameraphone/archives/001691.html" title="Smiling "><img src="/images/legacy/weblog/cameraphone/images/200408201635/_t.jpg" alt="Smiling " width="120" height="146" class="pic" border="0" /></a>
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<a href="/cameraphone/archives/001690.html" title="Vivian Ruth "><img src="/cameraphone/images/200408190726/picture(3)_t.jpg" alt="Vivian Ruth " width="120" height="146" class="pic" border="0" /></a>
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