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Press play on this video before you start this activity.

If you'd like to open this video in another tab, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPZkdNFkNps

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Rain Sound On Window with Thunder SoundsㅣHeavy Rain for Sleep, Study and Relaxation, Meditation

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On a dark and stormy night, a tree branch scratched against a windowpane. Suddenly...

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On a dark and stormy night, a tree branch scratched against a windowpane. Suddenly...

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On a dark and stormy night, a tree branch scratched against a windowpane. Suddenly...

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On a dark and stormy night, a tree branch scratched against a windowpane. Suddenly...

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On a dark and stormy night, a tree branch scratched against a windowpane. Suddenly...

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1. Each story starts the same: "On a dark and stormy night, a tree branch scratched against a windowpane. Suddenly..."

2. However, you get to decide the direction the stories take. Continue each story wherever the last person stopped.

3. To do this, read what the last person wrote, and then write 1 or 2 sentences that will move the story's plot forward or take it in a new direction.

4. Pay attention to the style of the story so far. For example, should you write in past or present tense? Should you write in first or third person? Are there any previously mentioned characters or names that you can use when adding to the story?

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A giant elephant accompanied by an adorable panda bear appeared on my screened-in porch. In bemused astonishment, I realized that they appeared to be engaged in door-to-door sales for a local Honda dealership, though it was notorious for providing less-than-stellar customer service.

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the tree outside of the room I was in made a terrible, loud snapping noise and came crashing through the house right at me! I jumped out of it's way the best I could but part of a heavy branch fell on my leg, pinning me to the floor under it's weight.

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the door blew open!  I ran to shut the door, since the rain was blowing into the room toward me.  Then I looked down and saw it. . . a black, drenched, shivering cat, blinking up at me with sad eyes.

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I cried out in pain, wondering how bad I was hurt. Besides my being pinned down and in severe pain, I had yet another major problem. Cold rain was pouring down through the hole in the roof! I was getting soaked!

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I blinked and shook my head.  Why would this odd-matched pair of Honda respresentatives be going door to door at night AND in the middle of a drenching storm?  Besides that, I couldn't figure out how an elephant had space to stand up in my screened in porch! Was I dreaming?

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My first thought was shutting the door and go back to my safe and warm stop on the sofa. I did not want to bring in a soaked cat and have it drip all over my living room carpet. But right before the door was closed completely, I just could not resist those hopeful eyes, staring fearfully toward me.

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The cat started meowing so loud that my children came running out of their bedrooms to see what the commotion was all about. My daughter scooped up the wet cat into one of her doll blankets and said, "oh mom can we keep 'em"? She began to dry off the cat and stroke its head. As I put down some fresh milk the children were bubbling with various names and ideas of what they could call and do with this new houseguest. Just then thunder boomed and lightening lit up the dark sky and the power went out.

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Just then my husband ran in from attending to the animals on our farm. Rummaging through a draw with batteries he pulled out a couple big flashlights and mumbled, "it's a bad one, a tree's been hit by lightening and fell on the barn, horses are safe but I need to go back and make some repairs that will hold until morning, keep the fire going and you should be ok in here..."

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my kettle began to whistle alerting me that I could now make that cup of hot chocolate I wanted. I turned the gas stove off and looked back at the window. Thankfully, the branch had fallen to the ground and not caused any damage to the window. A perfect way to end off the day in this beautiful log cabin on such a stormy night, was none other than a big cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, nestling under a blanket with an engaging book next to the crackling fire.

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Was that a snore from the elephant? Again I shook my head and found myself waking - oh my, I was dreaming! And the snore next to me was not the elephant, rather my beloved golden retriever, Bella! I began to settle again when a sudden and sharp knock at the door startled both Bella and I  …

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Turning on his heel he headed for the door.
“What?! Wait! … don’t leave!”, I blurted out. “Can’t you see that I am pinned down here - not to mention getting soaking wet!?” I sounded more angry than I intended to perhaps. But really, could he not see the obvious?! Bolting around he responded to me saying …

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At that, the startled cat let out a terrified “MEOWWW” and dashed across the kitchen, through the living room and bolted downstairs, out of sight. Oh dear … the search for our new furry houseguest began.

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Cozying into the warmth of the surroundings I found my page in the novel I was engrossed in and soon was carried off into the unfolding story.
Though it wasn’t long before I was aware of music - how unusual I pondered. Putting the book aside, I found myself inquisitive and pulled from my nestled quarters, off to investigate this surprise in the wilderness.

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with incredible force, I heard the kitchen window over the sink crack. “Who’s idea was it to go camping in the RV this weekend anyway” I grumbled to myself.

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I felt cold and hot at the same time, questioning if I should open the door or pretend I'm sleeping and not hearing it. But the knocking became stronger and Bella started to be nervous...

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"What? - I'm sorry I cannot understand what you are saying!" and came into the room. When he saw me, he was so shocked and because of all the blood I lost, he faint.

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I tried to fined some candles to bring some light into the room, while the kids started calling the cat. The look under every furniture, but couldn't find that cat. Suddenly we heard a quiet and scared "MEOWWW".

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Looking for a person, I was questioning myself - Who was now outside listening to music?
To my surprice a handsome young man totally wet from the rain walked singing and joyfully towards my log cabin.

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But my husband seem to not take it as terrible than myself. He looked at the window and said, - "We can easy fix it" - and took it easy.
The storm and rain got stronger and I was looking over to my husband if he was still taking it easy.

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There were tears in her eyes. At that moment, I could not do anything because the knocking was more potent than the last time. So, I decided to open the door.  I searched for grandpa ́s hockey stick that used to be behind the room door, and it was not there. I said to myself, think, you are strong, and if you make a plan and Bella helps you, you can dot it. When I turned over, Bella was

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Suddenly, he realized my situation; he took a deep breath and looked for something. I asked him, what are you looking for?. I am a nurse. Could you please take your belt and find some stick or other item string enough to hold the tourniquet. He started to do like a robot. I tried to be strong, but the pain became worse and worse, and for me, my husband was wasting time doing the tourniquet. When finally, he did, I was.

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I took the flashlight, and we ran as fast as we could to the way where the sound came, and nothing. We look around the room, and one of my kids says, it is here! The cat could not move because it got stuck between the desk and the chair. So, I tried to move the chair first, but when I gave my first step to moving it, my mom came in and said, wait!! don't move

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I invited him to enter the cabin, and I showed him the way to the restroom. Please make yourself; I will find some dry clothes for you, I told him. When I came back, I knocked the bathroom, nobody answered me, and the door was open. I went into and

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laying on her back and wagging her tail. I couldn't believe it. "Weren't you supposed to protect the house?" It was clear this was a one woman mission. I took a step closer, feeling the cold breeze coming from under the door. I saw a man standing and holding a flashlight in my direction. It was like he was looking for something...

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passing out. I could tell I was getting loopy as I lost more and more blood. As I was losing conscience I heard someone come through the door

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I asked the man." What are you looking for?" He said "The baby...." and he sobbed heavily and loudly.

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The man couldn't stop crying and wailing saying that I lost my baby, I was traveling from a far distance, and my baby was so hungry. And I looked around it was cold and so dark, but I saw some lights in a store, So I ran to....

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and I almost lost my conscience. when I opened my eyes, I saw a bright light, beautiful garden with lots of flowers , birds singing and I heard the sound of the fresh water and I ran to see the water, as I got closer, I saw

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careful, there is something which very long close to the cat, so my mom, lit the flash light and saw it was a long poisonous snake, waiting to eat my cat, my mom took a

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but the time was running, and my husband still was trying to fix. I said trying because seems he didn't know how to do it. Many times, I asked him " may I help you?" but he refused. Finally, he stands up and a little bit frustrated said, I think we have to wait and call some expert for this. I cannot fix.

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See if they had food for the baby and asked someone to watch him while I bought the food. When I turned around the stranger and baby were gone. The man finished his story in tears and I decided to do something.

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Mermaids and dolphins swimming in this cerulean water. Was I dreaming...I slowly stepped into the water to see what would happen. All of a sudden,

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heavy shovel and tried to push it out the door, the snake hissed angrily and coiled up preparing to strike me, then a sudden change happened.

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found him staring at the mirror as if in a daze, my voice startled him from his trance and he followed me out to the kitchen where I had prepared his dinner of

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I couldn't stand by and watch helplessly while someone's baby was missing. There seemed to be a missing piece from turning around to get the food and then to them going missing. We were going to get to the bottom of this.

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The water glowed in a sort of firefly type of way and opened up to a deep cave-like abyss in the earth. It was beautiful and interesting all at the same time. I was scared to go farther and all at the same time so curious...

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It sprung forward to attack and then literally poofed away in the air. I'm not kidding! I've never seen anything like it. All that was left was a silver coin on the ground. Safe to say it was a bit quiet after that as we all needed some time to process and take it in.

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Carrots and beans. He often didn't care much for the carrots, but they were the most readily available produce they could afford that was grown in the area. He had a virtuous wife though, so she was into finding ways to save money at every corner while giving her family the best nourishment they could with what they had.

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Sometimes it's best to have someone else come in who knows a bit more from experience. This may be one of those times even though his keen ability to learn just about anything was strong, they needed this fixed in a timely manner. There wasn't much room for error on this one, it was costly and valuable. We wouldn't have thought that...

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a strong gust of wind would knock him off balance and make him fall out the window! I frantically slipped on my shoes and ran outside. Once I came around the corner of the RV, I couldn't believe my eyes. He was nowhere to be found. In that moment it dawned on me that...

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So I put Bella on a leash and went for a walk around my neighbourhood to find this poor man's baby. I would never be able to sleep in peace thinking that a baby was missing just so close to my house. Bella started sniffing a couple of houses down my road and I thought that was suspicious. I knocked in that house door and to my surprise...

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about what I was seeing! Was I in heaven? Was I heading to hell? I thought I believed in Jesus, so why did I have to go to a deep cave? As I was asking these questions I was suddenly taken back to the top of a very high mountain and it was so cold up there...

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The cat was there though, but he was still terrified of what had just happened.  My mom said to try to give him a bath first, since there was a very weird odor coming from him. I grabbed my brother and we both got the cat into our bathtub. As we were giving him a bath...

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As we started talking about our families, he mentioned his grandfather's name was Harrold Watts. Watts? I asked him. My mom's parents are also Watts. We might be relatives! I went upstairs to find some old family pictures and...

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my husband could actually be stuck under the RV. I bent down yelling for his name, and still he was no where to be found. I started to panic. Was he pranking me? He tends to do that a lot. No way that in such a short period of time he would have time to disappear like that. It was then that I...

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Snow was starting to fall. From behind I heard strained voice whisper, "Welcome to the afterlife dear." Turning around as fast as I could, I searched to see who had spoken.

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started yelling his name. "Steve!, Steve where are you?" I shouted. "This isn't funny. Steve?" I thought I heard a faint sound in the distance, but just then it started pouring again. The sound of the rain hitting the RV, the wind shaking the trees, and my noisy thoughts now turned to shouts of terror, were making it very difficult to decipher. I ran back into the RV and screamed "STEVE" helplessly from the broken window. "Where are you?" Then without a word, the engine turned on and we were moving. My heart was pounding when I turned to look at the driver and saw that it was...

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the man followed. I led him up the old staircase that creaked with each step.  "It should be in this room," I said. In the middle of the room was the old wooden trunk which kept the family photos. "That's strange," I said looking through each picture. My eyes grew and heart raced. This can't be right. The man in the photos next to my mother... it's... it's...

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I saw a man standing in the doorway holding a crying baby. I ask the man if he knew about a missing baby, and he said, yes and that the police had just found this baby in the park earlier that day and was hoping to find its parents.

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And then I woke up, realizing I should never watch scary movies, not before bed and really not ever, because they cause me to have bad dreams. I was relieved to be awake in my own room and surprised to look out the window and see that it was still dark and stormy outside...

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As my brother and I were giving him a bath, the cat scratched me and hissed. My brother almost fell into the bathtub while wrestling to keep the cat still and I got soapy water in my eyes.

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my great uncle Frank. The man looked at the picture too and pointed with a shaking finger, saying over and over again, yep that's Harold. I thought, how could this man next to my mom be my uncle frank and his grandpa Harold?

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It was Steve and he was driving the vehicle while still sleeping. I shook him awake, relieved to see him, alive and okay and asked him to please get out of the drivers seat.

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After a few minutes, the police show up. I gasped at the sight of them-it was none other then the car-dealing elephant from my dream! Then his partner got out of the car, and I nearly fainted at the sight of the panda? What is going on, I thought to myself. The elephant sheriff stepped towards the man with the baby and said...

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I am afraid that you are going to have to come with me. So, with hesitancy in my voice and trepidation in my steps, I slowly began to follow him out the door. Once I reached...

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I was visibly confused as I sat up to rub my eyes and take in what I had just experienced. My mind was still racing as I tried to make sense of what was real and what was not. For nearly ten minutes...

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at this point, I was reminded why I hate cats. But now that he was in our home, what was I to do. I quietly contemplated my next step when suddenly...

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...the door, I woke up to find myself in the Honda dealership. "Although", I thought to myself, "this is not the first time I have woken up from this dream." I began to realize I was stuck inside a dream within a dream. "How many layers of this dream could I be in?", I wondered.

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I cried in my confusion. I came to realize my life was only as real as my dreams were and the pain I felt in my dreams was just as horrendous as pain I could endure in the real world. After that, I pondered life and what it means to truly be alive...

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the cat came and curled up on my lap. Purring and nestling in, the cat fell asleep. I sat back in relief but also deep frustration and wondered...

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After determining that this was surely impossible, I alone came to the conclusion that he must be a ghost. I told no one but began to think about my next steps.

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I was grateful to know that my leg was intact and it was in fact only a dream. My husband was no where to be seen. I wondered if the barn roof really had been damaged. Maybe my husband was outside fixing it...

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I was a bit annoyed seeings how the cat was still wet, but at least he had quitted down. I told my kids that even though it seemed like a nice idea to keep this little guy that he might already have a home. We all decided that the following day we would go in search of his owners, as I was sure they were probably missing him...

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As tired and afraid as I was suddenly it dawned on me that I was mistaken. It was not my husband after all. My Steve was tall with brown wavy locks and a snow white beard. This creatures was short, bald, and had nose hairs that needed to be trimmed. I thought to myself, "who on earth could this be?" and "where is my husband?"

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As these thoughts were darting through my mind suddenly it felt as though there was an earthquake in my house. My whole body was trembling. I thought to myself, what on earth is going on... To my delight a bright light shone on my eyes, it was my husband shaking me to wake up. As I sat up in bed he asked me, "what was your dream about?"

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There is no such thing as ghosts I told myself, or at least that is what I had been taught growing up. Who could this man be then I asked myself and how did he end up here? Looking toward him I said, "Do you have any children?" Nothing; He did not say a word, so I asked him again. "Sir do you have any children?" Then he motioned to his back pocket. he pulled out his bill fold and a small piece of paper he had tucked inside. He unfolded it and brought it near the light for me to see. How could it be...

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My thoughts were interrupted by a terrible, loud snapping noise. In an instant I knew: The tree! I darted out of the room before the heavy branch came crashing through the roof - just in time to safe my leg from a very unfortunate injury. Breathing heavily I was looking around in search for my husband, when...

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"You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" I replied, still confused by everything that just happened (or was I still dreaming...?). Just as I was about to tell my husband about my many layered dreams the doorbell rang. My husband kissed me on the forehead and went to open the door. "Oh honey - there is someone here for you! It's ..."

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...and sure enough the next day bright and early in the morning the doorbell rang. It was our neighbours daughter Katie. Her eyes were red from crying all night. She held a missing cat poster in her hands and asked shakily: "have you seen Oreo around your house last night?" I opened my mouth to reply, when...

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The creature began to speak but I was still in shock - I didn't understand a word he said. "WHAT?! What did you say?" I shouted. The man replied: "Quick, we need to get out of here. If we don't hurry, the...

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...that my uncle Frank was in this picture with a group of people that I didn't recognise at all?! The look on the young mans face was just as puzzled as mine. We held the pictures side by side. Yes, this was the same person in both pictures but he was surrounded by to completely different families. "I don't understand..." I mumbled, trying to make sense of it all when the young man seemed to come out of his trance. He began to tell a story.

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"Its your aunt Tabatha. She said she couldn't sleep all night because she had been having a strange set of layered dreams." My heartbeat quickend as I led my aunt to the kitchen table to ask her about her night. Just as we sit down the doorbell rings again. I can only hear my husband in the back: "I'll go get the door..."

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I hear his familiar voice calling "Honey I need you here!". I can hear the panic in his voice he is surely not wanting me to hear as I am daring out of the room as fast as I can...

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out from behind me jumped an excited little furball. "Oreo!" Katie was beaming with delight "I was so scared you were lost! But now you are back! Maybe when they see you Mom and Dad won't be so sad anymore that...

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"My favorite thing to do as a young boy, was to watch my father paint. He wasn't a peaceful man, you need to know. Not that he was angry, he just seemed so overwhelmed and distracted all the time. Except for when he was painting. When he was in his studio he could just loose all track of time. Often I would sneak in behind him and watch him unfold a story on the canvas. He would pretend not to notice me until one day...

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The voice blurred into the background. I still couldn't move. How could my life change so much over the last day and a half? How could I have prepared for any of this? "WE have to MOVE!" the man was now standing right in front of me. He must have seen how deeply shook it was, because he took my arm and started pulling me toward the whole in the wall when...

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I look at my aunt and asked her if she had seen someone else outside, since she had just gotten here. She said "No. But there was a cop car parked outside your house, which I thought was strange." Just then...

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I rush out to the barn, where I heard his voice coming from. My leg is searing in pain, but my adrenaline kicks in. As I approach the barn I see the damage from the night before. Just then our jersey cow Clover comes rushing out of the barn in a panic. I want to calm her down, but first I focus on finding my husband.

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we're losing the house and having to move." "I know they're really stressed right now. I'm still trying to convince them to let Oreo come with us to our new home in...

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he called to me and told me to come and sit next to him. He was silent for a minute and I just watched him paint. His strokes were so elegant and purposeful. Finally, he looked at me and said "son let me tell you about the greatest artist of all". He grabbed his Bible sitting next to him and turned to Genesis...

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Water started flowing through the hole. I knew it was a bad idea to spend the night in a dried out river bed. Why hadn't Steve just listened to me and had us stay in the RV park just a couple miles down the road. Then I realized, this man in the RV must have been a camper in the area who was trying to outrun the flash flood. The man kept urging me to leave, but I didn't want to leave before I found Steve. The man grabbed my arm, but I pulled away and...

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My husband opened the door and what appeared to be a big shadow in the dark was the elephant sheriff from my dream! "That elephant was in my dream!" my aunt yelled. "Ladies you both are under arrest, don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be." The elephant sheriff came closer to both of us, and at that moment my husband grabbed my my grandpa's hockey stick...

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I yell, "Honey, where are you?" As I frantically search for my husband, I hear him yell. "What is it? What happened?" I scream anxiously waiting for a response. Then out of nowhere I see...

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"... New York City, but I'm not sure how well Oreo would adjust. This cat grew up on the farm and was a stray. Not sure the city cats would get along." "Hmmm, would you guys be willing to keep Oreo while I'm away?" I look at my mom with puppy eyes and wait for her response.

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"Now listen, God didn't just turn on the lights. He said "Let there be light." and that's all it took. He so graciously created the sky, gave us land, trees, and plants. Don't forget He created the moons and the stars knowing them by name. He also created all the creatures in the world, with purpose. Including us, creating us with unique talents and gifts. And son, on the last day He rested.." I sat there, trying to take it all in when...

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I fell back into the same window my husband fell into. My only thought was where is my husband and who was that grumbling man? I was falling, and falling, and kept falling when all of the sudden...

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all of the sudden another tree branch snapped outside. I was absolutely terrified as he went out to go check and make sure that the house had not been damaged. I stood there watching him outside contemplating the things he talked about. How could a God be real? I had never considered that before. As soon as...

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and began to hit the elephant sheriff over the head. "You cannot take my wife!" he screamed! All at once the giant elephant began to...

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a massive tornado spinning towards our house. I shout "come inside now!" I cannot see my husband but I know that I must find him immediately. I begin running towards the barn...

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My mom answered "I suppose if that would be best." I jumped in response to her answer and my eyes filled will tears of joy!

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I heard the voice of Steve cry out "Hello?" I screamed back, "Steve! It's me! I'm here." Relieved, I began to cry and...

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... try and come into the house, but he couldn't make it past the entry way. After my husband got calmed down the elephant sheriff began to explain why they were under arrest. The sheriff said...

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... and out of no where he comes rushing out of the barn. He meets me at the door of the barn and we run as fast as we can to our storm shelter. We are almost there when...