Temple, Texas had two confirmed tornadoes on the evening of May 22nd, and as the whole community has come together to clean up, repair, and rebuild, there are several life lessons that are also occurring right now. It has been so encouraging to see all of the Lone Star State rally together around the residents of Central Texas, and reaffirm that we really are the "Friendly" state.

Read More: Photos Show Significant Tornado Damage in Temple, Texas

The above article shows the vast damage that has happened all over town, and the photos and video within this article are a peak at my family's first hand experience with recovering from what looks to be a record storm, or at least generational, for much of the area. (While writing this, just had to jump up and recover a few items in the backyard as the wind was beginning to play tricks once again.)

Read More: Temple, Texas Power Outage Update

Thankfully for my family, we never really lost power because having to toss out two refrigerator and a deep freeze full of food stock for a family of five would have been just as expensive or more than all of the other repairs we are taking on around the house and yard. Power and Internet are still in need to be restored for many in the area, and it was not just my ability to write articles that missed having the world wide web at my home.

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New Lessons Learned From The Temple, TX Tornadoes

Of all the lessons my wife Lindsay and I are learning with hail, tornado, and storm damage to our home, the most important has been, "Count your blessings." We are so thankful that our kids were uninjured, and hopefully for the most part not traumatized from hiding in a closet under the stairs.

Vast damage still being assessed after Temple, Texas tornadoes.

US 105 Facebook/Canva
US 105 Facebook/Canva
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Of course, our guest house/mother-in-law home is now trashed, so there goes a good amount of property value, and the vacation fund that was going to be financed from the VRBO revenue. Hopefully they drop my property taxes on the next assessment.

All kidding aside, we are definitely counting our blessings even with all the paperwork that comes from owning a home. Thank you for being such great neighbors.

LOOK: Tornado Damage in Temple, Texas

Photos show the damage in Temple after a tornado touched down there on Wednesday, May 22.

Gallery Credit: Meg Dowdy

The Texas Emergency Numbers You Need to Know

Gallery Credit: Johnny Thrash

Tornados in 2023: States With the Most Property Damage

While states in 'Tornado Alley' may see a higher number of twisters, the number has little to do with total property damage. ConsumerAffairs recently looked at data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Statista to determine how many states tornadoes touched down in each state and compared that to the total estimated property damage in the same time period. Here's a look at Tornadoes in 2023: Ranking the States For Most Property Damage.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow