When my alarm went off Monday, I muttered....thank God it's Monday. That is something I never thought I would say. The past weekend was definitely one for the books and not in a good way.
Friday evening was good. Hallie dyed eggs. I bought some egg dye on clearance for 90% after Easter. She has asked me everyday to color eggs. I finally caved after she asked for the 753 time. She is so darn persistent. So next Easter, I'll be buying some full price dye. Oh well. I'll take the blame. I did leave the dye kit on the counter for her to see everyday. I should have just put it away out of her sight.
She also enjoyed coloring on the kitchen windows with some liquid chalk markers. I bought the liquid chalk markers off of Jane.com. The crazy thing....the liquid chalk would not come off a chalkboard, but it comes off glass. Mmmmkay?? Thank goodness the chalkboard was a cheap one from the Target dollar section.
Saturday is the day that I never want to relive. The morning was normal. I went to CVS Pharmacy, came home, and played with Hallie. I got Hallie to take a nap around 1:00. I just sat down on the couch to get on the computer. All of a sudden I hear a loud, obnoxious knock on our door. I immediately thought it was my step dad and how I was going to kill him for making the dog bark that was probably going to wake up Hallie. David got to the door before I did. It was one of my neighbors. He said your in-laws house is on fire. The back of the house can be seen from our front yard.
Technically, it's my grandparents house, but my parents have been staying there for several years taking care of my grandparents. My grandmother passed away last year, but my parents have still been staying there to go through everything. The house was going to be rented out at the beginning of June.
After hearing the house was on fire, David immediately took off running. I got another neighbor (the kid's adoptive grandma) to sit with Hallie while she slept. Her husband told me he called my mom and that she was on her way home and that no one was in the house. Someone also told me 911 had been called. At this point, I take off running for the house. I was not that far behind David.
David got to the house first, but had not heard that no one was in the house because he took off so fast. By the time I got there, he had kicked in the back door. He said he was unable to go in because it was too smoky. He went around banging on the windows to see if anyone was in there. I finally made it there and told him no one was home. We waited for what seemed liked an eternity for the fire department to show up.
I then called my mom. I know my neighbor said she wasn't at home, but I needed to hear her voice for confirmation. She also confirmed that my step dad was not home.
The fire department showed up and began working on putting the fire out. Not long after, my mom arrived. Her immediate reaction was to try to run into the house. She was stopped by a firefighter. The firefighter and I both told her that she could not go in there. She just sat on the ground crying. Then, she started having problems breathing. I was scared to death, but started coaching her to breath through her nose and out her mouth. She was able to calm down and regulate her breathing. The fire department finally got the fire out, but there was a lot of damage to the house, including smoke and water damage. We were able to go in and grab a few things. When I walked in, it was like it was raining on me from all the water that they had to spray.
After things seemed settled, I went home and mom went to her trailer to get ready for my niece's baby shower. I jumped in the shower to remove the smoke smell and black stuff. Then, I got Hallie ready. I let her go out in the driveway and play. I was getting ready in the kitchen so that I could watch her in the driveway. I went out to get her and noticed smoke coming from the house again. The fire started back up. We got in the car and headed down the road. I called 911, but I noticed they were already there as I got closer to the house. David had returned from buying wood to board up the house and noticed it had started again and called 911. I immediately called my mom to tell her. She informed she would not be able to make it that she was at the hospital with my step dad because he got in a motorcycle wreck. He was rushing home after hearing about the fire. He wrecked turning onto the house street. His shoulder was hurting. They were concerned he may have broken it. Thankfully, the X-rays showed no broken bones. He was just really bruised and sore.
pictures of the house
Sunday morning we headed to church. Hallie was looking super cute and helped cheer this momma up.
I absolutely love praise and worship, but this Sunday was a little different. I am always thankful for all God has done for me, but my heart was bursting with gratitude. As we sang our praise and worship songs, tears flowed from my eyes. We definitely saw God's protection in the events from the day before. No one was hurt in either of the tragic events. We also saw God's favor. With the house going to be rented out the first of June, mom had already gotten the majority of the important items out of the house. We talked about how all those items would still have been in the house if it wasn't for the renter. I am also thankful for friends that are prayer warriors. As the events happened, I reached out to them. There is power in prayer!
The rest of Sunday was spent doing my parents laundry. Everything was wet and smelt like smoke. My hands were black from taking all the clothes off the hangers. We had the clothes on a tarp in the yard. Hallie helped by using a wagon to take the loads of clothes into the house.
I picked up Bryson from his Dad's that evening. He was devastated by the news about the house. He had spent a lot of time in that house. He cried because of all the memories in the house. I explained to him that memories are in our hearts and minds and that he will always have them.
I sat down on the couch about 8:00 to finally relax. As I sat down, the electricity went out. Some kid in the neighborhood was flying an inflatable frisbee that the wind caught and flew into the power line or power pole. I'm not really sure. David was outside and saw the sparks. At this point, all I could do was laugh.
Thank God it's Monday!
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