When all is said and done...

We're happy to be alive and healthy! I am so thankful for my beautiful family and to God for his protection over us. We had a close scare yesterday with a fire at our house. We're all doing fine and our house is fine, only minor damages to the outside property and some things (like brick on the side of the house water hose, gutter, sprinklers ect). It was really scary though and totally unexpected of course! The timing was perfect because Clint had come home early, noticed smoke then saw fire. I was in the back of the house with all three babies and had no idea our house was burning from the outside in! We were so fortunate for that our neighbor's contractor was outside. I screamed (after running out carrying all three kids-you do what you've got to do!) For help and for him to RUN in a hurry. Clint grabbed the fire extinguisher and the emergency crews were there afterward. It was caused by an outside electrical wiring box on the side of our house. The ground had settled over many years causing the wires to be pulled tight, too tight and yesterday they came loose causing, heat, smoke and sparks which lead to th fire. The landscaping caught first since it's been so dry and we have pine needles (not mulch) covering the ground. The bushes were the next thing to go and although they are singed we got to the fire in time, thank the Lord! If those big buses would have caught the windows would have popped and the fire would have easily, very rapidly become an inside fire. we were going to go for a walk but hadn't left yet and if we would have we would have returned to the house in flames most likely. Just in time! Even if Clint wouldn't have come home early and walked into the front room where the office is I wouldn't have known about the fire until it was too late to put out myself! Also we were having a babysitter come stay in only 1 1/2 hours from this time and I cannot imagine if the kids would have been in bed and she was in the basement watching TV or something. She'd been totally oblivious, there would be no way to know since you really couldn't smell it from inside and there are no smoke alarms on the outside of the house. It could have been bad. It could have been tragic. It could have even been deadly. I think "what if it would have started only a few hours later? We would have all been sleeping." And what would have woken us up? The fire once inside? An explosion? The sound of the windows popping? But there was a reason. There was a reason it happened, period. There was a reason it happened at 5:30 PM and not 8:30 PM (when we would have. Had a babysitter) or 1:30 AM (when we would have all been asleep). I've thought, how would I ever get all the babies out in case of a fire or emergency? Well, I guess I have my answer. I didn't even thing for one second. I just scooped them ALL up at once, almost in one motion! And RAN out the front door to the edge of our yard. I always thought I'd be concerned for our "things," having a house fire when I was young makes me think of these things. I play out scenarios in my mind sometimes...what if this? Or what if that happened? What would I do? Where would we escape? What could I grab from the house and save it? The answer I learned only yesterday. Nothing. Not a thing. There isn't anything we need or want in this house. Nothing THAT important. I always thought my scrapbooks. I know it might sound funny. While they may not hold real value to someone else they are irreplaceable to me because I've spend countless hours and time on them and they are my memories, memories of our life, our family. When my house burned when I was in grade school all I cared about loosing was my Barbies at the time, skipper, Ken and Barbie! I laugh about it now but I look back and what we really lost, what I think I miss the most are the pictures. You see, for you young whippersnappers out there there used to be something called "film". You put this in your camera and could only take about 24 photos before having them developed. Yes, developed. Doesn't that seem like light years ago? Gosh, some days I really do feel old (I know, I know -. ONLY 28, but I FEEL at least 40 most days LOL). Anyway, back to the point. I miss those childhood photos and baby photos even. I have some, but not that many. Maybe that's why I take SO many pictures of my kids? I don't know. We salvaged what we could and moved on, but the fire in 1991 will always be a part of our families history, one memory. There's a lot more to this story and a lot more to the story of the fire from yesterday but the important thing is we caught it, we all got out and we're safe. Daddy is the hero though, that's for sure! Thank you Lord for your protection for my family. You're my rock on which I stand and all of my hope is in you! Help me not to fear the unknowns of this life but rest because you're sovereign over my life and you hold my children close to your heart and loves them more than I do. Amen.

Love you guys, Rach
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T