Love,
...us...
...here's to 2013...
May it be full of
...conversation...
...quiet moments...
...laughter...
...joy...
...quality time...
and
...memory-making...
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
#364/366--Two
...my babies...
(last night of our Arkansas family time--
--spent at UrbanAir trampoline park)
...round one...
...of...
...my restored things...
...and...
...a little irony...
...this is what's left...
...in my home...
...after the restoration company...
...took all they could take...
...to "restore"...
But, you see, here is how I see things.
...Christmas was restored to me on Christmas morning...
...around 2 a.m....
It's meaning will be forever changed in our lives.
A time when friends, neighbors,
and people you don't even know
come together
and give out of the overflow
of their hearts
...A time when miracles still happen...
The restoration company
did not need to take my tree.
It's beauty can never be taken from me.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
#360/366--Six
I guess the only place to begin is the beginning.
Except I want to start at the end.
I'm sitting here in my hotel room,
alone tonight,
letting the events of the past 21 hours wash over me.
Now, back to the beginning.
It was about 12:30 a.m. I had just taken the presents and placed them under the tree, posted a pic to facebook, and climbed into bed. I heard thunder in the distance and was content. I like going to sleep to the sound of thunder.
My children were...well, they were nestled, all snug in their beds and visions of candy, clothes, and movies danced in their heads. I must have dozed off. The next thing I know, it is 2 a.m., there is loud shouting, dogs barking, and someone ringing my doorbell. I peeked out and noticed it was the loud, domestically violent neighbors and decided I did NOT want to be a part of that on Christmas Eve. But then they began banging. I peeked out of my window again and that's when I saw it.
Orange.
And I felt it.
Hot.
That's when I knew.
I yelled at my children to get up. I said there's a fire.
Said?
No that's not right.
Screamed.
Shouted.
Cursed.
We ran downstairs and stood in the cold, pouring, rain, looking at the adjacent townhouse, two doors down from us...engulfed in flames. I asked if someone had called 911. Yes,they had. I ran back inside, knowing my kids couldn't stand there inhaling all that smoke. I grabbed my keys, unlocked the van and got them and Sandy inside.
Then I ran back in and got them shoes.
Then I ran back in again to get their blankets.....
...then, I ran in again to get my phone...
I called 911. The fire trucks were not there yet. Did they NOT know there was a for real FIRE??? Does this really happen to me on Christmas Eve? I posted on facebook. I texted my friend, Tara, to please pray. I snapped a pic.
But. No. That obviously doesn't give you a good picture of what we saw.
I noticed the neighbors were not out. I began helping to beat on their door. They threw rocks at the windows to wake these people up.
Then...finally...the firemen arrived.
I got in the van with my kiddos and watched. This is when I realized my children were horrified.
Sobbing.
Freaked out.
At the same moment, smoke began gushing over our van. The heroes had begun spraying water. I thought to myself that I needed to move the van away from the smoke or we would get sick. I got out again. I asked my neighbor across the street if I could park in her driveway. She said yes. I moved my van. I texted my friend, Sarah, realizing at that moment, she had just gotten off of work. We sat there, the kids and I, watching, not noticing the 8 other firetrucks that had arrived. Sarah got in the van with us. I have no idea what we talked about. I don't remember her getting there...I'm sure I was rambling incoherently about what had happened.
She snapped some pics for me.
We got the kids, somehow, to Sarah's house, where their stepmom picked them up and took them back to their dad's. He came to wait with Sarah and me. In the meantime, I called insurance, spoke with red cross, stood, shaking, watching, not knowing.
Around 4:30, a fireman told us we could go into my place to get a few things "in about an hour." Franco, my ex, called his sister and asked her to bring some boxes so we could try to salvage some things.
Around 6 a.m., we were escorted in with two firemen and the red cross guy to get what we needed. Immediately, we were met with the burning stench of smoke.
We decided to grab a few, much needed, things and come back later on.
I am very fortunate in the post-divorce relationship I have with my ex and his wife. They welcomed me into their home, around 7 a.m., where I found my children (and Sandy), still awake, still shell-shocked, still upset,
but freshly showered.
...I was a little jealous of that...
My daughter brought me blankets. Mikey made a pallet on the floor and fell asleep. Lauren and I shared the couch, where we both slept very intermittently until 9:30. I know I was answering texts, phone calls, and facebook messages...but I don't remember it.
Around 11, all of us sat around Franco's Christmas Tree and opened presents. Yes, my friend Sarah grabbed all the presents that were under the tree (hero). And they were salvageable. And I sat there drinking coffee, snapping more pics, watching, thinking how odd and surreal this situation was.
That is when I began to feel overwhelmed.
Blessed beyond imagination.
My children are alive.
We are having Christmas.
Thankful.
I can hug their necks.
I can smell their freshly shampooed hair.
I can watch them continue on their teenage paths...blessed.
About this time, I knew I needed to shower. And also...I knew I didn't have any clothes. I decided to go back to my house.
((to help you get a better idea of things...I'm the corner house. If you go back to the fire pictures, you can see that it looks very much like my house is under attack))
((I did another drive by after it started snowing))
It appears like my house physically is fine. I did not go up into the attic.
Frankly, I'm scared.
But there is smoke damage. No electricity. Hard to be in there longer than a few minutes.
My neighbors?
The family next door was out of town. They have a 2 1/2 year old. They had planned on coming back into town the previous night, but the baby got sick. So they stayed away another night.
What timing.
Their house? A total loss.
Two doors down?
Total loss.
Apparently lightning had struck their house and the only way they had out was on their back balcony, which is where the firefighters found and rescued them.
I didn't get to see them, but another set of neighbors told us they went to the hospital last night.
I thought I heard them say they were emotionally overwhelmed.
Three doors down? Roof is completely gone.
And there was that feeling again.
Amidst all this, I was getting text after text about people wanting to help me.
ME!!
ME??
This is me going thru this?
I'm standing on the outside looking in at someone ELSE going thru this.
I am the one that helps...I am not the one who needs help.
Overwhelmingly blessed.
I cannot begin to thank you all. The prayers. The many, many blessings you have given me in the form of loving texts, money, food, gift cards, clothes...toiletries...I am humbled. You are all so generous.
I'm still in shock. You can probably tell by my continuous, incoherent ramblings right here.
Let me give you an example of how much "in shock" I am:
I walked into my house this afternoon and I looked around....and I began doing the dishes.
The dishes??
The dishes.
I love you all. Hug your babies tight. Love them with all your might.
Time is precious. Days are much too few.
Thank you. Thank you so very much for all you have done
and continue to do
for my family and my neighbors.
Monday, December 24, 2012
#359/366--Thirteen
...out of sequence on my title numbers?
...no...
Michael turned 13 today.
Although I've been
calling him a teenager for awhile
he officially became one
today.
He was such a good sport.
I woke him up with a gift
...then...
...we had visitors for breakfast...
(breakfast tacos)
...and a few more gifts...
...then we delivered...
some gifts
to...
Afterward, he was able to play a little xbox
...and...
open an early Christmas present
with Lauren...
(new PJs)
...that we all wore...
...on our field trip...
...to look at...
Christmas Lights
...using this scavenger hunt...
...that I found on Pinterest...
(of course)
1) Christmas Train:
2) A Snowman
3) A Reindeer with a Red Nose
4) A Snow Globe
5) Mickey Mouse
6) Charlie Brown
(we did see this but Lauren got the pic,
not me)
7) Icicles
8) Dancing Lights &
9) Lights set to Music
10) Multicolored Lights
11) Blue Lights
12) Red Lights
13) White Lights
(same house--really cool)
14) The Grinch (this one is blurry)
15) A Penguin
16) Nativity Scene
17) A Candy Cane
18) A Snowflake
19) A Christmas Tree in a Window
...and to make it a nice even number...
20) Santa wearing Camo
(reminded us of Duck Dynasty)
...so yes...
My SweetBoy Mikey
was a good sport.
I took him away
from xbox
and forced him into
more FFT
(forced family time-see previous post)
...but we had fun...
..I think..
...unless they were just pacifying me...
...which would be perfectly fine with me...
Happy Birthday, SweetTeen...
This year...
...there were no Legos...
...no Nerf guns...
...no bows and arrows...
...no Hot Wheels...
...no video games...
...no Star Wars figures...
...no Batman...
...you were really hard to buy for...
...and it makes me both sad...
...and proud...
to watch
you
growing up--
Which you are doing quickly
...but...
very respectfully.
I'm glad to be your mom...
Love,
The Cool Mom
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