A Small Thank You

I am afraid this will turn into some kind of rambling post, but these things have been on my heart for awhile. After three weeks of total chaos our family has settled into our new sense of normalcy. It's a completely new normal, but it still feels good.

Some things thankfully have not changed like the fact that we are still surrounded by our amazing friends and family. My parents really do try and support us in everything we do. My mom does daycare and takes care of my kids and I don't really have to rely on other people that much. The week of the fire my sister also had her beautiful baby 6 weeks early and my mom ended up spending a week away from home to be with her. What I learned during that week, and have learned during the weeks after, is that I can count on my friends as much as I can count on my mom. Don't get me wrong, I knew that before, but I know that even more now. It was awesome to see as our house was on the fire the people that came to surround us. We have never felt alone during this process.

People have brought us food, clothed us, housed us, watched our children, prayed, helped with insurance paperwork, listened as we cried, called us to make sure we were fine. The list goes on. I can't even begin to write all that has happened. People that I don't even know have stepped forward and gave whatever was on their heart.

I can't tell you how thankful we have been. I can't tell you what a blessing it has been to read your comments of love to our family. I have learned a lot during this process. I know that if this had happened 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago, this could have had the potential to destroy my marriage. We are mature enough now to not fight about it and to just know that we have our children and each other. We didn't lose anything of real value because we have each other.

I know that God is with us. I know that he has a bigger plan in this situation. In fact, I know this had to happen. Our house predates the 1900s. Can I even begin to list the problems with our home that needed upgrading? We didn't have the money to fix them and some of them were major safety issues. In fact, since our bathroom had to be gutted we even learned that our bathroom wall wasn't attached to the house! All of our housing issues are being addressed. New wiring, new windows, new insulation, new heating, new paint, new walls, wired in smoke detectors...I'm not kidding, the list goes on. I am sad that when we move back, in some ways it will be a different house but it will be a much safer home and a home we don't have to worry about.

So, I just really wanted to thank you guys. I appreciate your love for my family, your comments and your prayers.