Yesterday was a long day for sure. We started at 8:30 am and powered through the whole day to inventory all of our definitive unsalvageable goods. The fire was contained so well in our attic that most of these items where either things that we were planning on selling in the next yard sale (I always talked about doing a yard sale and my husband always said no way was he lugging that stuff down from the attic) or were sentimental items, but did not have a set spot in our home. It was pretty amazing to look at how much stuff we keep and think about why we kept it. There was a lot of stuff from my husband's Mom who passed away several years ago--yarn, Christmas decorations, coffee mugs, etc. I had journals that I kept in high school and art supplies from elementary school (who needs that?!?).
It was hot--REALLY hot--yesterday and we worked until it was all done. We filled a dumpster and still have a huge pile of stuff to throw away once they empty it. I just keep telling myself that it can all be replaced and this was not stuff we looked at everyday anyway. The memories you have of people or times in your life are forever in your mind and don't live in the possessions.
They started the demo process yesterday and most of our second floor is down to the frame. At first glance it was shocking to see, but at the same time it is the beginning of getting through this process. I can't wait for the rebuild to start so I can feel like we are moving in a positive direction!
Megan
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Sunday Night
On July 22, 2012 around 7:00 pm my husband was outside in the backyard with our dogs. It was obvious a storm was rolling in and he wanted to make sure they could "do their thing" before it started to down pour. I was reading an article on my iPad and our 2 year old was playing in the family room. All of sudden, there was a huge crack of lighting and in that moment I vividly remember seeing what seemed like the whole sky turning orange. I sprung out of my chair as my husband was running into the house. We went out front, along with the rest of our neighbors, to see happened. As we stepped on our front porch we noticed tree bark everywhere from a large, old tree that sits in our neighbors yard, right on our property line. All of the neighbors were out on their front porches to see what happened and we were chit chatting about what we suspected happened. At that moment in time, I assumed the tree was hit be lighting. We went back inside and I called my Mom and Dad who live very close by and told them about it. We went back outside to make sure the tree was still standing. I started to smell smoke, but thought it was the residual from the tree. Then I started thinking...the tree was not on fire and it was not cracked in half...perhaps the lighting just mysteriously went into the ground (wishful thinking). Our neighbor who owns the tree arrived home and my husband went to tell him about it. He discovered that his garage door was not working and we thought everyone on the street lost power. I went back in the house to discover that some lights worked and others did not. My husband made his way to our garage to check our breakers.
Then everything changed.
I was standing at the front door with our daughter in arm as a neighbor comes running up to the front of the house. I immediately open the door to let him know we have power and then I realize he is yelling, "Your house is on fire! Get out, Get out!" I run down the hall, still holding my little girl of course, and tell my husband we need to get out. He grabs the dogs, we run out of the house toward the street, turn around and see gray smoke billowing out of the top of our house. We went over to our neighbors front porch as we were waiting for the Fire Department to arrive. I have never seen a house fire before, but I just kept waiting for the flames to shoot out of the roof and the whole thing to crumble to the ground. Luckily, it did not. Due to the AMAZING efforts of our local fire department, they were able to contain it to the attic space in which it started. As the long night continued, we had an opportunity to go into our house to see the damage. We were shocked! Their was so much water pumped into our home that the paint on the first floor was already starting to peel off. Our large, glass pendant lights over our kitchen island fell out of the ceiling due to water. The intensity of the heat inside the house was unreal. As we eventually made our way up to the 3rd floor (which is part attic, part bonus room), we saw the worst of the damage. Everything was black and the smell was intense. You could see every single nail in the walls. I then knew this was going to be the beginning of a long and arduous process. But, I am up for the challenge!
The next day, once daylight hit, we had a chance to walk the home again. Let me tell you, things get worse when you shed some light on the subject! In the past few days our life has been turned upside down. We have moved in with family, rented a home for 6 months while we rebuild, have had to secure a temporary location for our business that was run out of house, have had all of our stuff (literally everything) either thrown away or removed for cleaning, received so many phone calls from people in the process and have learned that the damage from smoke and water is so much that our house will be stripped down to the frame.
We have received an INCREDIBLE amount of support from friends and the community. I have received messages on Facebook from neighbors I have yet to meet in person. One very good friend wrote me the sweetest email and mentioned that God says beauty comes from ashes, which I thought was very fitting for the situation and frankly, her email was the inspiration for this blog. (She is a fantastic blogger over at Rare and Beautiful Treasures)
I loved our house. We built it. We made every decision on every detail in the home. But now, we start over. I am determined to find the fun and excitement in this process! I have heard that a person's character is not defined by the way they are on their best days, but by the way they are on their worst. This has already been a life affirming and changing event for us and I know I would not be given more than I can handle. I am up for the challenge and I know there will be bumps along the road. I thought it would be interesting to document the journey and look back on this some day with the fond memories of the process and experience. We are so grateful that no one was hurt and have realized that when things like this happen, you have to really stop and think about what is important. Take the time to hold hands, hug each other and partner together to make the best of the situation.
Megan
Then everything changed.
I was standing at the front door with our daughter in arm as a neighbor comes running up to the front of the house. I immediately open the door to let him know we have power and then I realize he is yelling, "Your house is on fire! Get out, Get out!" I run down the hall, still holding my little girl of course, and tell my husband we need to get out. He grabs the dogs, we run out of the house toward the street, turn around and see gray smoke billowing out of the top of our house. We went over to our neighbors front porch as we were waiting for the Fire Department to arrive. I have never seen a house fire before, but I just kept waiting for the flames to shoot out of the roof and the whole thing to crumble to the ground. Luckily, it did not. Due to the AMAZING efforts of our local fire department, they were able to contain it to the attic space in which it started. As the long night continued, we had an opportunity to go into our house to see the damage. We were shocked! Their was so much water pumped into our home that the paint on the first floor was already starting to peel off. Our large, glass pendant lights over our kitchen island fell out of the ceiling due to water. The intensity of the heat inside the house was unreal. As we eventually made our way up to the 3rd floor (which is part attic, part bonus room), we saw the worst of the damage. Everything was black and the smell was intense. You could see every single nail in the walls. I then knew this was going to be the beginning of a long and arduous process. But, I am up for the challenge!
The next day, once daylight hit, we had a chance to walk the home again. Let me tell you, things get worse when you shed some light on the subject! In the past few days our life has been turned upside down. We have moved in with family, rented a home for 6 months while we rebuild, have had to secure a temporary location for our business that was run out of house, have had all of our stuff (literally everything) either thrown away or removed for cleaning, received so many phone calls from people in the process and have learned that the damage from smoke and water is so much that our house will be stripped down to the frame.
We have received an INCREDIBLE amount of support from friends and the community. I have received messages on Facebook from neighbors I have yet to meet in person. One very good friend wrote me the sweetest email and mentioned that God says beauty comes from ashes, which I thought was very fitting for the situation and frankly, her email was the inspiration for this blog. (She is a fantastic blogger over at Rare and Beautiful Treasures)
I loved our house. We built it. We made every decision on every detail in the home. But now, we start over. I am determined to find the fun and excitement in this process! I have heard that a person's character is not defined by the way they are on their best days, but by the way they are on their worst. This has already been a life affirming and changing event for us and I know I would not be given more than I can handle. I am up for the challenge and I know there will be bumps along the road. I thought it would be interesting to document the journey and look back on this some day with the fond memories of the process and experience. We are so grateful that no one was hurt and have realized that when things like this happen, you have to really stop and think about what is important. Take the time to hold hands, hug each other and partner together to make the best of the situation.
Megan
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