Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
C'mon!
Have you heard the saying "The Devil's In The Details"? Well it just may be those details that set us over the edge! Last week it was the computers, Sat was the plumbing, Monday was the garage door, Tuesday was the dishwashers (yes there are two!) and yesterday we found out that the referral number on our phone line is wrong! I called to fix it today but it's still not right.
So here it is again - don't bother calling for the referral, who knows when it will be fixed
Phone
949.709-5502
Address
55 Golf Ridge
Dove Canyon, CA 92679
But we're hanging in there. Our benchmark is the house burning down after all and compared to that these annoyances are nothing - though they do seem to be compounding. So continue to pray for patience for us PLEASE!
Also, we are gonna need some physical help. Our quote for "restoration" came in at 12K yup that's $12,000 - US dollars! Not including the Piano or Washer and Dryer - probably the only things that are worth restoring. So, we'll be cleaning our own stuff. I'll keep you posted on the day (hoping for next week) and if you are able to come buy and help us transport, or take home and clean and then we can pick up we'd really appreciate it. Seems silly for us to pay them $150 to clean our $70 tent and equally crazy to pay whatever they are charging for disposal when the whole house has to be disposed of anyway! So, we're just gonna go grab what's safe to keep and keep on keepin on!
So here it is again - don't bother calling for the referral, who knows when it will be fixed
Phone
949.709-5502
Address
55 Golf Ridge
Dove Canyon, CA 92679
But we're hanging in there. Our benchmark is the house burning down after all and compared to that these annoyances are nothing - though they do seem to be compounding. So continue to pray for patience for us PLEASE!
Also, we are gonna need some physical help. Our quote for "restoration" came in at 12K yup that's $12,000 - US dollars! Not including the Piano or Washer and Dryer - probably the only things that are worth restoring. So, we'll be cleaning our own stuff. I'll keep you posted on the day (hoping for next week) and if you are able to come buy and help us transport, or take home and clean and then we can pick up we'd really appreciate it. Seems silly for us to pay them $150 to clean our $70 tent and equally crazy to pay whatever they are charging for disposal when the whole house has to be disposed of anyway! So, we're just gonna go grab what's safe to keep and keep on keepin on!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What's with the hair?
I've had enough question to warrant an expanation.
Mike cut my hair.
I made him.
The story is, my hair is curlier in the back than the front so often it looks shorter. In "our new bathroom" there are mirrors everywhere so I could really tell the difference and it was bugging me. I kept messing with it and was nearly reduced to tears when it occured to me that is was an easy fix. Fortunately, my cheese hasn't slid completely off my cracker so I did not cut it my self. I asked Mike to. He said no, so I presented the options "you can do it or I can do it, but it's getting cut and it's getting cut now" He reluctantly complied and he did a pretty good job. Aidan says it's too short, but, it'll grow. I actually thought about cutting it shorter (by a professional) but I guess that poor kid has gone through enough change so I'm not gonna push it.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Family Who's House Burned Down
So, it's finally happened. I have started referring to myself, with great ease, as "The Lady Who's House Burned Down". I mean, let's face it, it's us, there is no denying it, and it does help expedite some matters. The way it flows off of my tongue has given me a false sense that I am "fine with it". That I may never wake up and have that melt down everyone has been preparing me for, I would just go on with my life as I have after any other bad day.
But then I asked a neighbor, Anne Ayres, who lives one street above me, to e-mail the photos she had taken during the fire. Keep in mind we were spared ever seeing our house burn. It was only smoking (which was against the rules inside) when we arrived home. And she replied promptly to my request.
Those photos, coupled with the knowledge that attic fires are always dangerous to those inside because smoke rises and some people never know there is a fire until something falls out of the ceiling - it was our furnace that fell ...on the landing...blocking our room from Alyssa's and Aidan's...where they surely would have been sleeping at 5:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning -that made me want to vomit. I have never been punched in the stomach but certainly that is what it feels like. Throw up or cry, those were the only options that seemed available when I saw this photo. A burning inferno, literally, where my babies slept and played, friends slept over, danced, made silly videos, had fashion shows, and bred fish. Not just "some family's house" but rooms that I knew intimately. How quickly the reality of how bad, not only it could have been, but really was, set in. And the sweet voice of my dear friend Debbie Glum who phoned at 5:30 a.m. to let me know the dogs were safe, rang in my ears, "It's bad, really bad". And it obviously was. But how much worse it could have been. That's where my mind has been lately and that's what makes my stomach hurt and makes me want to lie down and take a nap and drift off into dream land where we are not "The Family Who's House Burned Down".
But I can not spend the rest of my life in bed - as tempting as that may sound ;) So I am choosing to focus on the verse from the study I have been in since Fall, thanks to a gentle reminder from Carolyn...
Isaiah 61:3 "...to bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of
gladness instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of
despair"
by praising God that we weren't home, that none of the firefighters were injured (did I mention one of Alyssa's friend's from school dad fought our fire - he concurred, it was bad!), that our neighbors houses were safe - not even the leaves on the trees between us were singed, and of course I praise God for such great friends.
Tonight we had dinner with our friends in our small group (bible study) it was our regularly scheduled meeting night but Mike and I are book-less :( So we just got together to be together. Today Maya babysat me - she spent the day with me, told me what to do (#1 - fix the hair) and I followed her instructions and accomplished much more than I would have left to my own devices. And we have lots of other friends who have helped us out already and are waiting to help us out along the way - I fear it's going to be a long way but our load is light - really, we don't have much :) Well, Alyssa does. Her friends got together and spent their life savings (apparently) on a gift basket for her with items that every girl needs from a Juicy bracelet to a Fireman Build a Bear. She was beaming when I picked her up. But since it was too much for her to lug around school today she left it in the office. I got a call reminding me to pick it up, the person thought it might be for her birthday, but I knew the real reason, she is after all, "The Girl Who's House Burned Down".
Sunday, February 22, 2009
We had a good day
Our day started early for a Sunday but we accomplished a lot. It was great to see our friends at church and have lunch just like always. Amy was nice enough to go to Target with me which is huge since it's hard for me to focus in there. It's hard to prioritize what to buy when you know you need everything.
Our computers are fixed which is huge and will make a lot of things - like responding to e-mails and printing, so much easier! And I got some great advice to pass on. I asked about backing up the info and was thinking online storage must be the best bet but was advised instead to purchase an external hard drive and a MEDIA SAFE firesafe (remember ours was hot inside so things like CD's electronics could have been damaged).
Another bonus, Maya has been the laundry fairy this week and gave me a big bundle of jackets she washed for me from our hall closet - they smell great and look even better than before the fire. And Gracie has been working hard on a spread sheet of all the items she could remember from the house - Thank God cuz I do not have the gift of administration and that is a daunting task.
The bad news is all the stuff our friends, who were first on the scene, helped us wipe down and save from the master bathroom (hair products, lotions, face wash, etc) ended up in the trash. Remember the plastic issue I had mentioned in an earlier post? The contents of those bottles are now toxic, probably not a good idea to apply to my face, eh? And to think I have hesitated to replace some of it knowing it was saved - urgh.
Tomorrow Mike meets with the structural engineer to discuss plans to tear down the house - Aidan is flabbergasted at the idea that they have to make plans to destroy something. And we are hoping to get the bid from the company who will tell us what the remediation costs will be.
We are all hanging in. Patience are growning thin so please continue to pray about that for us. I have noticed tempers, mine included, are getting shorter by the day. But we have a much to be thankful for, we just need to stop and remember that.
Our computers are fixed which is huge and will make a lot of things - like responding to e-mails and printing, so much easier! And I got some great advice to pass on. I asked about backing up the info and was thinking online storage must be the best bet but was advised instead to purchase an external hard drive and a MEDIA SAFE firesafe (remember ours was hot inside so things like CD's electronics could have been damaged).
Another bonus, Maya has been the laundry fairy this week and gave me a big bundle of jackets she washed for me from our hall closet - they smell great and look even better than before the fire. And Gracie has been working hard on a spread sheet of all the items she could remember from the house - Thank God cuz I do not have the gift of administration and that is a daunting task.
The bad news is all the stuff our friends, who were first on the scene, helped us wipe down and save from the master bathroom (hair products, lotions, face wash, etc) ended up in the trash. Remember the plastic issue I had mentioned in an earlier post? The contents of those bottles are now toxic, probably not a good idea to apply to my face, eh? And to think I have hesitated to replace some of it knowing it was saved - urgh.
Tomorrow Mike meets with the structural engineer to discuss plans to tear down the house - Aidan is flabbergasted at the idea that they have to make plans to destroy something. And we are hoping to get the bid from the company who will tell us what the remediation costs will be.
We are all hanging in. Patience are growning thin so please continue to pray about that for us. I have noticed tempers, mine included, are getting shorter by the day. But we have a much to be thankful for, we just need to stop and remember that.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Auntie 911
My Aunts came up from San Diego today with a carload of necessities and luxuries ;) from San Diego county. They carried in items sent with love from several aunts and cousins down South and everything was much appreciated. We were well fed and will be well dressed and even smell good thanks to all of them ;) My mom and her sisters worked hard to get this place in tip-top shape and then we toasted with margaritas while we enjoyed some burritos sabrosos and then got back to work! It was a little hard to get the cleaning done without water (yeah you read that right, we had some plumbing problems here) but those girls worked some magic.
Yesterday was a little rough. We are happy here in this beautiful home and in our false reality. It used to be that the drive out of the gates reminded us of our real lives and the fact that we are "those people" now -victims of disaster. But now the reminder is just outside of the door. Yesterday our friends, Cathy Ulrich, Maya Bowe, Amy and Mike Alpert, Ryan Zuelner, J. Steele, and Debbie Glum helped us move our things from the neighbors garage to the garage here. Everything we owned now fits in a one car garage, and it's only stacked about 3' high. And to make it worse, it stinks! And it stinks every time we open the door. It's funny how closely smell is linked to the memory. I bought a new hair product that I used in Thailand on our trip last spring and now every time I smell it reminds my of our adventures with the Kiehle's and, until this week, I loved the fact that my sense of smell could take me back there so quickly. Now I'm trying to pretend the smokey smell here is Yosemite Camping residue but it's not quite working.
Debbie Lombrano has been helping me sort through my jewelry. Oddly enough my costume jewelry survived but the real jewelry is in pretty bad shape. I am wearing the most expensive pair of earrings I own right now with my sweats and no make up because I had lazily tossed them in with the costume jewelry and they are in great shape. I figure I might as well wear 'em, what's the point of having them if I'm not going to enjoy them, right?
Now we are hanging out waiting for our left over Wood Ranch (compliments of "Fireman Paul") to heat up and then we will probably get to be early - don't know why we are all so tired :) And take on another day. Mike is looking forward to wrestling with his friends in the 2&3 yr old class room where he serves at church and of course the kids and I are excited to see our friends.
Thanks for checkin' in!
Yesterday was a little rough. We are happy here in this beautiful home and in our false reality. It used to be that the drive out of the gates reminded us of our real lives and the fact that we are "those people" now -victims of disaster. But now the reminder is just outside of the door. Yesterday our friends, Cathy Ulrich, Maya Bowe, Amy and Mike Alpert, Ryan Zuelner, J. Steele, and Debbie Glum helped us move our things from the neighbors garage to the garage here. Everything we owned now fits in a one car garage, and it's only stacked about 3' high. And to make it worse, it stinks! And it stinks every time we open the door. It's funny how closely smell is linked to the memory. I bought a new hair product that I used in Thailand on our trip last spring and now every time I smell it reminds my of our adventures with the Kiehle's and, until this week, I loved the fact that my sense of smell could take me back there so quickly. Now I'm trying to pretend the smokey smell here is Yosemite Camping residue but it's not quite working.
Debbie Lombrano has been helping me sort through my jewelry. Oddly enough my costume jewelry survived but the real jewelry is in pretty bad shape. I am wearing the most expensive pair of earrings I own right now with my sweats and no make up because I had lazily tossed them in with the costume jewelry and they are in great shape. I figure I might as well wear 'em, what's the point of having them if I'm not going to enjoy them, right?
Now we are hanging out waiting for our left over Wood Ranch (compliments of "Fireman Paul") to heat up and then we will probably get to be early - don't know why we are all so tired :) And take on another day. Mike is looking forward to wrestling with his friends in the 2&3 yr old class room where he serves at church and of course the kids and I are excited to see our friends.
Thanks for checkin' in!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
It is better (and easier) to give than to recieve
Our closets are filling up with quickly with items that have been so generously donated to us by friends, family and strangers alike! Seriously folks, we don't "need" anymore clothes. We do appreciate it and want to be good receivers but right now we are good. Alyssa and I were talking today as I stared at the 4 t-shirts she owns when she told me "we have enough". And I have to agree, we do. We don't have as much, but we have enough and enough is all we need. It's interesting when you have nothing (ok I'm being dramatic, we had a 4 days worth of clothes) you really realize how little you actually need. I think we all, including the kids, want less now than we did before when we had more. I wish I could better describe it but I think it's just one of those things you can't explain or probably even understand until you have experienced it. I used to have a hard time parting with things, now I am having a hard time attaching to them - I think we all are.
Of course there are things that I want like my e-mail to work, and the insurance fairy to just hand me a check but unfortunately those are not things you, my loving, caring, support group can provide for me. But soon enough, I will have them too (minus the fairy) in the mean time, I'll just wait. And I'll ask for encouragement, possibly a shoulder, and definitely some laughs, the best things in life really are free!
The news today is our phone is working! Woo hoo - the very first call?...A solicitor! Truly. How did they get the number, it was only hours old!!!
Tomorrow we meet with the company that will give us an estimate on what it will cost to clean up all the stuff that is salvageable from our garage and kitchen - yes, that comes out of the benefit :( And we will get the items our neighbors have been storing :)
Today Aidan was home sick again and I made lots of phone calls trying to get services turned off or switched. Boy did I hear some dumb questions. What part of "my house has burned down and is completely destroyed" would lead a person to ask when I will be returning the reciever? And then the doorbell rang and stuff started coming in from as far south as San Diego, and as far north as Montana! My mom and aunt came along with friends who delivered from multiple people and wow, the house was full. I was overwhelmed and looked for a dark corner to hide in while the whirlwind ensued. Low and behold when I emerged everything was put away and Alyssa had waaaay more than 4 t-shirts in her closet. And yes, she thinks she has too much.
Of course there are things that I want like my e-mail to work, and the insurance fairy to just hand me a check but unfortunately those are not things you, my loving, caring, support group can provide for me. But soon enough, I will have them too (minus the fairy) in the mean time, I'll just wait. And I'll ask for encouragement, possibly a shoulder, and definitely some laughs, the best things in life really are free!
The news today is our phone is working! Woo hoo - the very first call?...A solicitor! Truly. How did they get the number, it was only hours old!!!
Tomorrow we meet with the company that will give us an estimate on what it will cost to clean up all the stuff that is salvageable from our garage and kitchen - yes, that comes out of the benefit :( And we will get the items our neighbors have been storing :)
Today Aidan was home sick again and I made lots of phone calls trying to get services turned off or switched. Boy did I hear some dumb questions. What part of "my house has burned down and is completely destroyed" would lead a person to ask when I will be returning the reciever? And then the doorbell rang and stuff started coming in from as far south as San Diego, and as far north as Montana! My mom and aunt came along with friends who delivered from multiple people and wow, the house was full. I was overwhelmed and looked for a dark corner to hide in while the whirlwind ensued. Low and behold when I emerged everything was put away and Alyssa had waaaay more than 4 t-shirts in her closet. And yes, she thinks she has too much.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Letters from the massage chair
It's hard to feel sorry for myself when I am updating my bog from a Sharper Image massage chair complete with foot stool. If only I could have been sitting in it this morning when I was meeting with the contents adjuster. Unfortunately in order for us to receive the maximum coverage, we have to prove we actually did have the maximum contents. This requires itemizing EVERY SINGLE thing we had in our house and possibly proving the value with receipts or that it was actually there with photos from parties etc. Does anyone know how many Hot Wheel cars Aidan had? The good news is the "office" did not burn and we were able to remove the file cabinet and binders with info like receipts and warranties on our big ticket items. It's not bad news necessarily, I guess it's more of an exceptionally "inconvenient truth". So, one way you could help (from home) is by filling in missing pricing info on items we have to look up.
The bad news is that we found out plastic and wood items can not be removed :( Apparently there is no way to get them clean. That means all of our Tupperware, measuring cups, wooden utensils, dishes, and small appliances, that I wanted to get out of the kitchen, are trash :( And have to be inventoried and assigned a value - less depreciation, of course!
The building inspector took a lot of measurements today (not sure why) the next step is to have an engineer out to determine the best way to demo the 2nd story ASAP as there is concern about it falling - yikes! Hopefully they will be demo-ing the 1st story too - that is what he is recommending and we are praying for. We are concerned about safety and mold and would rather just start from scratch.
We truly have been overwhelmed with unexpected and generous gifts from friends, family, neighbors and even strangers! But we really are doing fine. Really! I'm sure in the coming weeks we will need help with more laborious tasks like organizing our belongings from our garage and kitchen after remediation and packing up the few remaining personal items that John left before he vacated this house for us. Not to mention just plain checking in with us, spending time, and keeping us sane after the busyness of this initial chaos, which has kept us so well distracted, subsides and reality sets in.
Oh I promised an address and it is...
55 Golf Ridge Rd
Dove Canyon, CA 92679
The phone will be 949-709-5502 I'll let you know when it's active.
That's all I know for now :)
Stef
The bad news is that we found out plastic and wood items can not be removed :( Apparently there is no way to get them clean. That means all of our Tupperware, measuring cups, wooden utensils, dishes, and small appliances, that I wanted to get out of the kitchen, are trash :( And have to be inventoried and assigned a value - less depreciation, of course!
The building inspector took a lot of measurements today (not sure why) the next step is to have an engineer out to determine the best way to demo the 2nd story ASAP as there is concern about it falling - yikes! Hopefully they will be demo-ing the 1st story too - that is what he is recommending and we are praying for. We are concerned about safety and mold and would rather just start from scratch.
We truly have been overwhelmed with unexpected and generous gifts from friends, family, neighbors and even strangers! But we really are doing fine. Really! I'm sure in the coming weeks we will need help with more laborious tasks like organizing our belongings from our garage and kitchen after remediation and packing up the few remaining personal items that John left before he vacated this house for us. Not to mention just plain checking in with us, spending time, and keeping us sane after the busyness of this initial chaos, which has kept us so well distracted, subsides and reality sets in.
Oh I promised an address and it is...
55 Golf Ridge Rd
Dove Canyon, CA 92679
The phone will be 949-709-5502 I'll let you know when it's active.
That's all I know for now :)
Stef
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Couple firm dates and times
The meeting with the Fire Investigator went well (?) today. He agreed with the firemen that the furnace was the likely cause and is shipping it off for further investigation.
Tomorrow we will meet with the Contents Adjuster to find out what they will offer us for what amounts to essentially all of our wordly possesions and then later in the day the Building Inspector who will advise as to whether or not the house is a total loss (we are praying that it is because we are very concerned about mold issues, etc).
Aidan is feeling better and plans to go to school tomorrow. He had a couple visitors today that really lifted his spirits and the fact that they came bearing gifts (a home made shake from one and some toys and "the best DVD ever" from the other) didn't hurt. He said "either they are really rich or they feel really bad for us because people don't just go around giving stuff away like that" I wasn't quite sure how to respond, sitting in "our" 4,000 sq ft house, it's easy to forget how bad off we are. Of course I have been wearing PJ's all day because they were the only clothes I had when I got dressed today (thanks Dana for washing them) so there are a few reminders of our reality sprinkled around this beautiful abode.
We have been receiving clothes at our door step both handed down and new and are equally pleased with both. In fact, I don't want to act un-grateful but it seems we know a lot of "older" boys so Aidan has a closet full of long pants and long sleeve shirts so please don't go out of your way to bring him any more. He does, however, still need some shorts and T's as the weather is expected to change this weekend.
Since we have the two meetings tomorrow and an Ortho appt. in between, we are waiting until Friday to take our rescued items out of our neighbors garage and if we are lucky we will be able to move the kitchen items as well but we'll have to let you know abou that. So, if you'd like to help out with that, please let us know.
Speaking of help, I am getting real good at accepting, let's hope I don't get lazy ;) But really, a great friend of ours has offered to help coordinate efforts. There seems to be much more coordinate than I realized and many more phone calls and time spent on hold than allows me to be very effective so I do appreciate her offer and, because I have committed to accept all help offered, I am taking her up on it. So, Carolyn Salvador is going to be my point person of sorts. Of course I still want to talk to and hear from you so don't take that to mean you can't ask what I need, but if you are looking at being a part of a larger effort, she is your gal. You can reach her by e-mail at carolynmail@cox.net
I think that's about all I know. We should have phone service here Thursday (between 3 and 5 if you'd like to come hang out with me my while I wait) I'll post when we do.
Thanks again for loving and caring about us!
Tomorrow we will meet with the Contents Adjuster to find out what they will offer us for what amounts to essentially all of our wordly possesions and then later in the day the Building Inspector who will advise as to whether or not the house is a total loss (we are praying that it is because we are very concerned about mold issues, etc).
Aidan is feeling better and plans to go to school tomorrow. He had a couple visitors today that really lifted his spirits and the fact that they came bearing gifts (a home made shake from one and some toys and "the best DVD ever" from the other) didn't hurt. He said "either they are really rich or they feel really bad for us because people don't just go around giving stuff away like that" I wasn't quite sure how to respond, sitting in "our" 4,000 sq ft house, it's easy to forget how bad off we are. Of course I have been wearing PJ's all day because they were the only clothes I had when I got dressed today (thanks Dana for washing them) so there are a few reminders of our reality sprinkled around this beautiful abode.
We have been receiving clothes at our door step both handed down and new and are equally pleased with both. In fact, I don't want to act un-grateful but it seems we know a lot of "older" boys so Aidan has a closet full of long pants and long sleeve shirts so please don't go out of your way to bring him any more. He does, however, still need some shorts and T's as the weather is expected to change this weekend.
Since we have the two meetings tomorrow and an Ortho appt. in between, we are waiting until Friday to take our rescued items out of our neighbors garage and if we are lucky we will be able to move the kitchen items as well but we'll have to let you know abou that. So, if you'd like to help out with that, please let us know.
Speaking of help, I am getting real good at accepting, let's hope I don't get lazy ;) But really, a great friend of ours has offered to help coordinate efforts. There seems to be much more coordinate than I realized and many more phone calls and time spent on hold than allows me to be very effective so I do appreciate her offer and, because I have committed to accept all help offered, I am taking her up on it. So, Carolyn Salvador is going to be my point person of sorts. Of course I still want to talk to and hear from you so don't take that to mean you can't ask what I need, but if you are looking at being a part of a larger effort, she is your gal. You can reach her by e-mail at carolynmail@cox.net
I think that's about all I know. We should have phone service here Thursday (between 3 and 5 if you'd like to come hang out with me my while I wait) I'll post when we do.
Thanks again for loving and caring about us!
Tuesday - I think ;)
All is quiet in this big beautiful house and since I can't sleep I thought I'd take a minute to update you. We are moved in to our "new home". Thanks to the Lombranos for the weekend sleepover and great party favor - their guest bed! Now the kids each have a twin bed to sleep in.
Aidan has the stomach flu after all so he'll be home with me today but Alyssa is excited to go back to school and see her friends. Buddy and Max are thrilled to be here but they are missing Griffin Glum who let them snuggle on his sofa all weekend.
Mike is meeting and adjuster/inspector/important person this morning and then will bring things out of our neighbors (the Pahomi's) garage. Thanks for all the offers of help. I think we have it under control now, sadly, there isn't that much. But we will need help again when they let us in to get the contents of our kitchen out so I'll keep you posted.
Spirits are up, those prayers for peace are working so keep 'em coming.
Aidan has the stomach flu after all so he'll be home with me today but Alyssa is excited to go back to school and see her friends. Buddy and Max are thrilled to be here but they are missing Griffin Glum who let them snuggle on his sofa all weekend.
Mike is meeting and adjuster/inspector/important person this morning and then will bring things out of our neighbors (the Pahomi's) garage. Thanks for all the offers of help. I think we have it under control now, sadly, there isn't that much. But we will need help again when they let us in to get the contents of our kitchen out so I'll keep you posted.
Spirits are up, those prayers for peace are working so keep 'em coming.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hoping this doesn't seem too impersonal but it seemed the best way to everyone abreast of our situation. We have recieved so many e-mails asking how we are, keep 'em coming ;) we love reading them, but it's hard to respond to everyone and I've noticed each response gets shorter. So, I'm setting this up to keep you all informed. Please feel free to forward it on to anyone that asks.
Below is the post I copied from Facebook if you want to read the details of how we found out etc.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. I was talking about how fortunate we were to have all our irreplaceable items downstairs - photos etc. I mentioned how if I had the opportunity to get one thing out that had been lost it would be the ceramic cast of Alyssa's hand and footprints that was made at the hospital. I never got around to hanging Aidans so it was safe in a drawer. While we were at the house I was trying to get into a burned cabinet and when Mike and Davie Kiehle lifted it for me to open the doors, we heard some framed photos fall behind it. We looked for the hand prints but it wasnt there. Dave insisted on digging through the rubble but I told him not to bother as if was there it was certainly crushed and ruined. Fortunately he didn't listen because he found them!!!!!!!!
The update for today is, we have been in touch with the insurance company and found out about our options for temporary housing. By the Grace of God our friend John Ellis (whos home we were in in Big Bear) was looking for a new house when he got our call. He has offered his fully furnished, professionally decorated home in Dove Canyon to us. We are so grateful to him and are planning to "move in" today on a trial basis. I say trial because it's more of a commute to school, church, and support of friends but it could not be more convenient in every other respect so we are gonna give it a go.
We are also hoping to meet with the Contents Inspector and Building Inspector today but with this rain and no roof, they may not want to be out there today.
As for what we need...please pray. We can all use patience with eachother, wisdom on what to buy and how much (I stood in the sock isle for about 15 mins trying to decide how many packs of socks to buy) and Aidan is sick today (stress, stomach flu...we don't know)
Tomorrow we are hoping to take the items we were able to get out of the house and into the neighbors garage over to John's house so we can use physical help with that.
Thank you again to everyone. We feel so loved.
Below is the post I copied from Facebook if you want to read the details of how we found out etc.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. I was talking about how fortunate we were to have all our irreplaceable items downstairs - photos etc. I mentioned how if I had the opportunity to get one thing out that had been lost it would be the ceramic cast of Alyssa's hand and footprints that was made at the hospital. I never got around to hanging Aidans so it was safe in a drawer. While we were at the house I was trying to get into a burned cabinet and when Mike and Davie Kiehle lifted it for me to open the doors, we heard some framed photos fall behind it. We looked for the hand prints but it wasnt there. Dave insisted on digging through the rubble but I told him not to bother as if was there it was certainly crushed and ruined. Fortunately he didn't listen because he found them!!!!!!!!
The update for today is, we have been in touch with the insurance company and found out about our options for temporary housing. By the Grace of God our friend John Ellis (whos home we were in in Big Bear) was looking for a new house when he got our call. He has offered his fully furnished, professionally decorated home in Dove Canyon to us. We are so grateful to him and are planning to "move in" today on a trial basis. I say trial because it's more of a commute to school, church, and support of friends but it could not be more convenient in every other respect so we are gonna give it a go.
We are also hoping to meet with the Contents Inspector and Building Inspector today but with this rain and no roof, they may not want to be out there today.
As for what we need...please pray. We can all use patience with eachother, wisdom on what to buy and how much (I stood in the sock isle for about 15 mins trying to decide how many packs of socks to buy) and Aidan is sick today (stress, stomach flu...we don't know)
Tomorrow we are hoping to take the items we were able to get out of the house and into the neighbors garage over to John's house so we can use physical help with that.
Thank you again to everyone. We feel so loved.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Straight Skinny on the Reynolds Fire
Sorry I dont have time to properly thank everyone who has offered help and has helped already. I just wanted to take a minute to let you all know that we were ok and what happened.
We were in Big Bear on a ski trip and awakened at 5:30 by our alarm company telling us there was a fire. We packed up and headed down the hill (LONGEST DRIVE EVER) in the snow w/chains on.
We arrived to much commotion at our house, firemen, neighbors, friends, water but fortunately no flames. The fire had apparently started in the attic, possibly caused by the furnace which is in our back yard now marked as evidence.
The upstairs us totally burned out as you can tell by the photos and everything was destroyed except for what was in our bathroom cabinets, and some of the contents of our dreser. The kids have NOTHING but what they took with them on our trip.
Aidan was asking about his fish the whole drive home (we knew the dogs were safe) and when we arrived home, sure enough, a fireman was carrying out a cooler asking what to do with the fish!!!
Downstairs is ok firewise but mostly destroyed by water damage. The things inside the cabinets downstairs are ok and we were able to get our scrapbooks and other things from the "office" and will go back for kitchen cabinet and garage contents later.
The insurance people will be out Monday and then we can start figuring out our temporary housing etc. Until then, we really don't know what we need other than clothes.
That's the update. Thank you for all the offers of help and support we WILL be taking you up on them as soon as we get our heads around it all.
We know God brings glory from ashes and we certainly have plenty for Him to work with :)
We were in Big Bear on a ski trip and awakened at 5:30 by our alarm company telling us there was a fire. We packed up and headed down the hill (LONGEST DRIVE EVER) in the snow w/chains on.
We arrived to much commotion at our house, firemen, neighbors, friends, water but fortunately no flames. The fire had apparently started in the attic, possibly caused by the furnace which is in our back yard now marked as evidence.
The upstairs us totally burned out as you can tell by the photos and everything was destroyed except for what was in our bathroom cabinets, and some of the contents of our dreser. The kids have NOTHING but what they took with them on our trip.
Aidan was asking about his fish the whole drive home (we knew the dogs were safe) and when we arrived home, sure enough, a fireman was carrying out a cooler asking what to do with the fish!!!
Downstairs is ok firewise but mostly destroyed by water damage. The things inside the cabinets downstairs are ok and we were able to get our scrapbooks and other things from the "office" and will go back for kitchen cabinet and garage contents later.
The insurance people will be out Monday and then we can start figuring out our temporary housing etc. Until then, we really don't know what we need other than clothes.
That's the update. Thank you for all the offers of help and support we WILL be taking you up on them as soon as we get our heads around it all.
We know God brings glory from ashes and we certainly have plenty for Him to work with :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
