It Could Have Been Worse . . . .

First, let me say that everyone is Okay. Our house caught on fire last night at around 1 AM. We were awoken by the sound of fierce knocking and the doorbell at around 1 AM. Dave went downstairs with the dogs and it was the fire dept and 3 trucks. They said our back sun room/porch was on fire. As soon as Dave went downstairs to check out the doorbell, I began to smell smoke. I jumped out of bed and all I could think about was getting Gabriella and getting the heck out of the house. You know, Dave and I once talked about what we would take with us if our house caught on fire. We said we would grab all of these things, but I took nothing. I thought about absolutely nothing in that moment, but getting Gabriella and myself out of the house. I put slippers on and the family, including one of our dogs, was out on the neighbor's lawn across the street. We stood by while three fire trucks and a big group of fire fighters dragged hoses through our house and around to the back yard. Our little poodle, Bailey, was still stuck in the house, frightened by all of the commotion and confusion. No one could find him and I knew I was the only one he would come to. It wasn't safe to go back into the house for a while, but eventually I was allowed to peek into the house from the garage. I called for Bailey. After about the 3rd desperate call, out he came! I grabbed him and joined Gabriella and my stepmother on the lawn across the street. It was a freezing night. We sat in an EMS truck for about an hour. Finally, our house was declared safe for our return. The entire porch, siding, and back door are gone on the back of our house. There's a lot of smoke damage throughout and some water damage, but WE are all okay. Our house is sad to look at right now. We're staying at my mom's for a couple nights. Gabriella and the dogs went to Abuelo and Abuelita's house. We'll be in a hotel for about 2 weeks while everything gets cleaned and rebuilt. All the stuff can be replaced with insurance. We are ALL fine! I couldn't be more thankful to the good Lord for all of his blessings than I am today! He continuously shows me ALL I have to be thankful for in this world!