Living a Nightmare

I haven't posted in the past few weeks because of a lot going on in my personal life.





I think I have more than I can handle although God says he doesn't give you more than we can handle. I have really been doubting what I believe in my heart here lately. Is there really a God out there???? I know there is supposed to be but where in the heck is he?


I don't know why our family has been dealing with one thing after another for the past year.





I mention "granny" a lot in my posts......she is my husbands grandmother but a lot like my mom to me. (I took pictures of her and my kids in my Christmas post)





On the 17th we received a phone call from her saying she smelled smoke. We rushed over there which is less than 10 minutes away and found her whole house on fire.


After 3 different fire departments responding and fighting the fire for more than 4 hours, she lost everything. The cause of the fire was determined to be the gas hot water heater.


Shes's 89 years old and fragile after losing her only child. We're the only thing she has left.


It was especially hard to swallow when her house burned 4 months to the day of her son's death.


Granny now lives with us.





We have 2 more homes next door to where Granny lives. We have paid a contractor to come in and remodel our old home (the home where we lived up until the last 2 years) She says she is too old to start over but at least she will have some place to call her own again.





To add to the stress of rebuying everything, remodeling, work, kids, and my family obligations.....my son and hubby went hunting this past Saturday. My son started having trouble breathing. Almost to the point of not breathing at all. We took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with Asthma. He's now on breathing treatments......We haven't been to the lung specialist.....knock on wood that he will out grow this condition.












I said in the paragraph above that the cause was the gas hot water heater. A bird built a nest in the flute that is used to vent it. Gas built up and then caught on fire.

We've been rethinking a fire plan for our home which is 2 story. Please consider a fire plan for your home. Saving a life is more valuable than losing a loved one. I didn't know this, well really didn't think about it but the electric fire detectors in newer homes will fail when the power is out. Most of the time the fire will cut the power off before sounding the alarm.....therefore the good ole' battery fire alarms are great for backup. A ladder stored outside will help rescue anyone trapped upstairs. I know this is all common sense but watching a home burn to the ground is really heartbreaking and scary. A good vaccum cleaning job under the hot spots of your home (hot water heater, dryer, furnace, and stove) once every few months cuts down on your chances of a fire.



I knew this stuff and failed to ever think about the flute. I cleaned her home for the past few years and feel totally guilty.



Here are a few pictures