Catching up...again!

I finally got pictures up of my brother's in-law's house that I painted and just over a week later, their house caught fire. A neighbor driving by saw the flames and woke them up. They had one of their little granddaughters staying the night, and they all got out safely. The fire marshall told them that it looked like a case of arson. Who could do such a thing, knowing that people were sleeping inside?!!

The e-mail they sent out to family and friends said in part, "Dear one and all, some of you know already so disregard, but our home caught on fire and 1/3 of it burned and all of it got soaked and smoke damage. It happened on Tues. night. We got out alright and got the animals. we will send more later when we are able to do so, but for now we are at our daughter's home.... We are in good spirits, do not worry about us. we have very good insurance."

Even though only 1/3 of the house burned, the house will need to be rebuilt. Of course, the part that burned included the walls that I painted. I'm so glad that they got out safely. I cannot imagine the outcome had their neighbor not seen the flames.

Their house will be rebuilt, and the things that were in it will be replaced. It's events like this that remind us that the most important things in life aren't things. When my sis-in-law told me that their house had burned and I expressed that I was sorry that they had to go through this, she told me something to the effect of, "don't be sorry, they all got out safely and that's what's important."

Our Thanksgiving was a quiet one. I spent the day cooking and my parents came for dinner. Everyone else in my family had other plans, so it was just us. We had a roasted turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sinfully sweet potatoes (a rich sweet potato dish with a topping of butter, brown sugar, coconut, and pecans), rolls (made by my mom), a buttermilk jello salad (also made by my mom), relish tray items, and three different kinds of pie. I made the pumpkin pie, but the Dutch apple and Turtle pies were Marie Calendar's. Everything tasted sooooooooo good! Once my parents left, I crashed from a full tummy and sheer exhaustion!

I am so excited to be decorating for Christmas! It is really my absolute favorite time of the year. It doesn't last nearly long enough! I love everything about it: the lights and glitter, the music, the smells, the social events and caroling, the nativity sets, the excitement in the air, as well as in the eyes of children, the foods, and especially the constant reminders of our dear Savior whose birth we celebrate with all these things. We've been busy hanging lights, setting up trees, taking our Christmas card pictures (which we might take again, I can't decide if I like them), and filling up our calendar with concerts and parties.

Tomorrow night, we are taking our cute young women (church youth group) to the Festival of Trees in Sandy. Most of them have never been to it, and I am so excited to see and hear their reactions to it all. It is an amazing festival, with all of the proceeds going to Primary Children's Medical Center. So many children in our neighborhood, including our own son, have benefited from the care provided at this hospital. It is nice to give back and help those who can't afford to pay for their child's care.