Creature Comforts

Some of you have asked how I was doing while Sean was out fighting the fires. Let me recount for you...
I arrived at a family member's house a little before midnight the night the fires started, to find 4 cousins and one uncle sound asleep and an aunt that greeted me at the door with open arms. Now, mind you, this house is not far from Ramona and I had seen this same neighborhood get evacuated during the last fire. So with my adrenaline pumping from a quick drive from Arizona to S.D. (at a pace that a cop might frown upon had there been any cops with attention toward anything other than the fires) and nothing to do but worry which made for an interesting night! I watched tv, (flipping from channel to channel) texted friends (admitting that I was safe but still nervous) listened to the radio (in case all the channels on tv could possibly be missing something that I might need to know about!) and laid on the couch. Somewhere about 3:00 in the morning I had to calm my nerves and changed the channel to some strange tv show about bears in the wild. I ended up falling asleep with "one eye open" (to keep an eye on the large hill just outside the back door that seemed just right for a fire to sweep down it) and one ear still listening to the radio and awoke about an hour later to hear a man on the radio with the same name as my husband's. He sounded panicked and frantic and stated his location was near our house and my heart was racing. He said he just barely got out of his house (heart racing faster than ever before now!) ...with his children. I instantly had to stop myself, because we do not have children and I know without a shadow of a doubt that Sean would not panic in such a situation and neither should I at that moment in time. I honestly am not sure if it was a dream/nightmare and my mind was playing tricks on me, or if there really was a man named Sean on the radio, but I knew that I had to control my mind so I would not freak out! It was hard to find things to distract my mind from the fires that night, but one thing I have learned is that it is nice to have some of your own creature comforts with you when in an emergency. And so came the purchase of this adorable bag by babyduckies pictured below. Everything about it says comfort to me. The adorable outer fabric and its coordinating inner fabric are just perfect. They would look adorable all sewn up into a quilt and so now I feel as though I have a little quilt with me. It now holds some essentials - a toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderant and my own soap- and will stay in my truck because this isn't the first emergency we've been caught up in and it probably won't be the last.

Junior Firefighters

Hmmm...which firefighter is being more productive?

Rest for the Weary

Sean, sleeping in the back of his truck, on top of fire hoses, next to a safety cone, at midnight. I think this pic speaks for itself.

Total Strangers

No, this isn't our house, but that of a total stranger.
While our town and surrounding areas were being evacuated, we rushed home from Arizona to grab a handful of things from our home that would be hard to live without. Well, let me clarify, my husband rushed into our home and rushed over to be of aid to any family members that might be in peril and throughout the next 2 nights, rushed to the aid of total strangers. Some, he met face to face, and some will never know who it was that "intruded" onto their property to fight back the raging fires. It must be a harrowing experience to return home from your evacuation to find a gate swung wide open, to find your property different than what you left it and to know that someone was there doing good and wondering what could have happened had they not stopped.
But the house above, occupied by an older husband and wife doing all they could to fight back the fire with their garden hoses, was one that my husband happened upon and was able to meet these so-called strangers. Accompanied by more strangers, met in a time of peril, these good citizens had rented a pump truck specifically to fight the fires. As you can see from the picture above with its charred hills and burnt trees, the fire would likely have overtaken the house. This is just one of the many battles fought and won.

Still Standing

Thank you to everyone for your emails, phone calls, text messages and prayers.
Fires are still burning in Southern California, but we are back in our home after 1 week. I have stories to tell, thoughts to share, pictures to post and a thankful heart for brave souls willing to risk their lives or help a neighbor whether it's their job or not.