Life Lessons...

Number 1:

I try to sleep in on Saturday mornings (until 8 o'clock) if the kids let me. This Saturday, however, I was woken up by Madeline at 7:15ish exclaiming, "MOM! I heard a bang and another bang and there is a firetruck and an ambulance and all the people in the neighborhood are running around in the street!" I immediately jump out of bed and pull aside the drapes to see the scene Madeline had just described to me. I quickly change clothes, slip on some flip flops and tell Madeline to stay in the house while I join the entire neighborhood in the street. What I couldn't see from my window was the reason all the neighborhood was in chaos. The house one door over was completely engulfed in flames! I walked over to the neighbors' house who were still in their robes standing on their front porch and asked them what happened. They didn't know anything. They didn't hear anything either until the fireman came knocking on their door telling them to get out of their house just in case they couldn't stop the fire from spreading. I did find out however, that the people were out of town - but their 15 cats were not! Shortly after I spoke to them, I hear "Mommy, it's a fire!" I turned around to see my Aidan wide eyed staring at the fire. I picked him up as he said "Mommy, it's alot of water! Mommy it's a firetruck! Mommy, it's a fireman!" in rapid succession. That is a lot of complete sentences for Aidan! Slowly, the rest of my family trickled out Madeline, then Neal, then I went back for Evelyn and Lillian. We could feel the heat from the blaze and soot was coming our way, but we couldn't move. We were captivated by the inferno. The whole neighborhood was. We just stood there helplessly watching the house go up in flames. I talked to the kids about what the firemen were doing. I talked to them about their uniforms and their masks and their oxygen tanks. I wanted them to take note of what they looked like just in case we ever need their help. Once the fire was out, the firemen went through the house ripping apart walls and large pieces of furniture to ensure nothing was left to be rekindled. At one point I saw the top of a grand piano being thrown out of the window. It was sickening. I still don't know what started the fire or what became of the cats. The owners were contacted immediately and have been back along with inspectors and insurance agents. I hope to find out more information soon. We have to be glad that no one was harmed. The kids have had many questions about fire and it has been a good opportunity to talk to them about fire safety. It has also led to thinking about fire escape routes in our house and purchasing a couple of ladders for the kids' rooms and getting a fire box. You never know what could happen.

Number 2:

This summer Madeline went to Vacation Bible school. There, she met a sweet girl named Christina. We got to know the rest of Christina's family and have been friends ever since. Her mother's name is Denise, her father is David. This is the second marriage for both of them. Altogether they have 7 children. Their three younger daughters (which are from their current marriage) are the only ones left at home (Christina 7, Nia 9, Elizabeth 11). This summer we went to their house several times for dinner, we went with them a couple of times to lake Arbunkle, we attended their daughters' violin concert and have had many play dates. Denise is another homeschooler and we have been working on doing some school together. They are a wonderful, generous family and we have been blessed so much by them. On Friday morning Denise called me. She informed me that David had died. He had a brain aneurysm rupture and died on the way to the hospital. He was 61 and very healthy. This was completely unexpected. We are still in shock.

We did our best to explain what happened to Madeline and Evelyn. They had many questions. We attended the wake and the funeral service. There were many tears from my girls. They hurt so much for their friends. We do too. I am glad that we were there for them. Many people came, but very few children. It was good for Christina to have her best friend Madeline there for her. Denise was glad that we brought the kids too. It was good for them to share this experience with their friends. The girls learned a lot through this. They saw a family grieve for the loss of their husband/father. They saw a person they once knew dead and lying in a casket. They saw that casket being put into the ground and covered with dirt. They heard the words of family, friends and priests telling funny stories about David, and assuring us of his salvation and his current state in the presence of God. We will continue to help this family as we can and that too will be a good lesson for our children. We are told by Christ to take care of the widows and orphans. That is what our friends are now. Thankfully, David was quite the entrepreneur and they will be able to maintain the status of living that they already have. However, we can help in other ways. I will be schooling Christina for awhile while Denise ties up loose ends at David's company. We will be bringing over meals and helping in taking the girls to their lessons. Finally, we will be a listening ear and a warm embrace when they need us to be.

Please pray for our friends, the Personette's, during this time.