Grateful

be_grateful_bracelet

Grateful Bracelet from Vintage Fern

You know when you have experiences in your life that make you extremely grateful to have what you do have. The moments when you realize that seconds or inches make the difference between life and death. And moments when you suddenly realize how blessed you are.

tree-in-sons_room

We had one of those moments Friday night.

tree-damaged_house

branch_through_attic

While at SNAP I received word that a huge tree had fallen on our house.

My whole family was home except me. And despite the damage, all that really matters is that my four boys (my husband, my two boys, and Buddy) were unscathed.

my_four_boys_at_ocean

Sure there are numerous holes in our roof.

rips_in_roof

Sure there was a 8 foot limb that punctured my son’s bedroom ceiling.

handsome_guy_with_limb

Sure there is consequently a hole with a view to the sky in his bedroom.

hole_in_ceiling

Sure our attic is literally a disaster zone filled with pine needles, sap and rain soaked contents.

attic_debris

But, it doesn’t matter. All that matters to me is that my loved ones are fine.

The restoration team has already moved in to start drying things out.

hepa_filter_sons_room

roof_tear_over_vent

Yup, that would be my brand new kitchen ceiling with a big hole cut into it. But, honestly, it doesn’t matter.

fan_in_kitchen

Sheetrock and paint are cheap. Lives are priceless!

Sadly, I think some baby chickadees lost their lives. I’m hoping the parents survived and will consider building a new nest in their favorite home:

down_bird_house

I’m taking a few days to give my boys extra hugs and kisses. And I’ll be busy on clean up duty. Hope to see you again soon.

PostBreakblue

Important Note: I had to cancel my talk on Monday, April 20th at the Habitat ReStore in Greater Greensboro. I will have to reschedule for a later date and will be sure to let you know when I do. If you  live in the area, still head over to the ReStore this week for Earth Day specials.

PHGFancySign

53 replies
Newer Comments »
  1. Cheri Berry
    Cheri Berry says:

    So sorry about the tree falling on your house, but so very glad everyone is ok. You are so right, all of the “stuff” is replaceable. I hope all the restoration goes smoothly for you. We’ll be here when you return.

    Reply
  2. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    Whoa. I am so glad you are all okay. Your outside picture scared me, but this is just plain crazy.

    Get some rest and recover, whatever it takes. We will be in the Bloggy world flip side when you return.

    Do let us know if you need anything at all.

    Reply
  3. Creative Kristi
    Creative Kristi says:

    I saw this on facebook and I was so happy to hear that everyone was downstairs and not in their rooms!! It sounds strange to say but how lucky that was!
    Your poor family/house really needs to catch a break 🙁
    Good for you for taking s0me time to be together and focus on each other!

    Reply
  4. AnnW
    AnnW says:

    Smart decision! Don’t worry about us while you have more important things to do. I’m hoping I’ll win the kitchen completion sweepstakes, as you keep getting delayed. We get our trees pruned and checked every year, but the storms have gotten so fierce, that we lost several trees during Hurricane Sandy. Hope your kids are not totally freaked out. Ann

    Reply
  5. Judy Clark
    Judy Clark says:

    How scary! And how blessed you are that your family was okay! Those were big limbs and like you said, even tho they damaged the house it’s a blessing your boys were all okay. Prayers and blessings to you during your clean up. I’m sure that won’t be fun, but it’ll probably just take time.

    Judy

    Reply
  6. Amy Huntley
    Amy Huntley says:

    So glad that everyone was safe. You are right…it could have been much worse. You are amazing and have an amazing attitude especially in light of everything you have had to deal with this year. Hope you guys can get it all cleaned up! xo

    Reply
  7. Alice Birchfield
    Alice Birchfield says:

    Bless your heart. Thank God that you all are okay. Hug them tightly and thank you for reminding me to do the same.

    Reply
  8. Jenny@thelavendermagnolia
    Jenny@thelavendermagnolia says:

    Brittany,

    I have had a couple of moments like your’s recently. My husband went in for a hernia repair (outpatient) surgery and ended up almost bleeding to death. He lost 60% of his blood volume after the surgery and would have bled to death if they had sent him home before they figured out there was something more serious going on. In the end we found out he has a genetic clotting problem. Never knew it before even though he’s had a number of major surgeries prior to this one. Thankful does not cover how I feel that he survived and that the staff at Rex was so observant of his status. Then he finally goes back to work after six weeks and hit a deer on his way to work one morning. If he had been driving our other car, it could have been a much more serious situation. Because he was driving his old sold steel jeep, he only broke his grill. Now I call him “Death Cheater”.

    Take a deep breath and slow down and enjoy your loved ones. I was lucky that I spent all 6 weeks at home with him and let him know how happy I am that he is still here!

    Jenny

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.