The Adventure That Was The Machine Gun Fire

This is what Kandus and I came home to after church on Sunday. We didn't notice any smoke when we left at 12:30 Sunday afternoon, but driving home this plume of smoke was hard to ignore. I convinced myself it was a ways south of my house until I reached the road leading to my home and then I began to get a little nervou. This smoke was literally just west of my home on the other side of the mountain. Kandus and I both jumped online and turned on the news to find out what was going on. That's when we heard that some evacuations had begun and this was a serious fire. I left to go to Sandy and said to Kandus (totally joking), "Call me if we get evacuated." While I was in Sandy I watched the smoke and eventually was able to see the flames as they reached the top of the mountain. My Aunt Kathy and cousin, Emily, live about 10 minutes southwest of me. They were getting texts and pictures from their husbands that totally started to make me nervous. As soon as Kathy was informed that they were about to be evacuated I panicked. I called Kandus, told her to start packing just in case, and raced home. I got home just after 8. Kandus and I ran around the house for the next 2 hours gathering our belongings and listening to the news reporters inform us that the evacuation zones were moving closer to our house (it's amazing how much I can pack in 2 hours! I'm still only half way unpacked. I was very thorough!). At 10 p.m. Kandus' mom called and informed us that the evacuation zone had reached the Smiths grocery store, which is about a 1/2 mile west of our house. With that news we voluntarliy evacuated! The news reporters were saying that there were reverse 911 calls going out, but since we don't have a landline we wouldn't get those. We would have been awake all night watching our neighbors and waiting for a knock at the door. It would have been more stress that we weren't willing to subject ourselves to, so we both headed to our parents'. I was up until 3 a.m. watching news updates and praying that my house and my family's houses wouldn't burn down. I took a sick day Monday because I wasn't at home and the lack of sleep would have made me difficult to work with. It was interesting to see how quickly I was able to determine what was most important to me. I went for the irreplaceable things first. Those included all of my Tyler things and my Nauvoo box and scrapbooks and of course my cats. Then I went to pictures, keepsakes that haven't been scrapbooked yet, temple clothes, scriptures, journals, and necessary clothing items. As soon as I realized I had a little more time I started filling my biggest suitcase with clothes. I have SO much stuff! I ran through the house taking pictures of every room, for insurance purposes...

Don't judge me on how messy my room is.

Look at all these clothes I had to leave behind. It was heartbreaking!

I even chose to leave all of my yarn and knitting supplies. I was focused and being very practical about what I packed. I was grateful I got to go home Monday. I am grateful for those who fought the fire and protected my family and my home. It was a scary evening, and I am grateful Heavenly Father protected Kandus, Darcy, Lizzy, and I. This week has given me a new appreciation for all the things I have been blessed with. Take a moment to look around you and say a prayer of gratitude.