Grateful

Tonight we got a call from Dane (Ben's Brother) that his barn was on fire. His exact words were, "it's gone!" and then he hung up. We quickly got in the car to see what he was talking about. We thought he had to be mistaken. There is no way the barn burned down. As we got closer we saw the black smoke, and the flames...above the tree line. We knew it wasn't good. He was right, it was gone. The barn, the 6+ boats, 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, tools, a couple years worth of firewood, and all the countless hours of hard work and time spent on making that barn everything a guy could want/need. Every last bit of it was gone. I've never seen that many fire trucks and ambulances fighting one fire, one HUGE fire.

But tonight, I sit here not able to sleep, sick to my stomach. Not because all of the things that were lost, but thinking of what it could have been. Boats, 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, tools, firewood, and a barn are all replaceable items. Yes it stinks that it is gone, but Dane, Sarah, Leyla, Jackson, & Cooper are all just fine, that is what is important. A life is not replaceable, so tonight, I am so grateful that it was JUST the barn that burned down and everyone is alright.

When I finally lay down to try to go to sleep tonight, I will push the images of the flames, smoke, fire trucks, ambulances, and chaos out of my head and just thank God that I will see these faces tomorrow, and everything WILL be OK because Dane, Sarah, Leyla & Jackson are OK. (and my hubby and babies got lots of extra hugs and kisses before bed as well!)