Beck's Bounty House Fire

On Saturday March 10 at 530pm EST we had a housefire that began in our basement garage. In less than 10 minutes, the fire was coming out of both attic vents. Needless to say, the house and all contents are a total loss. The good news of it all is that DadToCherubs and all 6 Cherubs are unhurt and are fine, but a bit shaken. The bad news is that we did not have renters insurance so our belongings are not covered.

Today we are going to move the clothing and some other donations into our new house, which is owned by some friends and is seated on a VERY old working Dairy Farm. That should be a fun adventure once we get settled and our stress level drops. The house itself has quite a colorful history, but we will save that for another day.

Our family & friends have been truly invaluable and we would have been lost in this crisis without them !! Our families have called to encourage us and to help keep our "chin's up". And our incredicble friends have sheltered us these first few days, they have helped us with children, gathered donations, handled meals, scrubbed and cleaned the new house .... words cannot express the blessings that they have been to us these past few days. And the generosity of total strangers just amazing to me .... people are at heart very loving and kind.

And God is so good .... the timing, the order of unfolding events, the aftermath .... He is absolutely awesome !!

Needless to say, it might be a bit of time before we are up and going smoothly again, or blogging very often. We will do our best though.

Update: April 7, 2007: I have been meaning to post this for some time, but kept forgetting. WE KNOW THE CAUSE OF OUR HOUSEFIRE. There was a fire investigator that came to the scence just a day or so after the fire, and she found the cause. We bought a new chest freezer approximately 1 year before the fire. And when it was delievered and put into place by the applicance company, apparently the power cord was stuck under the back "foot" of the freezer. Over the course of a year, every time the freezer motor cut on and off, the coating on the cord was gradually worn through. And so finally the coating was completely worn through, and the freezer cord caught fire ... and being in the garage and in a corner (with 12" between the freezer and walls on all sides), in mere seconds the fire went up the cord to the wall, then up through the inside of the walls to the main floor, and then continuing through the inside of the walls it traveled up into the attic. We are very blessed to have gotten out safely as the fire happened SO fast !! God's timing still continues to truly amaze us .... just miracle after miracle, assembled moment by moment by the hand of God. God is sooooo good !!

And in the mean while, PLEASE check the cords on your appliances to be sure they are not "stuck" under "feet" or rubbing against some surface ... or that the coating is not compromised.