Another week

We are now 3 weeks post fire. We have spent one week in our little house and have been quite comfortable. We are getting some stuff together, either borrowing or buying, or getting it gifted and so we can make simple meals here too. We ordered our washer and dryer the other day, but in the meantime, I have had to go to Amber's for laundry. Actually it was a good trade. She took my laundry into the basement and did it while she worked on business stuff, and I played with the girls upstairs and kept them out of her hair. We went shopping one afternoon, and those are always hard days. It is tough to think of and purchase all the things you need and once had. It is hard to have to choose again and try and find just the right things. We spent one evening with Rob and Diane and enjoyed supper and talked windows. We got our stamped plans this week, and so house planning is still going ahead. The main floor plan and roof details preliminary things are in place, but now comes decisions about windows, cabinets, doors, lights, colors, etc, etc. It is exciting to think of having a new house, but sure is scary to think of all the details and planning it will take to make it all come together. I have never thought of myself as an interior decorator. Seeding has been on hold for this week, as it is still pretty early in the year for the canola and the soybeans. The wheat and oats are already starting to come up in places but it sure would be nice to get a bit of rain. I put the potatoes and peas in the garden and noticed some asparagus shoots coming up as well as the rhubarb showing itself. Will be good to have some fresh rhubarb crisp soon. Amber putting a coat of paint on our laundromat. The electricity was hooked up this week, and the hot water tank put in place .

She is almost finished the undercoat and then it will get a coat of a light creamy color. We uesalso got our phone hooked up again this week. Till now the only way to get us was on Kerry's cell. Guess now my peace and quiet will be over.

This afternoon I had Nolan here for awhile and he was very content to play with my broom. It gave me time to wash the floor, which really needed it already. And so we are again at the end of the week. Much has happened again, although most of it is not very visible. Soon though, there should be visible signs of progress on our house. Stay tuned. Oh, and leave a comment sometime.

This is my temporary home!

We are HOME! After 3 1/2 months we are back on our yard, but in a temporary home. We had an RV moved onto the yard, and it is standing on the cement pad where our garage was. It is not where I thought I would be sleeping and hanging my hat when I got home but it is good. It is good to be back on the yard again. It is good to have a place to call home . It is good to have our own space. It is temporary. When we were driving home we turned on the radio once in a while, and it seemed that every time we did that the song that we heard was a song by Carrie Underwood called "This is my temporary home." I like the song, but now that I think back, I wonder was God trying to prepare me for something? I keep thinking of this song when I look at our present lodging, and as I look forward to our next home, which should be more permanent. I am reminded though, that no matter where we live on this earth, it is still always our temporary home. God feels very close these days, we know he is giving us strength, and we pray for wisdom as we make our many decisions about our next home. God feels close in the love and caring we are getting from others, who drop by with gifts and baking, and give hugs and speak words of encouragement, whether we meet them at home, at church, or on the street or at the store or wherever we go. God feels close when he reminds me that my real home will be in heaven, this, good as it is, good as we hope it will be, is temporary. God feels close when he reminds me that I need to be thankful in this present situation, and in this present small home. Our RV as situated where the garage once stood. The wooden building will soon be our laundromat. We plan to get water and electricity hooked up, and then put in a hot water tank, and then go out and buy our new washer and dryer and put them there as well, and we will be set. I won't have to go somewhere else to do laundry! We may even put a freezer in there as well.

The other side of the house. There are two push-outs that give us more space inside.

Pictures of the inside. Starting from top left and going clockwise. The view of the living room and dining area when you walk in the door. My kitchen , which is compact, and has not much counter space, sad to say. One view of the back room, which has bunks and room for a desk for our lap top. Thanks to Shaun we are hooked up to the internet already, but I need to get my office set up with printer and copier so that I can keep on top of the paper work. Middle bottom shows the bedroom, which is mostly bed, but a comfortable one. There is closets above and on each side of the bed, and we can exit the bedroom on either side. The last picture is just the other side of the back room, where there is a shelving unit that will be great for storage. The bathroom, of which I have no picture, is a good size. The shower is pretty big and has a sky light, and when you are sitting on the potty, you don't bump your knees against anything. I am slowly collecting things so I should be able to do some cooking and stuff and so we are settling in here for about the next 4 months.


And so, life after the fire is moving on. We are working on house plans and hope to get things going soon on that front. I am still making lists of household contents, and still remembering more and more stuff that we had. The hole where our other house was is filled with dirt and all traces of it gone. Even the smokey smell is gone from the yard. The garden looks good and soon I think it will be time to start planting, maybe even today. Seeding is underway as well, the fields are in great condition for seeding and we had our earliest starting date for seeding ever. Yesterday we celebrated grandson Nolan's 1st birthday. God is good, and life is moving on!

We have the internet up and running thanks to our sons, Shaun and Erik.(all our kids have been wonderfull) We are making progress and finally got a RV to move to the yard and have moved in. A new temporary home. Thanks to Lon and Pat for letting us stay with them the last two weeks. We will always remember the love with which you took us in. Jo could not post pictures the last time she blogged so i started this with a number of pictures of almost two weeks ago. For me things seem to be moving very slow, even though others think its going fast. We have spent the last 7 days working with house plans and it must almost be time to build. We want to thank all of you that read this blog for praying, stopping by to help, bringing food, all the meals we have been invited out, the gifts you have dropped off, and the caring and love we have felt. God is making this time in our lives very special because of all of you. Thanks so much. Kerry

Before and After

Kerry and I had a good winter. We spent 2 months back in Dulzura CA, working for MDS and continuing the project of rebuilding homes that had been destroyed by wildfires back in 2007. As we were driving home we got the report that house #9 had passed final inspection and the homeowners could move back in. That was exciting news, and a good finish to our winter. We moved from Dulzura to Palm Springs where we spent a month relaxing and enjoying a holiday. We had friends and family out to visit and it was a good time. But it was soon time to go back home and so March 31st we packed up the car, said goodbye to Palm Springs and turned the car northwards. We were looking forward to getting back home, and settling in and picking up the routine again. It would soon be seeding time, there was new equipment coming, we would have the kids and grandkids over for Easter, it would be good. That was before................

We had driven for 2 days and were on our last leg home, so to speak. It was Good Friday morning and we were somewhere between Sioux City and Sioux Falls when we got the call. Our house was on fire. We sat there in stunned silence for awhile, before it started to sink in. The rest of the drive home, the next 8 hours or so, we were in shock. We got calls from home periodically, giving progress reports. We cried, we laughed, we talked or we sat in silence, each with our own thoughts. We willed the miles to fly by, but it gave us time to start coming to terms with the reality. We were now homeless! We finally got home at about 7:30 that night, and drove on the yard to see for ourselves. All that was left was a burned out shell of our home, surrounded by yellow tape. It was really true! We met with our kids that night, and spent a lot of time talking. The trauma was very real for them, they were ethe ones who had to watch their childhood home go up in flames. Life was different now. This is the after.................

In the midst of the rubble and destruction that was our house, we saw that the crocuses were starting to bloom. Life goes on ! God is faithful! It has been a busy and difficult, yet wonderful week. We are homeless, but still we are at home. Friends took us in and we have a place to lay our heads. No one was hurt in the fire. Family, friends, the church family and the community, as well as friends and aquaintances from near and far, have been there for us, praying for us and supporting us, bringing food, and inviting us for meals, giving us hugs and words of encouragement. We feel humbled , yet blessed at this outpouring of love that is coming our way. Now a week has passed, and the house is no more. We spent one day picking through the rubble and salvaging some stuff. We have found many of our photo albums, and could save many pictures, including our wedding pictures. We found some coins and cash, we found some rings, we found calendars that I had used for my diaries, and I found some of my recipes, and we found some letters that Kerry and I had written to each other before we got married. Treasures, and blessings from God. We have said good-bye to our stuff, and the task of starting over is consuming our thoughts and time. There is much to think of and many decisions to make, but in all of this we still feel blessed. Not to say that we don't still grieve, or feel overwhelmed, or sad, but we feel the love and strength that is coming because of the prayers of others. In my devotions early on in the week, the verses that I read really spoke and gave me comfort. From Isaiah 61:3----"to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mournig, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." and also Psalm 66:12-----"we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." These verses brought much comfort in the first couple of days after the fire, and I am trusting that God will again bring us to a place of abundance and beauty. God is good, and He IS providing! It is our desire in all of this to be faithful and give Him the glory!


And so, we are entering a new phase. Life is now divided into before the fire, and after the fire. Stay tuned for updates as to where we go from here. Thank you to all who are praying!