Tragedy One, Two and Three.....

Let's begin with tragedy #1:
We had arrived home from church on Sunday afternoon to see a giant yellow smoke cloud coming from behind our mountain. We didn't feel too threatened by it so we went to my grandpa's 83rd birthday. On our way home, around 9:00 pm, we realize that the fire had made it across the ridge of the mountain and was headed straight to our house. We found we were not allowed in to Herriman city so Darren took the back roads through Bluffdale, dodging police officers so that we could get home in time to grab our dog and a few priceless items. We arrived to find the entire neighborhood had been evacuated and we were the only ones still home. We grabbed what we could in less than 20 minutes and drove to the safety of Ranie's house.

At this point we didn't know what was going to happen to our house and realized we hadn't grabbed everything that we had wanted to. Darren took the boys to my parents to sleep while I stayed until 4:30 in the morning at the bottom of the hill to watch my house burn down. I took several pictures and just knew from where I was standing that the size of the fire meant homes were being destroyed. Thankfully by the next morning we could tell that they had saved all but three. Unfortunately the fire was not contained so we were still evacuated until late Tuesday night. When we arrived home, we found our house to be in good condition aside from the smell and a little dust. We had the house surfaced cleaned and the filters changed but we are finding that we need a little more deep cleaning than we thought. The air quality hasn't been the best and we all have breathing/coughing, throat issues that we are trying to work out. Aside from that - we are extremely grateful to the firefighters that saved our homes. They were amazing and there were so many of them. The fire came right into my neighbors back yards but never touched the homes. It is truly a miracle.

Below are a few pictures of how close we came to losing everything. If you don't know where our house is, we are the second street below the black mountain so only 3 houses away from the flames - about a football field length away. We are certainly thankful for our home and all of our treasures but most of all that we made it out okay and together and realize that we can make it together as a family through anything.













Next, tragedy #2:
Saturday night around 5pm, we had planned for my family to come over for the last BBQ of the summer. I had been outside talking to neighbors about the smoke damage to our homes as family started arriving. All the kids in the neighborhood were running around our feet as usual. After while we all stated that we needed to get to our families and our next door neighbor, Amy and Brady, were going to her parents for dinner. They loaded up their kids, locked up and left for dinner.

I went inside to help with the preparations and realized that I hadn't seen Pierson for awhile. We all casually looked around the house thinking he was hiding which led to us looking outside in the yards. After an hour of looking through homes, yards, the park, the streets - we decided to call the police. They arrived, took pictures, our statement and then asked to search our house as well. Meanwhile - we had about 30 people out searching as well as others in the ward making calls. Still no Pierson. We knew what he was wearing and that he was barefoot and knew that he has never left the neighborhood or walked off. This led us to believe that he had been taken - which is absolutely my worse nightmare. I wanted to make sure he wasn't next door before the police issued an Amber Alert but we couldn't get a hold of the neighbors by cell to make sure he wasn't there and the police would not break in without a warrant. After 2 hours of trying to find Pierson - I finally got a hold of Brady. I asked if he minded if we entered his garage to look around and when he wasn't there, we asked if could enter the house. As soon as I opened the door I could hear his cries. I dropped the phone and ran upstairs to find him sitting in the corner crying uncontrollably. I finally burst into tears knowing that my son was safe and in my arms. The search was off - we had our baby. It took us a half hour to get him to stop crying, as well as myself, but he eventually was able to tell us what had happened.

In his broken language he told us that he followed Maddie inside to get a treat. She went outside but he didn't follow. They left and when he went to go outside through the back door, Zeus, the 15 year old Rot Weiler dog barked at him and scared him. He ran upstairs to hide by shutting the door behind him. He cried the whole time especially when he heard me yelling his name from their back yard.

It is such a blessing to know that he is safe and there isn't a better place for him to have been during those 2 hours than next door to me. I am so grateful that I was able to find him and grateful for all the people that were so willing to search for him. We are very blessed. I can't imagine my life without this precious little boy.



And lastly - tragedy #3:
Sunday evening my Dad had told me that my Grandpa wasn't doing very well and that I should try to go see him in the next couple of days. I asked if it would be okay if I stopped by on the way home from work since they had my kids for the day. I had wanted to go a week earlier but had been caught in the fire and being evacuated and never made it over there. So yesterday, Monday, I made plans to visit him after work at 6pm. I had sent several emails to Darren stating that I feared I wouldn't have enough time to see him and that it would be too late - the latest email being 12:18 pm. By 1:30, I received the call that he had passed. I cannot even tell you the pain I felt at that moment. I was 5 hours too late. I will never forget or forgive myself for not listening to myself and knowing that I should have stopped by on Sunday evening regardless how he felt. I immediately rushed to his side to say my goodbyes, cried for hours and didn't leave until they came to get him. I have never cried in pain like this before and hope to never have to again. It was so unexpected and sudden and I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. He is the most amazing grandpa, always willing to listen and be supportive. He is caring and genuine and never thinks or talks about himself - just always concerned about others. I will miss him everyday of the rest of my life. I love you Grandpa!



Hopefully with everything we have been through - many things not even mentioned - we can take a deep breath and have peace for awhile. What doesn't kill me will make me stronger! Let's hope!