Where The Heart Is

I used to take that phrase for granted.

But now, I know what it truly means.

This Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a wonderful day and meal with my brother and his family, and my parents.

Gram made the girls tutus and bows for the occasion. The kids had a blast playing in the giant black "tube." We had a great time.

Andrea's veggie turkey.

Our tablescape. We enjoyed an awesome meal consisting of Nick's smoked turkey. We ate on my mom's Harvest and Orchard china.

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving.

Friday after, November 29, we went to visit some family for the evening.

When we arrived home, our house had burned down.

That house, the one you saw just a few clicks earlier, is now reduced to this.

What used to be my kitchen.

We thank God that we were all unharmed in this ordeal. Our children are safe, we are all healthy and able to move on. It is sad; something we will mourn probably the rest of our lives. So many memories were made here, including the birth of our two children. However, it is not a tragedy. We are okay, we will rebuild. We will always miss this first home. The one Nick and I were married into. The one we thought we would live in the rest of our lives.

Right now, we are living in my husband's parents' home. They are temporary living in Hawaii, so the house is available for us to live in until we can rebuild our house. Plans are already in motion for this next chapter of our lives.

However, in order for us to move on, we have to provide inventory lists for the insurance company. This is difficult on many levels. One being it's hard to remember everything you owned and the cost to replace it; another is that you're having to remember all that has been lost. We're just wanting to move on, but we're not ready yet. We'll get there eventually, then we can move forward.

We have enjoyed some close family times in the recent weeks.

Sabrina is growing so fast, I hope I can keep up with all her special moments in the new baby books. The kids now bathe together, and honestly it's probably the best family moment of every day.



You can see the family resemblance. They both have that "Flynn" scowl.

We have been imeasurably blessed during this potentially difficult time. I will be honest and say that we have suffered little; our immmediate and many long term needs have been met. Family, friends, the community, churches and complete strangers have cared for us more than we can comprehend. It is easy to be overcome with emotion when you think of how many people have given to us, possibly beyond their own ability. Right now we are well clothed, well sheltered, well  fed, and well loved.

Through all this, I have learned that "home" means more than I ever thought it did. Home is not a physical place. It is not where you hang your hat, where you make your meals, where you sleep at night, where you raise your kids. Home is people. Loved ones. Family. Friends. Home is my children, my husband. Every time they look at me I see the spark of life that you CANNOT see anywhere else. They are my heart.

And that my friends, is where the heart is.