Where there's smoke...

We planned a little weekend trip to Marshfield to visit with some family. Mike and I got a late start and arrived "home" at about 1:30 AM. My parents had just woken up off the couches to a house full of smoke. We opened all the windows and looked for a candle or something that could be the cause. After searching all the rooms and Dad circling the house, the smoke seemed to increase. Finally I suggested calling the fire department. Minutes later there were three fire trucks. After a quick exam the hoses came out and the axes started chopping. They found the fire behind the wall in the kitchen above the gas fireplace. I will never forget the look on my mother's face as they axed her house. We were on the front lawn with the babies all bundled up. It turned out to be a small fire caught just in time. It didn't spread to the upstairs bedroom (where the babies sleep) or further into the kitchen. Teri (Mark's fiance) and Mark did a super cleaning job that night as we fled to Auntie Pati's house. All in all there is some damage to two walls, the ceiling, and part of the floor. The smoke smell is almost gone. The fire alarms never went off and were later determined to be faulty - they were working 3 months ago.

We just can't stop thinking of the "what ifs." What if Mike and I weren't coming home and my parents just went to sleep? What if we got home earlier and we all went to bed? It goes on and on...

So the moral of the story: Kiss your family and check your smoke alarms. Repeat often.