Well, the clean up has been going fairly well.  We're figuring out exactly what damage there is and what will need to be replaced.  So far, we know that the cabinates are junk and the walls and ceiling will need new plaster or drywall.  Despite the losses and apparent run of bad luck, I can't help but feel blessed.  We have such amazing friends who are willing to help us when we're down.  A lot of people value physical possessions, and I'll admit, I have my share, but nothing makes me happier than the friends that I've made, especially in the rennie world.  One friend in particular was a super big blessing to us yesterday.  Ted (AKA Toar) brought us a whole truck and trailer load of cabinates out of is own time and his own pocket.  He does so many wonderful things for so many people, and I just can't thank him enough.  I only hope that one day I'll be able to repay him for his love and kindness.  So if any of you get the opportunity to see Ted, give him a big hug and tell him thank you!  We need more people like him in this world!

   Thank you for everything, Ted.  You're going to get a million hugs out of this one!

   Things have been crazy hectic lately.  We've had a series of bad storms which keep knocking the power out.  I need a generator!  I got the biggest scare of my life on Wednesday.  I woke up to a smoke filled livingroom (that's where we sleep 'cause we're cool like that).  It was so thick that I could only make out the light in the windows.  I woke up my husband up who ran to the kitchen to find half of my counterspace, cabinets, and stove engulfed in flames.  He grabbed the phone to call 911 and took off out the back door for the garden hose.  I started carting animals out the front door.  Ron got the fire out before the firefighters even got there.  It turns out that the coffee maker had shorted out (probably thanks to all the storms) and caught fire which quickly spread.  We ended up loosing half of the cabinetry, all the food that was in said cabinets, my stove, the coffee maker, the paint off the walls and ceiling, and a few animal losses which are the worst of all.  I had three baby love birds who were just getting ready to wean hanging in the window near the stove.  Sadly, I wasn't able to reach them in time.  I also lost a pair of baby leopard geckos which I had produced myself.  Their tubs were stacked near the ceiling and the heat got them.  The biggest loss was my husband's Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman.  A combination of the stress from repeated power outages and the thick smoke of the fire were too much for her delicate system. 

   All in all, it could have been far worse.  Had we been sleeping in a bedroom, I wouldn't have woken up in time, if at all.  The fact that I am a HORRIBLY light sleeper was also a blessing in this case.  I've always complained about our outdated lath and plaster walls, but the firemen said that if we had had dry wall, the whole place would have gone up before we ever got up.  My husband and I are both cool headed under stress which allowed us to save most of the animals from the smoke and get the fire out before it could do more damage.  And the best thing that happened during the fire was the hatching of the last baby leopard gecko of the season.  I named her Blaze. 

    I have to thank God for keeping us safe and minimizing the losses.  We have our lives, and our home was not damaged structurally or beyond repair.   The animals I lost will be sorely missed, but I'm happy to have what I do.