And the fires raged on!

It has been a CRAZY ride this month for our family. We are currently living in Southern California, which meant we are not exempt form crazy wild fires, as we all to closely experienced just a few short weeks ago. It was an average week day, the girls had been dropped off at school and my twins were dropped off for daycare. Hubby had just left from his time home for lunch to return to work.Books were read, diapers changed, and bottles were fed. All sweet babies were just laid down to nap when no sooner, the loud speaker in place to make announcements on base came on. Now , understand that these go off every Friday in a , "this is just a test" manner, but a Wednesday morning is quite an odd time to hear them sound. Of course, with sleeping babies, my front door had been shut, and no sooner had I reached the front door to better hear the announcement, had it completed. Seeing nothing of concern, I continued with naptime, but kept my door open, as a precaution of course.
Not but two minutes later, on came the sirens once again, prompting that this was not a test, and all must evacuate immediately, and it just went down hill from there. My first call was to hubby, and to no surprise, he didn't answer on my first try, so I tried again and informed him to turn around with our only vehicle, and retrieve the girls at the school on the way. Calling the daycare parent, which gratefully she was closer to my home than expected, she was on her way. In the mean time, it was my job to keep my youngest daughter occupied, the babies calm, and the dog, who seemed to sense the chaos from going crazy upstairs, all while packing what I could think of in order of importance. Here is where as a crafter, I shamefully admit that  nearly ALL of my layouts are loose and scattered, yet to be in albums, so those didn't make the cut. In a timely manor, the mother of the twins arrived, hubby and daughters came home safely, and the loading of the car began. Here is where having an emergency bin for the daycare put together came in amazing handiness! We, along with my neighbors and friends, drove away, with little understanding of what would happen from here and how to deal with the emotions yet to come. Safely from the other side  of the base, we watched, waiting as flames continued near our home, and all around us, far into the night.

The next morning we awoke and continued the wait until the evening with news that we could return home. Reluctantly we made the drive home, and no sooner were we in the front door, when suddenly we saw flames out our back yard once again. With the possibility of evacuating once again, we watched as the fires blazed on around us, the skies were orange, and the sound of helicopters overheard soon became background noise, until, as the hours passed, and the skies slowly began to clear up, we felt slightly at peace again. the fires on Camp Pendleton and surrounding areas blazed on for nearly 5 days. I am beyond blessed to share that our home and the homes in our neighborhood were saved from the danger that could have been, but looking out my bedroom window every night, I am reminded of what occurred just 50 feet from our backdoor, and the looming thoughts of what could have been.

 My heart still aches for those that lost so much around us, and I will forever be grateful for the prayers and outreach I received during our time of chaos. I left my belongings in the hand of god that day, as I held my babies close, thanking god for our safety, it is indeed a day which I will not soon forget.