Preparations

We have been busy scratching plans and ideas on paper.

Together we have looked at alot of homes, and....

Ben has shared his ideas....ugh!!!!

I shared my ideas.....

too big!

too small,

too creepy!

easy to clean?

Please tell me this will get easier...............................

The Kearsarge Shopper

Greetings!

If you are visiting the site because of the "Thank You" posted in the January 7th Kearsarge Shopper WELCOME!

The following entry is a partial list of the beautifully overwhelming response our family has encountered since the loss of our home to fire on December 3, 2008.

This blog is a part of our healing process as well as an avenue to prevent a similar fire in the future. We encourage your feedback and we hope you will check back often as we update the progress on the new construction we are planning for this spring.



Peace

http://www.echocominc.com/shopper.html

We are eternally grateful and beautifully overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity we have experienced since the loss of our home in a devastating fire on December 3, 2008. We say we lost everything...however we really feel as if we gained a lot . Although we are starting over from scratch and we will miss all the memento's, pictures, heirlooms and pieces from our past we will never forget the generosity of our family, friends, fellow parishioners, co-workers and complete strangers. May God Bless you all.

Thank you to everyone ! Your kind words, thoughts and prayers have been so helpful to us. Below we have made a list to personally thank again the wonderful friends and family who have shared a piece of themselves with us during this experience thus far. We love you all and we are so grateful to have each and everyone of you in our lives.

Thank you to GOD, for sparing us the experience of being present when our home burned. The propane leak was a gift to get us out of our house.
Thank you to Heidi and Bill Bartlett aka: Mother and Pops aka: Ami and Grandpa for opening your home to us and being the best parents, grandparents and in-laws anyone could ever have! We love you!
Thank you to our neighbors and their amazing dog who alerted the fire department.
Thank you the Sunapee Fire Department, Newport Fire Department and the New London Fire Department for risking their lives and fighting the fire.
Thank you to the State of NH Fire Marshall William Clarke and Assistant for your hard work and determination in finding the cause of our house fire.
Thank you to the local fire departments who covered for the Sunapee, Newport and New London Fire Departments while they fought our house fire.
Thank you to Dave McCrillis and McCrillis and Eldridge Insurance Agency for FANTASTIC service.
Thank you to Claremont Savings Bank, President Sherwood Moody and Heather Melson for making the paperwork portion of this devastation easier for our family.
Thank you to United Construction for your generous offer.
Thank you to the faculty, staff, students and families at MountRoyal Academy for your thoughts, prayers, love and support.
Thank you to "The United Construction Guys at Woodlands" John Brown, Tom Moore, Mike Avery, Dennis McKenzie, Chris Kelley, Carroll Avery
Thank you to Dave Rising at Trumbull-Nelson
Thank you to Sunapee Firefighter Bradley Palmer and family for your generous offer.
Thank you to Rhonda Gurney for being there and for your generous offer.
Thank you to Maryann Parkhurst and Kathleen Gardiner for your generous offer.
Thank you to (Aunt) Sandy and (Uncle) Pete Fitzgerald(NYS) for your generous gifts.
Thank you to Judy Joy for the food and your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you to Nadine and Leo Goyette for the offer of a place to stay.
Thank you to Judy and Bud Berry for your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you to Bunny Perry for your generous offers.
Thank you to Leann and Warren Wesoja (The third call I made at 6:00am)
Thank you to Sue Jaggard for the chicken dinner.
Thank you to Mary McKenny for the Beef stew.
Thank you Laurie and Cooper McCrillis for the playdate on December 3rd, the toys and clothing.
Thank you to Angie, Randy and Isaiah Stephens for the clothing, toys and the SEQUENCE game.
Thank you to Reverend Daly for visiting.
Thank you to Father Rick at St Patricks Church for the phone calls and prayers.
Thank you to Nancy Wilmot for the phone calls, prayers and food.
Thank you to Rebecca, Rick and Madison Kelley for the clothes, snugglies and make-up.
Thank you to Mike Bartlett (Bartlett & Son Electric)for the generous offer.
Thank you to Maggie North for your generous offer.
Thank you to Lin and Steve Hazelton for the generous offer.
Thank you to Uncle Kim (Conn.) for the generous offer and replacing the boys favorite toy.
Thank you to Danny Thompson and Sharon King for the clothing.
Thank you to Carol Letman for the clothes and coming to our rescue(again).
Thank you to Seth Wilner for your generous offer.
Thank you to Dick Nichols for offering to help with the building.
Thank you to Diane Holsenbeck (NYC) for the Playmobil Castle and books.
Thank you to Judy Filkins for the gift card
Thank you to Brett Cossaboon for your generous offer.
Thank you to Kim Thompson and family for the boys clothes.
Thank you to Mrs & Mrs Parkhurst for your generous offer.
Thank you to Jessica Fraioli and family for the clothes.
Thank you to Lynn, Rhette and Brooke Solomon for the art supplies, books and toys.
Thank you to Erin Diebold for the puzzle.
Thank you to Jackie Diebold for the dinner & wine.
Thank you to Nancy Wilmot for the dinner.
Thank you to Cynthia Dabrowski for the dinner.
Thank you to Gabriel Edwards for lending us your crucifix and rosary so God can watch over us.
Thank you to Aggie, Heath, Gabe, Marius and Blaise Edwards for the clothes and dinner.
Thank you to Cheryl & Rick Mihaly and family for the dinner.
Thank you to Anthony Mihaly for the toys.
Thank you Bruce Rice for the generous offer.
Thank you to Sean at LaValleys for the generous offer.
Thank you to the Wenger Family for your generous gift certificate
Thank you to Maryann and Sherwood Moody for their generous offer.
Thank you to Kepler family for you generous offer.
Thank you to Cameron Titus for the toys.
Thank you to Paula Johnson for the clothes.
Thank you to Marti Hunt for the gift certificate.
Thank you to Mary Cronin-Wetter for the clothes, toys and kind words.
Thank you to Chrissy Fratzel for the clothes, thoughts and prayers.
Thank you to Mary-Jane and Evelynn Irazarry for the clothes, toys thoughts and prayers.
Thank you to Ann, Annalee and the entire Hall family for the gift and thoughts and prayers.
Thank you to Bradley, Maria and the Palmer boys for the stuffed animals, toys and books.
Thank you to the Grantham Village School Staff for the gifts for the boys and all your kind words, thoughts and prayers.
Thank you to Lucy Hampson for your thoughts, prayers and dinner.
Thank you to Beth Heath for the dinner and your prayers.
Thank you to Grandma Tyo, Mom, Jane Tyo (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to (Aunt) Kelly Gleason-Tyo (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to Erica & Mark Vachon (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to (Aunt)Patty & (Uncle)Paulie Calhoun(NY) for your generous gift.
Thank you to (Uncle)Jeff & (Aunt)Lisa Tyo (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to Lois and Carl Herman (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to Jen & Ryan (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to Micheal & Megan (NY)for your generous gift.
Thank you to (Aunt)Julie & (Uncle)Wayne Hughes (NY) for your generous gift.
Thank you to Loretta Greene and family for the clothes.
Thank you to the Ricci Family for the Wal-Mart gift card.
Thank you to the Richer's for the Hubert's gift card
Thank you to Jeff and Heidi North and family for the generous check
Thank you to the Newton's for the Kohl's gift card
Thank you to the Tuohy's and Tattered Pages for the Tattered Pages gift certificate
Thank you to the Tuohy's for the Salt hill Pub gift certificate
Thank you to the Salt hill Pub crew for the Salt hill Pub gift certificate
Thank you to the Wood Family for the Hubert's gift certificate
Thank you to Christine, Mike, Cooper, Riley& Mason for the Wal-Mart gift card
Thank you to the Newport Montessori PTO for the generous check
Thank you to Miss Carol, Chase and family for the Wal-Mart gift card
Thank you to Alan and Cathy Chamberlain for the generous check
Thank you to The Johnson family for the wonderful pictures
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Newport Meat Market gift certificate
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Hubert's gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Lil Red Baron gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Market Basket gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Visa card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Home Depot gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Aubuchon gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Hannaford gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Barnes and Noble gift card
Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card
Thank you to Aunt Susie (NY) for your generous gift
Thank you to Allen and Lisa Fellows and family for your generous gift
Thank you to the"Guys at the United Construction Shop" for your generous gift
Thank you to Jen Chickering and boys for the clothes
Thank you to Brenda Malloy for the clothes
Thank you to our backyard neighbors Peter and Jeanne for the LaValleys gift card
Thank you to the Sunapee Running Club for the RP Johnson and Kohls gift cards and the toys.
Thank you to Lukasz Ricci for the warm winter wear.
Thank you to Janice Brehio for the generous gift.
Thank you to Judy Filkins for the generous Hubert's gift card.
Thank you to Kathy McDonald and family for the generous Wal-Mart gift card.
Thank you to Steve and Gretchen Taylor for the generous gift.
Thank you to The Wenger Family for the generous gift card.
Thank you to The Casalinova Family (VT) for the generous Wal-Mart gift card.

Thank you, Thank you, to everyone........we could not have kept our heads up without you! We will be back to update the list periodically. Please accept our heartfelt forgiveness if we have momentarily forgotten someone in the confusion of this process.

2 weeks since the fire

Unbelievable......we cannot yet find any other words to describe what happened today...

It snowed today.. a lot this morning. Ben took the day off to pick his brother up at the airport. Brother Pete has not been in NH in 2.5 years...so this is pretty exciting.

The combination of the two above items enabled Ben to drop-off and pick up Luke from Montessori school today...a very rare occurrence.

no this is not the unbelievable part....

The following is the unbelievable part......Our family was given an unbelievable amount of generous gifts today from the Newport Montessori School. It has been two weeks since the fire and things have slowed down a bit...most people know the story of the fire so we do not find ourselves telling our story countless times a day...not that we mind a bit...we sincerely hope that in sharing our experience we can prevent a fire from happening.

In this change of pace we are finding that we now have more time to think about what has happened...really allow it to sink in. As hard as it is sometimes to absorb the loss of our things like; our family photos, handmade holiday decorations and paintings made by little hands...our spirits are continually lifted by such wonderful acts of kindness as we saw today. Thank you all so very much for your love and support! It is so very heartwarming for us to know that we live in such a caring community .

Thank you to the Ricci Family for the Wal-Mart gift card.

Thank you to the Richer's for the Hubert's gift card

Thank you to Jeff and Heidi North and family for the generous check

Thank you to the Newton's for the Kohl's gift card

Thank you to the Tuohy's and Tattered Pages for the Tattered Pages gift certificate

Thank you to the Tuohy's for the Salt hill Pub gift certificate

Thank you to the Salt hill Pub crew for the Salt hill Pub gift certificate

Thank you to the Wood Family for the Hubert's gift certificate

Thank you to Christine, Mike, Cooper, Riley& Mason for the Wal-Mart gift card

Thank you to the Newport Montessori PTO for the generous check

Thank you to Miss Carol, Chase and family for the Wal-Mart gift card

Thank you to Alan and Cathy Chamberlain for the generous check

Thank you to The Johnson family for the wonderful pictures

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Newport Meat Market gift certificate

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Hubert's gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Lil Red Baron gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Market Basket gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Visa card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Home Depot gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Aubuchon gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Hannaford gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Barnes and Noble gift card

Thank you to the anonymous person for the Wal-Mart gift card

Saturday....

I am back....we have been without power for roughly 38 hours...not a big deal. There is a generator so we had water...although only cold water. The wood stove kept us relatively warm and the generator kept the refrigerator running along with a lamp. For the boys it was business as usual...we have not had a TV (by choice) for sometime and they are only able to use the computer once in a while. They are 7 and 4 so we can get away with very limited computer use for now. During the power outage they did not complain once...they went about their routine of getting up, eating, dressing and playing all day! No power required. I had to laugh a bit though as I listened to the local radio station that was fielding calls related to the "ice storm". The storm brought school and work cancellations and people were beside themselves with anxiety about the long-powerless day ahead. Parents who were home with their children called the radio station to complain about their children's complaining. Seeking out libraries that had power so their child could see their favorite show via the internet...okay that is a bit much for me. Not all calls were negative- some Moms called in to say their family was dusting off games and spending the afternoon challenging each other at Chess or Monopoly. Bravo....to them...but shouldn't they ask themselves a few questions?

1. Why is there dust on our family games?

2. Why are we so bored?

3. Why am I complaining about spending an entire day with my child/children?

***4. Why can't my children entertain themselves?

hmmmm.....the experience really reinforced our No TV - very limited internet rule.

P.S. If we had our Sunapee house we would not have lost power at all...then again I would not be having this experience, nor would I be writing this blog...see it IS all connected!

Camera

Luke Peter a few weeks old (2004)

Stacy is a picture taker...she takes pictures of everything. A pretty view as she drives down the road, proud family moments, cute baby chicks...you name she takes pictures of it. However the thousands of pictures that she has taken are gone.....all the discs are buried in a pile of cinders and ash. Bummer....then Stacy was on the website http://www.flickr.com/ to make a slide show of the Sunapee house pictures and guess what!!!! Stacy had downloaded a bunch of pictures on flickr!!

DO THIS NOW!!! Any pictures you have on disc or still on your digital camera, even if you need to scan printed pictures into your computer (or pay a professional to do it) download them to flickr right now!! In the unfortunate event that you loose you family pictures to fire, flood or whatever..you will always have access to your precious photos.

Tomorrow will be one week....

It has been almost one week since the fire.

Take a moment and look around your home.....what could you really live without? Not a trick question, you can live without all of your stuff, you really don't need any of it.

Now ask your self: If I knew a disaster was coming what would I take with me? Everything? Probably not, you might take photo albums, heirlooms, your jewelry? Would you take things that were valuable, just because their valuable?

What would you take and why?