Sunday night my family were the rescuers.
I talked to my sister, Laura, on the phone as they made sandwiches and helped to make sure that all members of the ward who had been evacuated had a place to stay and something to eat.
Monday morning I woke up early unable to sleep and called my sister Shannon to ask what was happening with the fires. A family had stayed in our home that night, because the fire was terrorizing their neighborhood.
That morning they had a meeting at my families home to discuss plans of action in taking care of the families evacuated from their homes. My mom baked muffins with some women and pulled out hamburger meat to thaw for dinner for the evacuated. My dad left with my brothers and sister to help my brother Willie move his things into a new home. I went for a fun day at Schlitterbahn.
My families country home on a fun cold afternoon.
Around 11 that morning I received a frantic phone call from my mother in a voice I have never heard her use telling me in a short phrase that there was fire, she was evacuating and she loved me.
The Greenwell family had been staying with them and at the time Sister Greenwell and her daughter Crystal were at the house with my mother. Sister Greenwell and Crystal had gone outside to grab some things from their car to bring into the house. When they first went outside there was nothing. Then Crystal turned her head to the left saw the smoke right across the street from my parents home, ripped her headphones out of her ears and warned her mother. My mother was sitting on the couch getting ready to write my brother Seth currently serving in the Los Angeles Mission when Sister Greenwell came into the house and asked her to come outside. When my mom came to the door she saw the black smoke and flames shooting 20 feet into the sky. Without knowing how the fire would spread they needed to leave immediately. My mother rushed to grab the harddrive to the family computer, her purse, and keys to the car.
My family had previously planned to meet up at the Del Valle Middle School if a situation ever occurred where the house needed to be left and they were all in different areas. That plan for the first time ever went into effect when my mom called to tell my dad of the fire. I stayed in contact with my family throughout the day to receive updates. The blessing was that all were safe.
We learned from a ward member who had a chance to get into the area before it was completely closed off that our house was still fine and the fire seemed to have gone around it. We hoped that our house would be ok. When my family was allowed back into the area they found our 2 story country house reduced to a heap of ash and metal with a few flames still shooting out of it. Later we found out from the firemen that the house had been counted by the fire dept in the area as intact. A picture had been taken by the fire dept to document it and they continued down the road to other homes. When they turned around and came back up the road, they were in front of our house when it blew up and consequently burst into flames and was reduced to the pile of metal and ashes.
As my family was taking their first glances of what used to be their house a woman from ACC was taking pictures and my father asked her if she would take their picture in front of the windmill which had a sign stating "United We Stand." He later stated that "this would be the beginning of our new family album."
I talked with Shannon as my parents were walking around Wal Mart gathering toothbrushes, and bare essentials. Here my mother had the thought occur to her that she was now considered homeless. Walking around Wal Mart in Bastrop they were not alone in being considered homeless. It seemed that everyone was in their shoes.
My family went from being the rescuers to becoming the rescued in a matter of hours. My father told a reporter "Thirty years of marriage went away in a couple of hours," said Clements, "but we're starting new memories and building new photo albums, and we're going to press forward." Friends poured in with offers of places for my family to stay, thoughts and prayers were given, food was made.
Needless to say my family was shocked with the loss of everything they owned. That night I prepared myself to be strong for my family as I knew that this would be a trying time for them. We all gathered together and over the next few hours that evening I watched as Benjamin my 14 year old brother teared up when he thought of his recent birthday gifts that he had received that he no longer had. I quickly went and gave him a hug. My sister Laura sad because a project she had been working hard on for school - destroyed. I helped do the laundry so that they would have clean clothes to wear for the next day. All they had was the clothes on their back. I learned that all the animals were alive (we were unsure of our cat that could not be found as my mom quickly searched, we only knew that he had been outside of the house.) and that the shed in the backyard had managed to survive. As we talked we kept on being reminded of the things we would never see again. The furniture that my grandfather had made for us, my mother's wedding dress, my dad's cherished teddy bear, my grandmother's blue china and jewelry. I remembered how just two weeks before my mother had been so excited to show me the wedding pictures and first family photo album that she had recently come across again. She had just found a picture of Willie and I when we were young and hung it among our other family pictures on our staircase. Laura and Ben often showed their pride in their rooms and asked me to come up and see how they had uniquely decorated their rooms. It represented their personalities with UT Longhorns spread across Ben's room and Laura as a princess.
And then I witnessed their bravery, courage, and optimism as my brother Benjamin quoted my dad saying, "My house is gone but my home is eternal." As my sister Shannon in response to those who are offering support to my family with prayers said, "
Thanks everyone. We're not the only ones pray for all of Bastrop please. My family is safe! :)" And my sister Laura echoing that plea for others in Bastrop.
Tuesday morning I went out and got breakfast tacos for my family. My father made a house payment on the house that no longer stood, he cancelled bills that were no longer needed, and continued to talk to Insurance Agents. My mother talked with a sister and broke down in tears of heartache for the loss of the house and gratefulness for the safety of my family and the strength that we were all feeling from being together and realizing that what we had was of most importance. We laughed and made jokes. I realized that my brother Seth will now be added to the other RM's in our family who left from one house and came home to another. We chuckled at that thought and began jokingly making plans for how we could avoid that happening with the last 3 who plan to serve missions. :) My father called Seth's mission president and explained that he would have to forgive him because the emotions came in waves and there were points when he felt as strong as Nephi and then moments when the emotions overtook him and he was bawling. Seth's mission president let Seth know that we were safe and later that day we received this e-mail from him.
"Hey family, glad to here everybody is safe. This morning while talking to my mission president I cried, but most of them were tears of joy for the safety that you all received, and then the others were for the hardships that you all must be going through. I am praying for y'all and I pray that you all might be strong and unite together as a family in these difficult times. These are great and terrible times. Those who put there faith in God have no need to fear. Dad I love how you talked about, how the house may be gone but the family is eternal, that is so true. It also makes me think of the quote 'home is where the heart is.' Mom I imagine this is pretty tough for you, but as Laura told me the story of how you were at the house when the fire started across the street, I just had this movie play through my head of you just being super brave and strong and just going forth and taking charge. Mom you and Dad are honestly such spiritual giants in my life. I'm really interested to see how the ward and stake and community pull together out there. I feel like there will be much opportunity for growth, because many times its not until we are backed up against the wall that we see the ladder over the top. I remember with 9-11 how the nation pulled together and turned to God, I really hope to see that happen there. There is a quote that I saw out here that I really like it says, 'Fight like a real man get down on your knees and pray.' So remember family as times are tough, fight like real men or women and pray and the ladder of escape will appear. Man i got so many questions for y'all but I suppose the most will be answered with time. My main questions are where y'all are staying at, and what y'alls plans are for living and school for the next little while.
I imagine y'all are super busy. Remember to take the time to find solace in prayer and reading the scriptures. Well i love you all so much keep fighting the good fight."
I felt it well expressed the strength and courage that I witnessed from all of my family on this day.
Tuesday afternoon we headed over to the house to assess the overall damage.
When we arrived we found that a fire had come from the back side of the house burned down the shed and left only the frame of a van that we had used as a trailer, it had also taken the lives of ~ 20 of our ducks and chickens. The goats, turkeys, and several other ducks and chickens were able to escape to the far side of the lot until the fire was again put out. Our cat, blueberry, was still unknown, until later that evening I had received a text from Lisa Leigh Kelly from KEYE TV thinking she had seen our cat running around the property. I found out later that they had even called out to my family on the news saying that they had found our cat. One of our friends in the Bastrop area had seen it, let my family know and went and rescued the cat for us. We were grateful!
As we were there surveying the damage news reporters floated in and out all day taking pictures of us, doing interviews and even live newsfeeds from our plot. Later that evening we went home to find these pictures on dozens of news stories throughout the country. We received multiple texts and comments of friends that had seen my family on the news.
Throughout the day many cars drove by surveying the damage, and slowing down to take pictures. One young man had stopped his car and gotten out and walked around the back of our house surveying the damage. As he walked around us and listened to our comments to one another he said to me, "ya'll are in such good spirits for what you have just lost." We had been sifting around and Nathan found a bell that my mother collected fully in tact, we found a copper jello tin with an impression of a duck on it that had been my grandmothers, a few pieces of pottery that both of my sisters had created, and later a fireman found a piece of my grandmothers blue china. What beautiful finds with just a little soot on them. My brother Ben found a really cool piece of metal underneath the van that had melted into a cool pattern which we plan on hanging in our next house when it is rebuilt. I found my family full of optimism, hope, compassion for others, gratitude, and love.
I was reading a friends blogpost about the different trucks she has leased throughout the years and I felt the familiar rising of a desire to own a truck.
As I drove back to my apartment late Tuesday evening I found myself overcome with emotion because of the strength and power of my family and the many miracles and blessings I had consistently witnessed that day. Because of the strong faith my parents exemplify and have taught to each of their children. They indeed will leave a wonderful and lasting legacy for my family. My mother may not have heirlooms to pass onto us in the future, but they have given us the greatest gift we could have ever asked for and that is our eternal family. I know that my family will make it through this hardship successfully and even endure it well because they know the strength of the Lord and the power of Unity! I thought that I had come to be the support pillar for my family and in reality each member of my family was a pillar of strength to one another.
Too bad you can't see my current guns, they are looking pretty awesome ;)
We started our hike at the Elephant Hill Trailhead. This park was the most backcountry park that we had been to. Driving out to the trail head in our rental car was slow and steady since a lot of it was on unpaved and tiny one lane roads with sharp curves and dropoffs. It wasn't too bad unless you met a car coming the opposite direction.
