A most memorable day

Today is a day I will likely always remember.  However, to make sure of that I decided to keep a record.
This morning Angel and Bunny became permanent members of our family. We started the day early.  Found the light in the van had been on all weekend long.  Thankfully the Hubs noticed this enough in advanced to get it charged enough to start it.  Then Cinderella lost the keys.  Between her and the Hubs they were able to find them, and we made it to the court house on time.

The adoption proceeded without incident, and we left an hour and a half later with two new daughters.  We had invited our guests to join us for a light brunch at our house afterwords.

 Shortly after all of our guests left, and I went to put Bunny down for her nap, Aurora knocked on the bedroom door.

She opened it, and said, "Mom, there's a fire!". I noticed smoke billowing in the air, so I grabbed Bunny and ran from the house, to our designated meeting place.

Thankfully all of the children made it there safely as well.  I dialed 911.  Can I tell you that with a real emergency it felt like it took forever just to get out the basic info such as name address and phone number.  Finally I was able to tell dispatch there was a fire. 

At the same time, Cinderella was trying to tell me how it started.  She said she put too much cardboard in the fireplace, and the flames were shooting too high.   I hadn't seen the fire, just the smoke, so I wasn't sure how big the fire was. 

At this point the Hubs came outside saying he had doused the fire.  He said Cinderella had forgotten to open the chimney flue.  He was looking for a tool to get it open so the smoke could clear out.

I told dispatch that we had the fire out.  They told me they needed to have the fire department come and check it out anyway.

So we spent probably about 30-40 min standing outside while the fire department checked everything out, and then opened all the windows and turned on their big fan, to help the smoke to clear.

Once the air was mostly breathable again we were given clearance to go back inside.  We went in, got coats and shoes and spent the afternoon at a museum and then took the kids to see Frozen II. 

I am so grateful that the fire didn't cause any injuries, or permanent damage to the home.  We have a wall  and ceiling that will need to be scrubbed, and it may take a while to get the scent of smoke out of everything.  But all in all, I would say today had some struggles, but it was a day filled with blessings.

Where and how to ask for help

I wish I knew.  I wish I knew how and where and who to ask for help.  I usually just plug along the best I can, until I crash.  I know that isn't healthy, but when people ask me what I need, I honestly don't know what to tell them.

The interesting thing about this is, many times I
have felt if I could just split myself into multiple people I could get it all done.  That means that somewhere in my mind, I know what I want done, so why can't I tell/ask others?

I realized the answer to this question this last weekend.  I feel so burdened down by the heaviness of what I am trying to carry, I don't want to make anyone else carry it.  I see all the other things people have going on in their lives, and think "they don't need the additional stress of my life and problems.". So I keep it to myself.  I think one of my greatest fears is being a burden on someone else.

Through all of this introspection, I realize I need to ask for help, and let others serve me more.  I just am never sure where and who to ask.  I find some people who are very supportive and helpful, so I know I can ask them.  But after multiple times of asking them, because I don't know who else to turn to, I am afraid I am burning them out.  Not because they tell me I am, but because I know how heavy my burden is, and I don't want to be the annoying friend/neighbor/ relative who is always leaving my problems to them or asking them to help me fix things.  Once again I don't want to be a burden.