Glass Half Full

I came home Monday from work to the guest side of the house in standing water! The water heater busted and water ran into the utility room, 2nd bedroom, guest bathroom and hallway damaging our floors, rugs and some baseboards and possibly portions of the walls. In the grand scheme of things, it really isn't as bad as say a fire or a massive flood of the city where houses are in like 4 feet of standing water. It has been more of a nuisance than anything since I have been in a hotel for a week with the dogs while 18 huge fans ran day in and day out this week to dry that side of the house. They were SO loud! We really are in a good place with everything and feel so lucky that the nursery was saved!! The whole guest side of the house was wet EXCEPT that room! (Cheers to an un-level house ;-)) Thank goodness since we have all of our baby gear sitting on the floor and all the furniture up. Not to mention, if they had to tear down those beautiful green walls I have agonized over, I would not have been happy!

Here's a little taste of what went down Monday night. Beau was out of town so I called him to tell him the news. The neighbors were all on vacation for Spring Break and I don't know how to turn water off (uh, golden key that goes into the ground by the street, what??) so Beau calls back to tell me that the FIRE DEPT. is on their way! All this while I hear sirens approaching the house. Mortified. 2 trucks pulled up and 6 firemen piled out and really treated it as an emergency! It was crazy but they were wonderful! Really took care of our things (vision of a fireman carrying my wedding dress to safety flashes in my head a lot), did a great job of getting all the water out of the house, moved furniture to dry it, and even backed the car out of the garage so that the guys could begin carrying wet items out to dry. SO sweet! I never even knew they did this stuff!

Shelby and Brinkley enjoyed the hotel. I mean, how could they not? It's like a second home after the lightning strike just 10 short months ago! We are back in the house today, new water heater installed and Beau will begin working with the insurance company (don't you know they love us) and a contractor for the floors and walls on Monday. My biggest heartbreak and nervous point is tearing up these beautiful floors and matching new floors to the rest of the house. I can't imagine that going well! 

Oh well, we are so lucky - this could have been so much worse! The glass really is half full around here....half full of murky, stagnant water ;-)