Up in a cloud of smoke...

Well, the Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game has come and gone now, and for once, I can honestly say that I don't care about the end result.  Can you believe I just said that?  That is sooo out of character for me, but lots of bad things happened that day other than our loss to the pigs.

I'm going to do my best to catch you up rather quickly, so here's the story in a nutshell.  On game day, during the first rain delay, my mother-in-law started yelling for us to get out of the house because our propane tank and fence were on fire.  Yep, on FIRE!  So, of course in a huge panicked rush, we all ran outside barefoot.  I had Gigi in one arm and my cell phone in the other.  After calling 911 and EVERY fire dept within a 20 mile radius, we watched as our fence and storage building went up in flames.  I've never seen such big flames, and honestly, I was scared to death.  I just knew that our house was going to be gone, but somehow, I remained somewhat calm.  I sat on the sidewalk shoeless at our neighbor's house and just prayed that God would protect my family and my house too (if it was His will).  Sure enough, miraculously, my house didn't burn and the fire was stopped literally as it reached my roof.  Of course, our privacy fence and the storage building and all of the contents are gone, but our house survived, and we couldn't be any more thankful!  We lost a lot, but we could've lost so much more.  The only things I'm really gonna miss are my custom-built dollhouse that Mom and Dad gave me on my 5th Christmas, all of Manning's baby clothes and memorabilia, and of course, my gorgeous Christmas decorations.  The rest, we can live without.  They are just "things," after all.

With that being said, we do have a little trouble sleeping at night.  I've installed fire detectors all over our house, and I now have a phobia of fires.  But, I do know that God protected us and our home for a reason, and that I don't need to worry.  He will take care of us.  Some nights, I just can't help but pray 'til I fall asleep for God to watch over my sweet baby boy and protect him all the time. 

As I mentioned earlier, ALL of my Christmas decor is gone... and if you know me very well, you know how much I love Christmas.  If you don't know me, here's a short recap.  I love anything and everything Christmas, seriously.  My tree goes up the day after Halloween every year, if not before....  With this being Manning's second Christmas, but the first one that he'll actually be able to take part in, of course I had to continue with my tradition.  No fire is going to dampen my Christmas spirit and take away from all of our traditions.  So, Manning and I have been shopping up a storm trying to replace everything.  After 5 shopping trips and a lot of time spent online, I have finally finished.  I bought lots of beautiful ornaments like these...

And got a gorgeous new tree skirt...

And, of course, I lined the stockings up in Pier 1 to make sure I liked them before I purchased them...

When my packages arrive, my Christmas decor will be complete and all will be right with the world.  :o)  Enjoy the pics of our shopping adventures....

We bought a sock-monkey @ Wolfchase in Memphis...

Mommy's lil' elf :)

Shopping is a tough job!

Of course, we stopped for dinner after one of our many trips...

Now, my backyard is a different story... it looks like a junkyard.  I can't wait for the insurance adjustor to give us the go-ahead so we can get all of our burned memories off of our lawn.  Until next time, have you decorated for Christmas yet?  Why wait?! Stay tuned for some photos of my finished tree.