All we need is love (and crafts)

To say that we have been embraced by family and friends is the biggest understatement.  It began a few minutes after the fire began when I deposited my children safely with my neighbor Lucy,  who I knew would care for them when they needed care the most.  I returned to the street to be literally embraced by my neighbors Lori and Bob as we watched the house burn.  I will never forget those moments as long as I live.  A tidel wave of neighbors swallowed the street on that cold night that snowed giant flakes.  That blanket of comfort allowed me to be of sound mind to make decisions that I needed to make with no time to second guess.  To the firefighter who saved Owen's "rescued" stuffed friend Harold and best friend Jessie who immediately cleaned him and then became our contact person for neighborhood outreach.  To Bob and Molly from the American Red Cross who anticipated my needs before I did.  To our neighbors who went in their houses that night and packed bags of clothes and toiletries for us.  To Bob and Lori (again!) and the B family who took in our pets until we moved in the rental house.  To Bart' s co-workers who found a flight home for him and supported him in Orlando. To my amazing in-laws who not only drove to pick us up in a horrible snowstorm but who took us in, did our laundry and fed us for two weeks.  To my parents phone calls several times a day and my mom sending a replacement homemade Raggedy Andy for William within the week.

In addition to the moral support and phone calls, which has truly meant the most to us, we also received so many gifts that my new hobby is writing thank you notes.  Here are just a few:

The gift card organizer - what do I even say about this much generosity?  All gifts from our neighbors and school friends.

The most fabulous purse I have ever owned - a gift from my sister who knows me well.  It was a part of a big care package very lovingly hand picked just for me.  It also included a small black Vera Bradley bag for times when you just need a small bag.  Now that is thinking!  Thanks Mim!

A new leapster, games and a case for William from his classmates. It is the only thing that he realizes he lost in the fire.  As he says "it was in my closet so it is all burned."  I am so glad that he doesn't realize the whole closet is gone, the whole room, that whole part of the house.  To receive this from his friends was a big part of his healing and has been a lifesaver during the boring errands that have been a part of this process.

Personalized beanbags from my brother, sister-in-law and kiddos.  They are now the favorite reading chairs and I catch myself lounging on them quite a bit!

And a special mention to the self-proclaimed blog stalkers, AKA "the cool kids club", the loveliest group of chickies from Bart's office who I really just adore.  They filled a polka dot tote (they had me at the tote) with all of our favorites: games, Pepsi, gift cards, a Kate Spade phone case and poked fun at Bart with a bag of sugar, Pringles, black licorace and a coupon for an eighth of a cow (no, not a typo!) with which he will cook them a steak dinner.  But the end all be all was the quilt that matches every room in our house and the above pillow that quotes a blog post.  Here is the flip side:

I mean really, they MADE A QUILT.  What?!  They are the loveliest of the lovelies and I am grateful for their friendship.  I am honoring them today by giving them their own label on inahappynest (see end of post).

And speaking of friendship, a very young friend (even though I have known her for 29 years!), my best friend from high school, spent the last few weeks HAND-KNITTING hats for all five of us (scarf for me) and even remembered what my favorite candy is.

 We are so humbled by all of these gifts - and more important, the thoughts that went into them.  Your care of us is helping so much. We will spend our lives being generous to others - with gifties, our time, love and support.  It has been an incredible lesson for our children.