The End of an Era

The Bathroom

View into the Front Living Room, built in Piano

Front of the house that faces Hwy 64.

West side of the house (view to the carport)

Carport

The Den (back of the house)

View from the Carport Door (the main entrance)

The Den (West Side)

The Den (East Side)

Mom's Jeep Cherokee (no, it's not a station wagon)!

For those of who who haven't heard yet (or checked the font page of today's Log Cabin Paper) my parents (Eddie & Julie's) house burned down yesterday morning.
Luckily no one was home, they were at church.
The house & it's contents are a total loss.
On the bright side, the "Taj-Ma-Shed" (as my Dad calls it, aka the Shed) that housed the 4-wheeler, lawn mower & other "man goods" is completely intact without any damage! Gotta love those MALE firefighters... they know what to save first, haha! I'm just kidding, but the Shed really is fine.
The volunteer firefighters worked their hearts out & tried all they could. We are so thankful for all their efforts & that they put their lives on the line to help total strangers.

The house itself was 98 years old. It was a good home to many different families over the years.
Mrs. Nancy, who lives across the field, allowed our family move in when I was in 6th grade.
It was the family farm of her late husband, Greg...whose initials are still next to the outside shower to this day.

It was a good house to grow up in, enough room to have privacy for everyone, enough gathering places when everyone wanted to be together, a built in piano (that I taught myself to play on, by the way:), & of course living right on the highway - people dropped by at any given minute & if they didn't stop by they honked wildly!
When my Dad started work for the company he is with now, people would ask him where he lived; when he told them, the response was always

"Oh, your (April or Ashlee's) Dad!!"

When I bump into people in town, they always ask "Do your parents still live right there on the Highway??" After 15 years of saying (insert heavy sigh here) "Yes, they do."
Yes, it is a devastating loss for all of us, but they have literally started picking up the pieces and are already looking towards a bigger & brighter future.

Thank you all for all the phone calls, visits, e-mails, donations, prayers, & concerns on behalf of my parents. Your love & generosity have gone above & beyond & we are so lucky to have friends & family that are there no matter what.

To the End of an Era, may you rest in peace...