Area family offers thanks for help

To the Editor:

Dear friends, neighbors, schools and family:

Shane, Jesse, Kenneth, Tara, Lyssi and I just want to thank everyone for all that they have done for us after our house burned on Jan. 20.

This has been a long couple of months and I have wanted to sit down and write thank you notes many times, but something always had to be done or we were just exhausted.

We spent three weeks working from early to late on the barn with help from some true friends.

As soon as we got back to the place we were staying, we would just crash.

Life doesn't stop so work, school, homework, dances, shopping, bills, insurance phone calls, doctor appointments, and what seemed to be daily trips to Menard's, Sam's Hardware, and Pell's continued.

We never would be in our barn/house this quick if it weren't for all who came and helped with construction, those who brought food, clothes, paper products, pots and pans, towels and bedding and those who helped us financially.

Also, we want to thank those who kept our children in their homes and took such good care of them.

We just want all of you to know how truly grateful we are and how much we appreciate your generosity.

We know we have been truly blessed with such a wonderful community and have learned quite a bit from this experience.

Here are a few things that we learned:

* Check your smoke detectors monthly.

* I do have a backdoor. For some reason, I didn't realize that my backdoor even existed. Instead, I was throwing our things out the door, with the fire above it.

* It is OK to break a window. We are so trained not to break things that it didn't occur to us to break a window.

* If you have the time, grab your computer. It has a lot of useful information.

* Keep your keys and purse or wallet in the same place so you can find them in a panic.

* Clutter isn't my friend.

* A dog, two cats, a lizard and a bird will survive in a car without killing each other, most likely because it was only 6 degrees outside.

Grateful,

Shane, Andi, Jesse, Kenneth,

and Lyssi Summers,

Brazil