comes around, huh? 
Last night, life seemed to be getting back to normal on our side of town. We were back at home, and the smokey smell had mostly disappeared (or else we are getting used to it!). Even the t.v. stations seemed to reinforce a sense of normalcy as they were back to their “regularly scheduled programming.â€Â
But…as I was getting ready to head to bed, I saw the all too familiar “Breaking Newsâ€Â banner across the bottom of the screen.  A brand new fire in Santa Clarita…So, of course I tuned in to hear the details. It was just down the street from my parents! After hearing the reporter talk abaout gas fumes in the area, I grabbed the phone and called my sister (I figured she might still be awake!). Thankfully, their neighbor had already alerted them to what was going on, and my sister aswered her phone by telling me that they were on their way to our house!
On a slightly selfish note, we were quite glad that we had chosen not to stay with them a second night!  But, it allowed us to “return the favor,†and, of course we were more than happy to have them. My mom and sister (and their cat, Sullivan) arrived a little after midnight. My dad was sticking close to the house, talking with some neighbors, waiting and watching to see how things progressed. My dad never did show up, and my sister headed back home sometime after I went to bed. I think my mom was too exhausted to make the drive again, so she stayed with us last night, and just headed home a few minutes ago.
We are so thankful that their home is safe this morning!! The Lord has been merciful to us in protecting our homes!