We Bought a Farm: A Miracle on Pilot Mountain

The picture below is a picture of our driveway this morning. Around 8:30am, my friend Jennifer came over. Her mother-in-law, Robin, used to clean for me, but she took a full-time job so Jenn has been helping me! (I absolutely LOVE Jenn by the way. She's a very dear friend who goes to our church and our homeschool group.) Today she came over not to clean in the traditional sense but to help us unpack our garage and start getting the house back in order. 

At 9:00am an old Carbon Monoxide detector in our bedroom went off. It started saying "Carbon Monoxide detected." It was odd to me. I'd never heard that before. In addition, the detectors our reno team had installed on the ceilings weren't going off. Just the old Carbon Monoxide detector that John had left sitting on top of his dresser during all the reno work.

I called JB who was doing some farm work outside and he said he'd be over in a second. About that time a second Carbon Monoxide detector upstairs started going off. This one was also an old one that we had pulled off the walls during reno but had left sitting on a bookshelf until we could figure out what to do with it.

I climbed up on a chair and inspected the newly installed detectors on our ceiling. They were only smoke alarms, not Carbon Monoxide detectors as we thought they were. Just something that was overlooked during all the upheaval in our house in recent months.

When the second one went off, we sent all the kids outside and immediately opened every window in the house. I called the Greeneville Fire Department who instructed me to hang up and dial 911. So I did. 

Within about thirty minutes the Mosheim Volunteer Fire Department (which includes two of our neighbors) showed up at the house. They did some research and discovered the hot water heater in our bedroom closet was leaking Carbon Monoxide.

My heart and mind were reeling. I kept thinking of all the things that could have happened. My kiddos often watch movies in our big closet. Also, we kept thinking: what if we wouldn't have kept those old detectors around during all of this reno work? What might have happened? 

Honestly, we'd all be dead -- JB and I for sure as we were right in the room. What a miracle! Praise the Lord for his providence and a miracle today. 

Our water heater is turned off, and we need a new water heater. Add it to our list. :)

My cousin Eddie chatting with Jennifer during the chaos of our morning. Despite all of this, we got a ton done in the house today, and it is truly looking like a home again!