What this couple found in the charred rubble of their family home will warm your heart.
Most would agree few things are more devastating than losing your family home. For one couple in California, the future was bleak and hopeless after they lost their family home and everything inside to the wildfire that spread across California. However, things became a lot better as the couple found something small survived the fire.
Sam Brinkerhoff and her wife, Monica, who’s five months pregnant, purchased their family home in California just two months ago.
The couple spent the better part of the past two months taking on small projects around the home in preparation for their new baby.
“Every day I was doing new projects to get the house ready; it’s so much work. It was such a rush to buy this house and remodel and get ready for the baby. We just really wanted to be prepared.”
According to Inside Edition, Sam awoke at 2:30 a.m. to panicked phone calls from her wife and the sounds of fire alarms. She noted the intense winds blew the back door of their home open. Hurrying outside to investigate, Sam spotted a quick spreading fire in the vineyard neighboring her home. She also noticed the strong winds blowing the embers from the fire toward her family home.
Sam raced back into her home to dress before fleeing from the wildfire.
She noted to Insider Edition that she did not have time to do anything other throwing clothing on her back.
“I just shut the doors really quick, got dressed. I just had to get out of my house. I didn’t grab my wallet – anything. I just didn’t have time.”
Two days later, Sam and Monica returned to their family home to discover the wildfire burned it to the ground.
“I knew my house probably wasn’t going to make it. I knew that my neighborhood wasn’t there. I noticed that nobody’s neighborhood was there for blocks and blocks.”
Sam and Monica decided to search through the charred rubble of their family home to see if anything survived. The couple recalled a safe with important documents, including their passports. Sam hoped the safe managed to survive the fire.
In time, the couple learned the important documents in the safe did not survive the fire. However, they did find a small glimmer of hope – their engagement rings. While scorched by the flames, the rings remained intact.
“Finding my wife’s and my engagement ring was just a little glimmer of hope.”
Sam explained to Inside Edition that finding the engagement rings gave them the strength they needed to push past the devastation the wildfire left behind.
“All around you, you see such devastation and it just gives you some hope. It reminds us] that our love is still strong and we’re still here and we’re going to stay strong and fight through it.”
With the assistance of their insurance and the generosity of friends, family members, and even strangers, the couple begin rebuilding their lives and preparing for the baby. The couple created a baby registry on Amazon to replace the items lost in the fire. The couple also established a GoFundMe page for those wishing to provide financial assistance.
In a week, people shared the GoFundMe page on Facebook a little over 700 times and donated nearly $7,000 toward the $15,000 goal.
Thanks to their insurance, Sam and Monica are staying at a hotel roughly an hour away from their family home as they work to rebuild their lives.
“As a community, we’re going to get through this. We just need to continue to help each other.”
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