The Onstott's home just burned down

If it weren't for bad luck, I think that the Onstott family wouldn't have any luck at all.

From Sabra's Facebook page:

Do you ever say to yourself "The only way shit could be worse would be if it was literally on fire?"

I'm gonna have to find a new one.

WE ARE ALL JUST FINE. Not even stinky.

Paraphrasing from Sabra's various FB status updates:

Yesterday, the stove caught fire - AGAIN - to the point where we could not smother it as we had in the past. We GTFO and called 911. (For the record, when the house is on fire, I get the kids out and then grab the computers and Psalm's ashes.)

The good news is that everyone is fine and we saved the 100% irreplaceable stuff. The bad news is that the trailer is uninhabitable and that the firefighters told us we shouldn't take our clothes because the carbon from the smoke won't wash out. We're currently staying at a hotel provided by the Red Cross, and we're going to move into the trailer next door as soon as the power gets turned on.

Sabra's husband Erik even gave in to my constant nagging and blogged about it:

I wouldn’t normally do this, but…

Gonna make this quick & dirty.

I got a text from Sabra yesterday afternoon saying a fire had started in the kitchen. The fire was contained to there, and everyone’s OK. We were able to secure another place from our landlord, and Sabra got all our electronics out and items of sentimental value…

…but there was a lot of smoke damage and the house is uninhabitable right now. Because of the smoke damage, all of our clothes are lost, as are all of the kids’ stuffed toys and other things, as well as all our furniture — beds, everything. The lovely and gracious Erin Palette has set up a fundraiser for us. Anything you can spare would be greatly appreciated.

Like the man said, I started a YouCaring page for them. Please donate what you can; feeding and clothing six kids and two adults is a major undertaking when you're starting from scratch.


If you can't donate money but you have spare clothes or housewares, here is what they need:

• queen sized bedding 
• twin sized bedding 
• (we'll need beds too, but I am going to contact Catholic charities for help there) 
• curtains 
• flatware 
• plates 
• pots & pans (pref. stainless steel, but I'm not going to be picky) 
• school supplies (not much, but I do homeschool Marie year-round pretty much) 
• French press or percolator 
• slow cooker 
• baking stuff -- cookie sheets, baking dishes, etc -- I'm not confident enough to take anything from the kitchen since that was exactly where the fire was 
• books (a fire hose went in through the window where the book case was, and there was heavy smoke damage there as well) 
• stuffed puppies, kitties, and bunnies (just a few)

They might need:

• yarn 
• cloth diapers (flats, prefolds, covers, pockets, whatever you might have) 
• random baby toys (most of his stuff was in my room, which took the brunt of things)

Clothing sizes:

• Erik: bottoms are size 36; tops size L 
• Sabra: size 22/3X bottoms, 3X tops (I don't wanna be picky, but please no button downs as they don't close properly over my chest); bra is 42K/HH (HH is British) 
• Bobbie: bottoms anywhere from a 4 to an 8; mostly small tops, but she can wear a few mediums too; she's femme (bra size is 34D) 
• Lewis: men's M in loose shorts and tops; juniors women's 13 pants 
• Esther: girls' 10/12 bottoms, 8/10/12 tops, kids' L; she would really like dresses 
• Marie: girls' 6 NOT slim fit (because she's got a booty), girls' 4/6 tops, girls' S dresses 
• Doug: boys' 3T bottoms; girls' 4 bottoms (these actually fit him better); boys' 4 bottoms ONLY if they have adjustable waistband; 3T to 5T tops work fine 
• Duncan: 18 or 24 months; 12M tops if they're big

Goodwill gift cards would be welcome since there is one very close to them.

If you want to mail something, their mailing address is 6725 Walzem #34, San Antonio, TX 78239.

Play us out, Sabra?
Thanks for the well wishes and offers of help. Love all of you.
Couldn't have said it better myself.