Tonya Lowder and her family suffered a great loss over the New Year's weekend.
Lowder described the incident, saying, "We had been camping for the weekend. It was on Saturday, Dec. 30, and we decided to come home early because our daughter started feeling crummy and it was supposed to rain that night." The Lowder family got home and everyone went to bed as they usually do.
Lowder continued, "I had been asleep for around an hour when I woke up to the smell of smoke. My husband and I quickly realized the smell was coming from the floor of our bathroom."
The Lowders immediately got all the pets and all four children safely out of the house and called 911. Lowder said, "Once outside, we could see the fire coming from under the house."
Tonya, her husband Matt, and their youngest daughter (4 years old) have lost all of their belongings. The master bedroom, bathroom, and the youngest daughter's room were all completely destroyed by the fire.
The rest of the Lowder house has significant water and smoke damage. The house, their family home for over twelve years, will be a total loss.
The family is currently staying with relatives. Lowder is still counting her blessings despite the tragedy, stating, "We are all here and healthy and I am grateful."
If you would like to help out the sizes are
Girl's:
4T clothes- shoe size 9 toddler
Size 8- Shoe size 1
Women's:
Med shirt, 8/10 jeans, size 9 shoes
XL shirt, 14/16 jeans, size 7 shoe
Men's:
2XL Shirt, 34x36 jeans, size 13 shoe
The Amazon wish list for the family is
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1WYU8CXONGBB7.
Matt and Tonya also want to thank Clarendon and Williamsburg fire departments and first responders for all they did to put the fire out and find the families beloved pets.
Lowder said, "They worked so hard and we are so thankful for them all."
The Lowders are thankful for the community's support and prayers. They have a positive outlook on their future. Lowder said, "Starting over is never fun, but we will do this together."
