Last night we had quite the excitement! Mom was making granola. I was on the computer when I heard Mom groan, and I ran into the kitchen to see what was the matter. She had lost her grip on the pan that the granola was in while trying to put it in the oven, and, well... almost the whole pan full of granola, about 16 cups' worth, fell into the oven and on the floor. Mom quickly turned the oven off, got the dust pan, and began sweeping up the spilled granola. Well, in the process of trying to get granola out of the oven, some fell under the bottom panel of the oven floor where the heating element is.

Then Mom decided that she could just burn the granola out of the oven. So she turned the oven on and smoke started coming out of the oven. And more smoke. And MORE smoke. The swamp coolers were supposed to be blowing the smoke out of the open windows and doors, but the smoke was coming faster than the swamp coolers were blowing it out. Mom decided that that was not going to work, and turned the oven off. Just then we had smoke, smoke, smoke  in the kitchen and the smell was going all over the house, what happens next but that the granola under the bottom panel of the oven catches on fire!!!

Our whole family just stood there and looked at it. I don't think the thought of getting the fire put out actually came into my mind! I don't think very well during and emergency -- I just stand there and LOOK at the fire! Now, we did not stand there very long like that, but that is how I remember it. Then Elisabeth panicked, and Mom, who had been thinking, "Okay, what ELSE?!?!", grabbed the baking soda out of the cuboard and threw some on the fire. Of course it went out immediately. We now had granola and baking soda in the oven, but at least we were not in danger of our house burning down anymore!

This morning Dad removed the bottom panel in the oven and Mom worked on cleaning it out, so it's almost completely fixed. And, our house doesn't smell like smoke now, either, at least to me! Thank the Lord for his protection last night!