Greenville Family Thankful Even After Lightning Fire Destroyed Home: 'We Would Have All Been Here Asleep'
GREENVILLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The Sutton family felt lucky.
Strong winds on Wednesday afternoon snapped a tree in their front yard and wiped out power to their Greenville neighborhood.
They were spared, though, from more serious damage they were seeing around town.
That was all before the second round of storms hit Wednesday night, bringing lightning.
"This was the living room," said Justin Sutton, walking through the charred remains of their home.
Almost any other Wednesday night, the Suttons and their three children would have been home, when lightning struck.
"We would have all been here and asleep in bed," said Krystal Sutton.
Instead, the kids happened to be with one set of grandparents. After the power went out, Krystal went to stay with her folks. When Justin missed his exit home from work, he decided to join her.
Soon after, a friend called.
"She said, 'There's a house on fire on Edmondson Street',' recalls Krystal.
They hopped on social media and discovered it was theirs.
"It's so bittersweet, because you're so incredibly grateful that that no one was here but then you walk in," said Krystal. "Seeing the kids toys and stuff and the memories that go along with all that… it's heartbreaking."
The home on Edmondson Street is the same one Krystal's mother grew up in.
It's the one she and Justin bought when they got married.
"I said, 'If you trust me, we'll make it a home'. At one point, it was nothing but studs," recalls Justin.
Now almost everything they built is gone.
"Even his wedding ring is melted, stuck on the bathroom shelf," said Krystal.
Their biggest worry, though, involves their children, 4-year-old twins and a 2-year-old girl, making sure they don't lose their sense of security.
"I'm not looking forward to picking them up this weekend and them actually realizing that we don't have a , um, home to come back to," said Krystal.