FENTON, Mo. — It's something Eboney Rachel and her kids were thrilled about for a long time.
"It was peaceful. When I walked in, I just felt at home," Rachel said.
Last Saturday, the family finally moved into their new home on Winter Park Court in Fenton.
"We started early Saturday morning. I don't think we got done until late Saturday night unpacking," the Fenton mom said.
Incredibly, three days later, their dreams went up in flames.
"Just out of the blue," Rachel said.
Just after 11:30 Tuesday morning a fire broke out inside their two-car garage.
"I thought it was a small fire," 16-year-old Lai'Loni Rachel said. But it wasn't.
Lai'Loni and her older brother got out safely.
When the fire started, Lai'Loni was on the phone with her mom who was at work.
"I remember hearing a smoke detector," Eboney said.
"Everything we had was gone … that quick. I never would have imagined," Rachel's daughter said.
Their home, everything inside and their mom's online apparel shop, all now destroyed. Eboney's business was in their garage.
"All my T-shirts, my cutting machines, my two printers, my presses all of it just gone," she said.
"Today I feel numb. Yesterday I was mad, and the day before I was in shock," she added.
The family also lost their two beloved birds and four fish in the fire.
A firefighter found their lost guinea pig, "Charlie" in the rubble. It had also died.
"Normally, I can fix things," Ebony said. But, "fixing" this will take time.
"You don't know where to start because normally I can make a shirt and make some money. I can't do it this time. We just take one moment at a time. A day is too long," Eboney said.
If you'd like to help the family, then make a donation on their GoFundMe.
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