Her home reduced

to rubble by a fire early Wednesday morning, Barbara Nemeth worries about

replacing the family memories that were lost in the flames.

"There

were so many things I was keeping for the kids," she said. "I'm

45 and my memory's not so good. How am I going to remember all that?"

The kids have

already started remembering as they sifted through dresser drawers chock

full of intact memories.

"Look

David, there's your x-ray!" says Jaclyn, a third-grader, holding

up a rendering of the broken finger he had years ago. Jaclyn also found

her journals, pasted on cereal boxes, although some were wet.

Corinne, for

one, was just happy to be alive. Especially considering that everyone

was asleep when the flames broke out.

"My mom

saved our lives," she said, watching from a perch on the neighbor's

trampoline as fire investigators study the remains of the house. "Minutes

after we were out of the house, the roof was in flames."

Although investigation

of the fire isn't complete, it's likely that it may have started at the

pool's water pumping system, said Fire Marshal John Dailey.

"We had

one eyewitness who saw the fire early and indicated that flames were actually

coming from that pump area," Dailey said. "That's the direction

we're leaning in, but we still have a few more questions to ask before

we wrap it up."

Mrs. Nemeth

was sleeping on the couch downstairs when she heard the smoke detectors

go off. She traced the smoke, saw the fire, and rushed upstairs to wake

the kids and get them out.

"It was

the smoke alarms that saved us," Mrs. Nemeth said. "You couldn't

smell the smoke yet, but there was a smell like plastic melting in the

dishwasher. I can't believe it all spread so quickly."

Her husband

was out of town on business, so Mrs. Nemeth had to act quickly to save

the kids on her own ... or did she?

"I wasn't

alone. I had God [with me]," she said firmly, as to erase any trace

of doubt.

Just hours

after the fire, the kids were handling themselves well. As Corinne said,

"We've had time to shed our tears already."

Mrs. Nemeth

said she was extremely grateful for the support she has received from

her close neighbors and friends at St. Paul Lutheran School, who showed

up around 3 a.m. to help out.

"They

have been so great," Mrs. Nemeth said, adding that she couldn't

stress enough how much those folks helped out. "Just wonderful."

There was even

a time for laughter Wednesday morning when Corinne recalled that her chemistry

book was left in the house also.

"Darnn!"

she said, cracking a wide smile and a sarcastic look on her face.

"Write

that down," Mrs. Nemeth says, "My daughter says she's sorry

her chemistry book burned up!"

Mrs. Nemeth

managed to save some family photos, grabbing a tupperware container of

them on her way out the door when the blaze was discovered. Firefighters

were also able to save some family valuables, Dailey indicated.

As for the

sad state of the house itself, she's not too upset.

"It's

just four walls," she said. "It can be rebuilt."

A fund has

been established to assist the Nemeth family with its immediate needs.

Checks may be made out to St. Paul Lutheran School with a note at the

bottom designating it for the "Nemeth family fund". Donations

may be dropped off at the school office at 700 Ardenlee Parkway from 8

a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or mailed in also. For more information, contact Principal

Kathy Barr at 770-486-3545.