ST. PETERS, Mo. — A St. Peters couple is thankful they're alive after a fire spread throughout their house.
The flames caused them to lose almost everything on Thanksgiving night.
While the origin of the fire is unknown at this time, the shock and heartache are still sinking in with Judy and Michael Hudson.
"We waited and watched our house burn. The house I'd lived in for years. I raised my boys in that house, and it was sad," Judy said.
Hand in hand sitting in their son's living room, the Hudsons recount the night they lost it all on Chestnut Court.
"I ran out of there as fast as I could to get up the stairs and get to her because we only had seconds to get out of there, that black smoke was coming up," Michael said.
It was the burning smell that caught Michael's attention around 11 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24.
After he checked everywhere in the house, he walked downstairs and that's when he was faced with flames three feet high.
Michael said when he saw the damage, he immediately ran to wake up his wife.
"I got halfway down the stairs and my throat started burning and I told him, 'Michael, Michael, we have to get out, we have to get out, we can't look for him anymore, we got to get out,'" Judy said.
The 'him' was Hudson's beloved cat. The pet was just one of the many things they lost that Thanksgiving night.
While the damage is apparent from the broken windows and the soot-covered furniture, that isn't what the St. Peters couple is focused on now.
"We have each other, that's the main thing. We can rebuild things, but you know, we have each other," Michael said.
Wearing newly bought shoes and her son's sweatpants, Judy isn't thinking about what's gone, but what she has right next to her.
"If he hadn't been there my smoke alarm would not have gone up because the battery didn't work, and I wouldn't have survived. They would be making other plans right now," she said.
While their house on Chestnut Court will never be the same, the Hudsons' sign on their front lawn is their reminder that faith will get them through.
"I believe that everything happens for a reason, and he's there. He's my light, as long as you believe in Him, everything's going to be fine. Everything's fine," Judy said.
The Hudsons want to remind everyone to check their smoke alarms.
If you would like to help, you can donate to the Hudsons here.