NATCHEZ — The day after sitting around their table listing their blessings, one Adams County family is thankful to be alive.

Courtney Smith and her husband were at work Friday afternoon when she got a call from a neighbor babysitting the couple’s three children that their house was on fire.

The children had been at the neighbor’s house, so no one was at home when the house at 7 Parkway Drive caught fire sometime shortly after 1 p.m., Smith said.

Natchez and Adams County firefighters responded to the fire, which was out before 2 p.m.

The cause of the fire will likely be ruled electrical, Smith said, and was a total loss.

The Smiths moved to Adams County three years ago from Louisiana and do not have relatives in the area.

Smith said Friday night she and her family were staying in a local motel until they could figure out their next step.

“Just yesterday, we were all sitting around the table … speaking on what we were thankful for,” she said. “We had plans (Friday) to put up the Christmas tree … and just to find this out, I don’t even have a word for it.”