Electric bill & car maintenance

I wish I could lay the blame for this anywhere other than where it rests.
It's 100% on me.
I'm an idiot and a soft-hearted fool, and I'm too trusting.A few years ago, we put a Christian woman and her kids on our electric account, with the thought that they'd help out as they could.
Well...

Guess who's the sucker?
They ran our bill up ... astronomically.
We've been scrambling to try to keep everything paid.
We've failed.
Well... no.
I've failed.
I should know better than to help people out.
I should.
But miss pious, and upstanding around her friends and family got me good.

And because of my idiocy, our power is turned off.
Probably until sometime in either February or March.
So... daddy ruined the holidays.
Daddy ruined Bryn's birthday (Dec 14th).
Daddy may have ruined Kendra's birthday.
But daddy definitely ruined the holidays.
I haven't even been able to afford to change the oil in the car...
And now the "Check Engine" light is on.
I kept believing the folks who said a solution was incoming... it never came in...

No baking.
No Christmas lights.
No turkeys, hams, or pies.
Presents will be ... light... if not non-existent.

And because of how stupid I have been, in the scramble to keep the power on, we bounced a couple of checks.
CostCo and Mountain Flame propane (the folks at Mountain Flame have been fantastic with us over the past several years, letting us make payments on our account... absolutely fantastic people that own that place).

I'm at a loss.
And I can't find a job.

I like to think I've learned my lesson, once and for all, about helping people.
I've been burned before... but this was ... out of the ballpark.
The electric bill skyrocketed to just under $2500.00 before they shut us off.

Which is why it'll be off until February or March.

My stupidity has depressed my kids.
It's pushed my wife into a funk.

I try to put on a happy face to try to counter the depression running rampant in my house. I'm not sure anyone believes it, anymore, though...

So... we're penniless... powerless... propane is dwindling... and ... Well, the kids are eating.
Silver lining: I've dropped 15 lbs in the last three weeks. grin emoticon

Every penny helps.
I loathe doing this.
I feel like I'm going to puke... Which the librarians, here, would probably dislike...
I'd probably get kicked out.

If anyone feels like sending my kids some gifts to help out their Christmas/Yule...
29919 Duncan Canyon Rd.
Tollhouse, Ca. 93667

My pride is gone when it's a choice between holding on to the pride or watching the supplies dwindle to where the kids are shorted.

I can deal with skipping a few meals.
Not going to let the kids skip them.