Trying to get back into posting. Believe it or not, for the first time in a *long time* I am fighting off a panic attack. It is not related to blogging. There has been *so much* stress around here for the last 2.5 months. And right now it is related to cars. More on that later. So what has been going on around here for the last 2.5 months?
- Very dysfunctional visitor turned our family upside down for a couple weeks.
- Discovered some of our children had been through something terrible.
- Hubby lost his upcoming winter contract.
- Construction bills (not our house) way over cost during financial hard times.
- Terrifying teen crisis.
- Wonderful house guest from Switzerland for three weeks.
- Small son experiencing strange flashes and shapes in vision for several weeks.
- Same small son shot in the eye.
- Personal crisis.
- Mortgage company made huge mistake putting us at great risk.
- Son could have been killed.
- Family in car accident.
- An adoption situation.
So where do I start?
Well, let's begin with my oldest son:
After three and a half months of my oldest son, Colt, being home, it was time for him to leave again. He was heading out into the world of higher education. To be exact: BCIT - atechnology institute, where he is studying to become an aircraft maintenance engineer!
He headed to visit his girlfriend who lives 10 hours away from our home. He was with her for a week before he had to leave to head for his new home: The Big City.
I always want my children to call me when they leave somewhere, or arrive if they are leaving from here. This time he did not tell me he had left. At about 5:00 pm, my sister emailed to tell me that he was due anytime. I texted him to see where he was and didn't hear from him for a number of hours. Later that night, he texted me and told me he had arrived. He asked me:
Mum, can you thank God that I'm alive. I nearly didn't make it. It's a miracle I'm alive.
He had left bright and early and headed out. For some strange reason, at about noon, he fell asleep at the wheel. When he woke up he was in the opposite lane, about 100 feet from an oncoming line of track. There was a full-size pickup trucking heading directly at him. He said both he and the other driver pulled hard to their right, with screeching tires. A mere three feet separated them when they passed!
Praise God for His protection! I am so very thankful - what inadequate words - that my son is alive and well today! Our children have been raised seeing me pray before we drive. Often I will call on a child to pray for God's hand to be on us and other drivers. Many times we have forgotten, but God has shown himself to be faithful regardless. Our family has so many stories where we were protected from situations that could have been deathly. I am thankful to say that I have never been at fault, but things like broken brake lines, tie-rods falling off during long road trips, being mysteriously stopped on the side of the freeway just long enough to miss a fatal car accident just miles up the road.... So many situations where we have been protected! God is faithful!
His protection continues....
Last Tuesday I headed to a town a couple hours from where we live. I was taking two of my children to a paediatrician. I had three children with me. Two more had wanted to come with me. I had said no. I am very thankful I did. If I had brought two more, I would have brought the third one, putting six children in my van. If I had done that I might not have brought six home with me. Just writing that gives me chills. But it is true.
When we had our sixth child we looked into buying a 15 passenger van. I really wanted one. I did research and the only information I got was that they were known to flip upon accidents and roll, crushing the back of the vehicle. They were not built as passenger vehicles, but rather, as transport vans, with added seats. We put the idea aside and bought an Astro van.
We then added two more children, bringing our number to eight children - ten people in an 8 seater vehicle. We didn't fit. For the next two years we managed by driving two vehicles. Twice during this time I investigated the Sprinter (too expensive) and the 15 passenger (nothing new - risk of rolling and crushing). Once again, we postponed buying a new car.
Finally, last fall, we bit the bullet. I did more research and read all I could on the vans and what the risks were:
Well, let's begin with my oldest son:
After three and a half months of my oldest son, Colt, being home, it was time for him to leave again. He was heading out into the world of higher education. To be exact: BCIT - a
He headed to visit his girlfriend who lives 10 hours away from our home. He was with her for a week before he had to leave to head for his new home: The Big City.
I always want my children to call me when they leave somewhere, or arrive if they are leaving from here. This time he did not tell me he had left. At about 5:00 pm, my sister emailed to tell me that he was due anytime. I texted him to see where he was and didn't hear from him for a number of hours. Later that night, he texted me and told me he had arrived. He asked me:
Mum, can you thank God that I'm alive. I nearly didn't make it. It's a miracle I'm alive.
He had left bright and early and headed out. For some strange reason, at about noon, he fell asleep at the wheel. When he woke up he was in the opposite lane, about 100 feet from an oncoming line of track. There was a full-size pickup trucking heading directly at him. He said both he and the other driver pulled hard to their right, with screeching tires. A mere three feet separated them when they passed!
Praise God for His protection! I am so very thankful - what inadequate words - that my son is alive and well today! Our children have been raised seeing me pray before we drive. Often I will call on a child to pray for God's hand to be on us and other drivers. Many times we have forgotten, but God has shown himself to be faithful regardless. Our family has so many stories where we were protected from situations that could have been deathly. I am thankful to say that I have never been at fault, but things like broken brake lines, tie-rods falling off during long road trips, being mysteriously stopped on the side of the freeway just long enough to miss a fatal car accident just miles up the road.... So many situations where we have been protected! God is faithful!
His protection continues....
Last Tuesday I headed to a town a couple hours from where we live. I was taking two of my children to a paediatrician. I had three children with me. Two more had wanted to come with me. I had said no. I am very thankful I did. If I had brought two more, I would have brought the third one, putting six children in my van. If I had done that I might not have brought six home with me. Just writing that gives me chills. But it is true.
When we had our sixth child we looked into buying a 15 passenger van. I really wanted one. I did research and the only information I got was that they were known to flip upon accidents and roll, crushing the back of the vehicle. They were not built as passenger vehicles, but rather, as transport vans, with added seats. We put the idea aside and bought an Astro van.
We then added two more children, bringing our number to eight children - ten people in an 8 seater vehicle. We didn't fit. For the next two years we managed by driving two vehicles. Twice during this time I investigated the Sprinter (too expensive) and the 15 passenger (nothing new - risk of rolling and crushing). Once again, we postponed buying a new car.
Finally, last fall, we bit the bullet. I did more research and read all I could on the vans and what the risks were:
- overloading
- seat belts not used
- under-inflated tires
- going too fast
- not paying attention to road conditions
- stopping too quickly
I called a dealer of vans. We had a long talk about the idea of buying a dually van. They sell beautiful adventure vans and I was seriously considering one of them. We would have had to fly to the States but I thought the six wheels would make it safer. Long and short of it, my long talks with different dealers who sold dual wheel vans, Chev and Ford 15 passenger vans, led me to feeling that a lot had to do with the driver.
Ray and I talked it through and we decided to do it. We would buy a 15 passenger Chev express. The Savanna and the Chev Express are both better than Ford as far as I can see. Why? They have done what they can to improve the passenger safety in the passenger part of the van. It is not just a box with seats. But more importantly they have added 'stabiltrak'
Ray and I talked it through and we decided to do it. We would buy a 15 passenger Chev express. The Savanna and the Chev Express are both better than Ford as far as I can see. Why? They have done what they can to improve the passenger safety in the passenger part of the van. It is not just a box with seats. But more importantly they have added 'stabiltrak'
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they estimate that nearly 10,000 deadly wrecks could be prevented yearly if electronic stabilization technology was used on every vehicle. GM and Chevy are working to that end.
What is StabiliTrak? That’s the same question I had, and I expected some answer that I couldn’t readily comprehend, something that went way over my head, not so much.
StabiliTrak is a fairly simple concept to grasp, it measures the difference between the steering wheel angle and the direction the vehicle is actually turning. Then it checks the steering wheel position, sideways force, the speed of the vehicle, and its response to the steering wheel to apply braking forces and/or change the torque of your engine to help keep you safe and on the road .
Once I had the van, I became *very* careful to follow the safety precautions that I had put in place for myself: when I have driven over 500 km, I always get the tire pressure checked; I stay near 80 km an hour, and yes, that means I do have to pull over when I get a line-up behind me; my kids *always* have seat-belts, and for me that means five in car seats! Last, but not least, I do not overload.
At Christmas, when I told my brother how I was going to be with it, he thought I was being paranoid. My kids are worth it! I love, love, love my van, but it could also be a death-trap. Treat it with respect!
Five minutes after I entered the freeway on November 1st, something very surreal happened. I was traveling in the right hand lane, probably at around 80 km. Thank God I usually follow my own rule about speed, and trust me, I will be much more vigilant about watching my speedometer in the future! There was noone coming towards me.
All of a sudden, I noticed a car turning from the lane on my right - the merging exit en-ramp. She was only about 100 feet in front of me, and honestly, I have no memory of telling myself how to react. I simply reacted, and I know God was with me because we are here to tell the story today!
What I do remember is that she was turning *across* me as if she were turning in a parking lot, so that instead of traveling parallel to me, she was suddenly running perpendicular to me. If I carried on straight, I would drive right through her driver's door. Not that I thought this. Not til later. No, I simply swerved carefully to the left and according to the kids I braked. I have no memory of planning that. But I do know that my braking was relatively gentle. A hard brake would flip my van.
I remember when I first got the van I had an incident where something frightening happened twice. Once, I was driving down the freeway, and then I saw a car passing another car as it was coming towards me. There was no way I could drive straight. I had to swerve to the edge of the road. That freaked me out. It wasn't a hard swerve, but the kids in the back told me it fishtailed. For the next while, I had the kids monitor what movement caused what level of movement in the back. I was determined that I would *know* my vehicle, since that was one of the things I was told. Another day, I was on a quiet road and there before me was a *semi* casually driving down my side of the road. Again, I had to swerve to the right. This had *never* happened in my other vans! Perhaps it was God preparing me for what was to come?
So, on the day of the accident, I just handled it. I swerved to the left, felt the other vehicle make contact with Savannah's side of the van, and then the impact seemed to go on for a while, and then I was swerving in front of van, back to the right hand side of the freeway. I could feel myself bumping across the road. I came to a gentle stop. Truly, I wonder if it is a miracle that the accident was quite so 'gentle'?
I have a friend who was in a near fatal (should have been fatal) car accident. Hit on the freeway, rolled three times, end to end, landed upside down. Each member of the car (four of them) stated the same thing: it felt like they had landed on marshmallows.
Well, I can tell you, my car did swerve, but it felt controlled. It did not careen wildly all over the road, and it did come to a gentle stop. And not one child cried. Noone but me. lol Well, not at first, but I nearly cried later from the shock of what happened.
As I sat there in my car, in shock that I had just had a car accident, a man appeared at my window.
I asked him if he was the one that hit me. He said he didn't. He had witnessed it and was from a nearby town. The woman that hit my van arrived shortly after at my window. The only thing I said to the woman was to let her know that her hitting this van was the worst thing she could have done because it had such a history of rolling over. The poor woman probably felt bad enough, but honestly, at that moment, I was in shock realizing that my worst nightmare had happened! I had been hit and I had *not* rolled over!! I hadn't even gotten out to see the damage yet.
I suddenly realized I had to call 911 - again, seriously, where did that thought come from? It's not like I have ever been in a car accident before!!
I dialed, the officer answered, and as she asked: Fire, Ambulance or Police? I didn't even hear her. I simply barreled quite incoherently right over her words and said, My car has been hit on the freeway and I have three children in the car!
She very calmly and 'nicely' (ha!) told me that was Fine, just exchange insurance papers with the person who hit you. I must have reacted pretty much like I was saying: Are you nuts? Someone just hit my car. I can't do that. I don't know what to do! I've never been in an accident before! I needthe police to come here!!
I didn't use so many words, (pretty close though!) but apparently she got the message because shortly after I got them all: Fire, Ambulance, and Police! lol Complete with sirens blasting. Quite the field trip for my children, who, btw, were doing remarkably well. Not a tear. Nothing!
My eleven year old son took my camera and got good shots, since he knows I have a blog, but more I think because he wants to start his own blog, and he figured it would be a great first post! lol
At Christmas, when I told my brother how I was going to be with it, he thought I was being paranoid. My kids are worth it! I love, love, love my van, but it could also be a death-trap. Treat it with respect!
Five minutes after I entered the freeway on November 1st, something very surreal happened. I was traveling in the right hand lane, probably at around 80 km. Thank God I usually follow my own rule about speed, and trust me, I will be much more vigilant about watching my speedometer in the future! There was noone coming towards me.
All of a sudden, I noticed a car turning from the lane on my right - the merging exit en-ramp. She was only about 100 feet in front of me, and honestly, I have no memory of telling myself how to react. I simply reacted, and I know God was with me because we are here to tell the story today!
What I do remember is that she was turning *across* me as if she were turning in a parking lot, so that instead of traveling parallel to me, she was suddenly running perpendicular to me. If I carried on straight, I would drive right through her driver's door. Not that I thought this. Not til later. No, I simply swerved carefully to the left and according to the kids I braked. I have no memory of planning that. But I do know that my braking was relatively gentle. A hard brake would flip my van.
I remember when I first got the van I had an incident where something frightening happened twice. Once, I was driving down the freeway, and then I saw a car passing another car as it was coming towards me. There was no way I could drive straight. I had to swerve to the edge of the road. That freaked me out. It wasn't a hard swerve, but the kids in the back told me it fishtailed. For the next while, I had the kids monitor what movement caused what level of movement in the back. I was determined that I would *know* my vehicle, since that was one of the things I was told. Another day, I was on a quiet road and there before me was a *semi* casually driving down my side of the road. Again, I had to swerve to the right. This had *never* happened in my other vans! Perhaps it was God preparing me for what was to come?
So, on the day of the accident, I just handled it. I swerved to the left, felt the other vehicle make contact with Savannah's side of the van, and then the impact seemed to go on for a while, and then I was swerving in front of van, back to the right hand side of the freeway. I could feel myself bumping across the road. I came to a gentle stop. Truly, I wonder if it is a miracle that the accident was quite so 'gentle'?
I have a friend who was in a near fatal (should have been fatal) car accident. Hit on the freeway, rolled three times, end to end, landed upside down. Each member of the car (four of them) stated the same thing: it felt like they had landed on marshmallows.
Well, I can tell you, my car did swerve, but it felt controlled. It did not careen wildly all over the road, and it did come to a gentle stop. And not one child cried. Noone but me. lol Well, not at first, but I nearly cried later from the shock of what happened.
As I sat there in my car, in shock that I had just had a car accident, a man appeared at my window.
I asked him if he was the one that hit me. He said he didn't. He had witnessed it and was from a nearby town. The woman that hit my van arrived shortly after at my window. The only thing I said to the woman was to let her know that her hitting this van was the worst thing she could have done because it had such a history of rolling over. The poor woman probably felt bad enough, but honestly, at that moment, I was in shock realizing that my worst nightmare had happened! I had been hit and I had *not* rolled over!! I hadn't even gotten out to see the damage yet.
I suddenly realized I had to call 911 - again, seriously, where did that thought come from? It's not like I have ever been in a car accident before!!
I dialed, the officer answered, and as she asked: Fire, Ambulance or Police? I didn't even hear her. I simply barreled quite incoherently right over her words and said, My car has been hit on the freeway and I have three children in the car!
She very calmly and 'nicely' (ha!) told me that was Fine, just exchange insurance papers with the person who hit you. I must have reacted pretty much like I was saying: Are you nuts? Someone just hit my car. I can't do that. I don't know what to do! I've never been in an accident before! I need
I didn't use so many words, (pretty close though!) but apparently she got the message because shortly after I got them all: Fire, Ambulance, and Police! lol Complete with sirens blasting. Quite the field trip for my children, who, btw, were doing remarkably well. Not a tear. Nothing!
My eleven year old son took my camera and got good shots, since he knows I have a blog, but more I think because he wants to start his own blog, and he figured it would be a great first post! lol
Stressed Out Mother Calling Her Dad"Dad, I need your help!" Second call I made after calling
Nice Fireman Checking Out the Kids The side door couldn't open, so he had to climb into the front to chat with them. Cute kids!!! He told me. Aren't they cute? He said to the rest of the crew that piled around the open back and front.
One of the WitnessesI sat in the vehicle for what seemed like ages before I realized I should probably see what damage was done to my van. Funny how shock works! I mean, seriously, normally I would have just hopped out and looked, but it didn't even occur to me to go look! lol
When I got out and walked around another man appeared and handed me his business card. I was in a bit of la-la land right then. What was he giving me his business card for? Was he offering to fix my van? Seriously, that is what I thought! lol
I saw my van and was floored! I had no clue I had been hit that hard. I knew I was hit, but I was expecting *one* spot, not the entire side of my van to have been wiped down!!
She had even done the worst possible thing: she had ripped a hole in my tire!!!! One of the main reasons for the vehicle flipping is having a tire blow-out. Oh, my, goodness!The good thing that has come of this is that I know that God truly has us in the palm of His hand! Twenty-four years driving and never had an accident, and it has to happen in the *very* vehicle I don't it *ever* to happen in. And He carried us through!
A mechanic, a tow truck driver, two witnesses, the woman, police, ambulance, fire - all there. And they were asking *me* what I wanted to do. How did *I* know? I asked if I changed the tire, could I drive it home? They seemed to be about to let me. Then I asked: What would you do if it were your wife? To which they both said: Tow it. Well, thanks! lol Why didn't you *tell* me I wasn't safe to drive it?
Then I said, What do *I* do once my car is towed? They looked unsure. Get a ride? Hello? I am from hours away from here! lol I think they need to realize that shock can really confuse a person and make them not able to make sane decisions or even know *what* to do!! But they missed that cause I looked like I was coping. Mind you, I sure was shaking!
So then I asked
Did you know cops listen to their music loud? lol Our cop likes rock music. He very kindly packed my boxes of shopping in the back of his truck and the children hopped into the back seat. Of course, by now, I had my camera and was taking shots for the blog. I knew my audience would love to be part of the adventure! lol
Our children had just last week been to He dropped us at McDonald's where we proceeded to spend the next *three hours* until Ray picked us up.
Upon arrival I stopped with the children to pray and thank God for his protectin during the accident. I was still rather shaken up. It was quite hard for me to believe that it had really happened, and that the worst had not happened. After I had prayed, I suddenly had a strong, overwhelming feeling of revelation and thankfulness. Thankfulness for something I had not thought of before. I suddenly realized that if I had not swerved to the left there was a *very* strong chance that the woman that had hit me would not have walked away from the accident. As I drove down the highway, my car was aimed directly for her driver's door. With the speed of an oncoming vehicle, the angle of her car, and the weight of my van, this woman would most likely have been killed. This changed from whole perspective from 'this woman wrecked my van and could have killed my family', to being ' Thank God she is still alive!'
Something else - I am so very thankful that I stood strong and did not buy a Ford. When you read the words up above about the Stabiltrak you will see that I was hit with a sideways force just like the kind they refer to!!! I can only imagine what might have happened if we had not had a Chev Express or Savanna van!!
StabiliTrak is a fairly simple concept to grasp, it measures the difference between the steering wheel angle and the direction the vehicle is actually turning. Then it checks the steering wheel position, sideways force, the speed of the vehicle, and its response to the steering wheel to apply braking forces and/or change the torque of your engine to help keep you safe and on the road.
Enjoying Dinner
Savannah Watching TV; Raine and Austin: Workbooks
Our Girls and Two AustinsLater on, our long stay was made more enjoyable when a young gramma and her grandson arrived. Apparently, she has a nephew who came home from Ethiopia just last Christmas! A small world!
When Ray picked me up and drove us home it was rather stressful. He drove at normal speed, but I kept my foot pressing through the floor boards. I made a comment to him, and he, not understanding said, "What do you want me to do, go 90?" Cause that was the speed limit and he was going 92 km. I said, NO! I want to you to go 30!! I want to WALK!
I had to drive 2 hours home after the accident and it wasn't too easy. To say the least!
That night I had a terrible sleep. I couldn't sleep, no matter how many natural sleep aids I took. I was thinking of the fact that in two weeks I would have to drive to the Big City and just the thought of it was freaking me out.
As the week went by, I got better.
I had no Loss of Use or Road Star on my insurance, which meant they would not tow the van home to repair it, nor would they cover a rental vehicle when it was being fixed. Well, God is good!! The adjustor heard that I had six children that had swimming lessons starting on Saturday in another town, plus one child that needed to go to Children's Hospital on the 14th, and that there was a seven passenger van at the body shop we had chosen, and she told me she had to make a phone call and would get back to me.
Ten minutes later, she called me to tell me she had authorized the overriding of the problems. I would have my van towed to our town (a few hours), plus she had authorized a rental van for our family, fully covered!! I am so thankful!!
I picked up the van on Friday and it might seem funny to you, but when I opened the door and got in I was not impressed. This van might as well have been a space ship. Seriously, I drive a Limo Van - That's what we call it - Our Limo. But our limo has Power Nothing - well, windows, sure, but that is about it. This has every button you can imagine! I had no clue how to even get this thing to start, use the windshield wipers, or lights!
I sat there for about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get the wipers going before I finally went in and got some help. Driving home was fine.
Then came Saturday.....
I got the kids in the car. I was feeling the stress. I had someone else's car to drive. I had lost my confidence. And then...
the door would not shut!! ARRRGGHH!!
The kids were in. I was getting in. The side door would shut. Bing. Then slide open again. Someone would shut it. Slide shut. Bing. Slide open again.
"WHO TOUCHED WHAT?" I had threatened them all with death (not literally!) if they touched ANYTHING on this van - Did I want this responsibility? NO!!! And now the stupid door wouldn't stay shut. Who did it????
They all looked so innocent and promised they hadn't touched anything. Yeah, sure! (boys....)
I ran inside, called the bodyshop, found out that the man who answered the phone was only there for five minutes and was leaving. Once again, God saves the day! Someone was there just at the moment I needed him, or I would have missed the swimming lessons. The man knew what to do. Apparently, there was a button on the interior roof that could disarm the electronic doors. Done! The door shut. And we were off to swimming lessons.
I had no idea I would have mild anxiety while driving. I had to pull over at one point and walk around the car to get fresh air. My head was reacting funny.
I got to town, did our swimming lessons, all was well, and then I left to do shopping. Only a couple stops, but I could feel that I had to *be quick*. I had this need to get
I could feel my muscles in my neck tightening, and I knew I had to get through my stuff quick and get going. I went into one store, shopped as quick as I could, and then, a little later, I felt a bit better, so I headed to Walmart.
Well, that didn't do so well. lol I told the kids we would be an hour. I wanted to be
We dashed (literally) into Walmart at 4:57, and I darted to the electronics department with six children running to keep up, asked some questions regarding computers, and then all of a sudden this NOISE started. It was like that horrible high-pitched noise microphones make when they are malfunctioning. It didn't stop. It kept on going and going and going, and I remember thinking: This is a great way to evacuate the store!
How much worse can it get? I am having a panic attack, and a store starts screaming at me. lol I knew I had to leave the store - now! As I was racing from the store, I thought to myself how funny this would be on my blog. Seriously, you got a crazy woman having a panic attack, running madly through Walmart not knowing if her children were even following her, but trusting they would help each other to keep up.
This noise kept screaming for the whole time it took to finish in the department, and even as we flew out the front door it was still going. At that moment, I realized Cassidy had thrown something in my cart. NO! I was not paying for it. Take it BACK. I'm leaving and if you want a ride, you better catch up!
I realized how insanely funny this situation looked like. Poor kids! Cassidy, running behind saying, I thought you said we would be in here an hour? That was seven minutes?
Yeah, well, I changed my mind.
The kids and I got to the car, got settled, and then waited for Cass. I was not waiting patiently. lol My wheels were turned to the entrance, and if he wanted a ride, he had better hurry! I knew I *had* to go to
I figured if I had comfort food I might make it home. Well, it was a good plan. I gave each child one Toffifee, and then every 5-10 km I ate one myself, while slugging down Coke.
By the time I was about 10 km from home, Cassidy asked me if my anxiety was gone yet. I asked him why he asked? Because you have finished your chocolates.
Yep, I was feeling better. lol
Now, I am asking you to pray for me. I have to drive that same drive next Saturday for swimming lessons, and then the following day I have to drive five hours to the Big City. I have to keep Cooper up til midnight that night, so that his brain will be tired, then I have to have him up at 5:00 am the next morning, and then I have to drive right into the Big City at
And I would suggest you pray when you drive. It truly has saved us from many situations! And maybe more that we don't know about!
Oh, and the van will be 19 business days to fix. Praise God, it was not a write-off. It will be about $10,000 to fix, plus the cost of the rental car, so we are very thankful that they are fixing it. It was not an easy one to find. Most of them are like ugly white transport trucks. Mine is a classy one. grin
And *that* is the end of the saga. At least for now.
BTW- if you want me to have the energy to blog (and I really do love to blog when I know I have readers) then *please* do drop comments. They inspire me to write. And considering how many comments I got privately, I know you are out there! lol So please, do comment and I will respond with posts. smile
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10 comments:
Okay you are forgiven for taking so long to blog. So thankful everyone is okay except for the anxiety which I know is not fun. I sure hope Cooper is okay. Thank you for taking the time to blog will be waiting to hear how everyone is doing. It is 4 am and here I am checking out your blog I wonder what that says about me. Will re read all of this when I am more awake but for now I am just very thankful you are all okay. I will be praying for safe journeys for all of you.
WOWWWW!!! Thank God you are all okay. That was quite the post. I am still left wondering about the other things you wrote about but didn't elaborate on.(child got shot!!!!!) I will be waiting for the next one!
Oh my, I think a phone call is in order. It will have to be later this week as with Mark away, my house seems even more chaotic than usual!
Praise God for your protection and for Colt's. I will be praying for your safety and for your nerves as you do all your driving the next few weeks.
Can't wait to read the next post...keep 'em coming!
Oh Justine!! I am feeling your pain! I too pray for our driving and I too get especially panicky driving on icy roads after a few near misses. Praising God that you are all ok. I was thinking about Colt I think it was early last week and I prayed for him a couple of times-soo thankful he is ok.
I too am anxiously awaiting your next post (adoption...child shot ...) way to leave us hanging!!!
Praying that your travels the next couple of weeks are safe, and that your anxiety vanishes!
On a side note-my friend Claire who lives near you is going to be teaching swimming lessons at the hills starting Nov. 22 I think-so hopefully you won't have to drive to WL for lessons anymore!!
Sending you love and hugs and J. says hi to Cooper and the girls!
Erin
Quite a shock you've had Justine and no wonder its echoes are still reverberating around your daily actions. Sounds like these matters were only the iceberg's tip as well. Glad to hear your indestructible young man is safe, as well as you and your precious cargo. Thank you for this stream of consciousness account of it all !
Your life is never dull! It is so neat to see God in every detail. I pray that you get a handle on the anxiety because I know how paralyzing that can be. Love ya!
Hey Justine... I'm sick as a dog and can't think straight enough to write a good comment! But thank God you're all okay. Keep posting... give me something to read as I lay here pitifully! lol!
wow... you have had more than enough stress lately! I am SO thankful that everyone is ok. Praying that God will provide the courage you need to head out again, and safety where we often take it for granted.
Oh Thank You Jesus! I can't write clearly, I am so shaken by your story, but let me say that I am so glad that you all were able to make it home alright.
((hugs)) I'm glad to hear you guys are ok!! praying for safe travels in the future!
xo
jenn
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