Well, I don’t update often enough and I have entertained the thought of starring to blog again, I guess now is as good of a time as any. Forgive me if some of it comes out incoherent, I am on some pretty heavy pain meds and muscle relaxers right now. 
Last night after dinner, Chris told us to load up in the van and he had a surprise for us. We were playing a guessing game where he was taking us, we were all smiles and laughter. We were facing southbound, first vehicle in line at the stoplight intersection of 23rd and College. The light for cross traffic turned yellow, a few people ran it (as usual) and then the light turned red. Our light turned green, Chris started to accelerate into the intersection to turn left–and BAM!–out of nowhere, this maroon sedan smashes into the drivers side (Chris was driving) and pushes us 50 feet to the right. Everyone screamed in fear. I saw everything outside blur through the front windshield and the sound of twisting metal and breaking glass overtook the screams. Smoke billowed up from the engine and the heat was intense, though nothing was on fire. I scrambled to reach my purse in the floorboard to find my purse to call 911. Chris immediately got out, but we couldn’t hear what he was saying to the other driver amidst all the steam and smoke hissing sounds coming from the front of our van. The girls were still screaming and shaken up, but both of them had unbuckled their seatbelts, making their way to me for comfort. Chris told me to gt out and to get the girls out ASAP, but my door was jammed shut. I pushed and kicked with all my strength and it eventually did open so I could get the girls out of their seats too. When I saw were all walking, I immediately was grateful. The driver who hit us–the first thing she said to Chris–was “Please don’t call the police.” Well, the Bethany Police Department, EMSA, and our wonderful firefighters were already on their way–response time was under 4 minutes. A police officer immediately took our statements while EMSA checked out the girls. After getting a statement from both me and Chris and the other driver, they gave her a sobriety test. Chris was in a lot of pain, so we decided he really needed to go to the hospital to get checked out. As they were loading him up in the ambulance, the firefighters helped me get the girls’ car seats out of the van, and the police officers arrested the other driver and put her in the back of a cruiser. Apparently she does not have a license because it was revoked, she didn’t have insurance and the car wasn’t hers (she couldn’t tell the police whose it was) and she had marijuana in her possession as well. What a mess. Her sisters showed up–they were apologetic and tried to talk to me, but I wasn’t interested in an apology at the time. My words to them were kept short and blunt, “accidents happen” and then I walked off. I felt like weeping. It was all very overwhelming. I have never seen a car so twisted, the metal was backward and sideways, the radiator was completely unattached, the bumper was torn completely off and the grill–so destroyed, you couldn’t tell what kind of car it was. My poor van! My poor family! What a terrible way to start the weekend.
My parents and sister arrived to take us all to the hospital when the reports were over. By then most of the car had been cleaned up from the road, and a wrecker was towing the Town and Country away. I felt a strange sadness welling up inside me. I guess it is strange because I am not a sentimental person, and I don’t normally get emotionally attached to inanimate objects. But i was seriously sad! The van was my miracle provision–the day before Trinity was born, we bought that van after praying to God that I knew it was too nice, it wasn’t in our price range, and that the ones we were looking at were “good enough” for us–but Oh WOW, wouldn’t that red one, fully loaded, low miles, and all the extras, wouldn’t that be nice? It’s the one I really wanted, and God heard my prayer and blessed us with it. That van has shuttled me to and from chemo and surgeries, heard all our prayers and our discussions over the business, was a faithful friend to get the girls to and from dance and school and friends’ houses. The van has seen us through 5 years of our lives now, and most importantly, it was the vehicle that crumpled and crushed in all the places it was supposed to, a manufacturer-built sacrifice, to save our lives. I loved that van. I am grateful for it.
Today, we are sore but we both got some good rest last night. Chris’ left arm is in a splint, he has a bruise on his eye, and he is a bit banged up. The girls have seat belt burns across their chests. I’m sore but it’s all muscle aches so I’m sure it will subside in time. All in all, we are going to be fine. We have full coverage insurance. And we’re with Allstate, so we know it’s a reliable company who will take care of us. Please join us in praying that all our medical bills, lost work and income, and vehicle will be adequately replaced. We really need another great move of God…but we know to trust Him! He’s taken such wonderful care of us throughout our lives! I know I can trust Him for this too. Thanks for all your prayers and support. Please keep praying and I’ll be keeping updates through facebook!
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