Late Tuesday afternoon my husband called me and said that he would be coming home late. I asked why because I knew that he wanted to come home as soon as possible, and work on his shop some before dark. He said that "we are just now leaving Atlanta." I asked, "who's we?" He replied, "me and the tow truck driver." So then came the sudden gulp and the rise in blood pressure and my many questions about what had happened. The ball joint went out on the front end of his work van causing the front right tire to crash into the fender and sent the front of the van crashing to the ground and the back of the van came off the ground. That's all he told me until he came home and got the van off the tow truck into the driveway. When he came inside, he told me that he thanked God that he was alive and able to come home. This all happened in the parking lot as he was leaving the job site. Had it of happened on I-85 just a few minutes later, he would have been dead. He had all his tools in the front of the van with him, because the back was full of supplies. Anyone who knows what a cargo van looks like, knows that there is a metal cage that separates the front two seats from the rest of the van. This keeps people from being able to brake the front window and steal tools, and also to keep the driver and passenger safe from flying tools and etc. One would also know that these vans are very top heavy especially when loaded with ladders, such as my husbands van is. If the ball joint would have gone out on the highway, the van would have flipped and rolled, and if the impact of the crash wouldn't have killed him, the tool boxes he had up front would have repeatedly crushed him each time the van rolled.
I don't mean to over dramatize, or be too descriptive, but it just shows how wonderful God's protection is. That's what He saved us from Tuesday. We pray so often for traveling mercies, sometimes not realizing just how important those prayers can be. What's more, I didn't even pray for his traveling mercies that morning, like I usually do. But God was there. Even though I wasn't faithful, God was, and always is! Our anniversary is in two days, and thanks to God's protection, I don't have to spend it a widow! My children have their daddy still! This is the second time God has protected hubby from a horrific accident on the road. Some of you may remember the post I had, (before I deleted them all) where hubby was one car away from being side swiped and he watched the truck in front of him flip and roll across 6 lanes of traffic. If he wouldn't have already started pushing on the brake, allowing him to slow down a little before the car came into their lane, it would have been him instead. He was watching that car and saw that it was driving a little wreck less. Something told him, we know it was God, that he should slow down and get space from it. Just at that instant, it jerked into their lane, and he slammed the brake down quickly as his foot was already lightly pushing on it, and the car hit the truck in front of him flipping and rolling it across 6 whole lanes of traffic. Since he had already started to brake, the vehicles behind him started to slow down as well and were able to stop in time to keep from hitting him from behind and causing a pile-up.
I find it to be so amazing, the way God can work the most minute details that we just look over, to accomplish His will! God's providence is amazing and beyond comprehension sometimes. If you want to quit reading here, I understand, but I'm so excited about all this that I have to continue with the story of my van today.
So, hubby's boss paid him to stay home today and work on fixing the work van. Since my husband is mechanically inclined, his boss would rather pay him to work on the van than pay a mechanic shop to do it. Hubby was using my...scratch that...our family van to run to the parts stores to get what he needed to fix the work van. On his second trip, as he pulled into the driveway, the oil pressure light came on, and when he got out of the van, he saw an oil trail from the street to under the van. He opened the hood and found that a seal had come out from the side of the engine and the oil was leaking out. God saved us twice here. He waited until the van was feet from home for the seal to pop out, and he made sure hubby was home. If it happened far away from the house while he was driving, the oil would have come out blown the motor up. If hubby wouldn't have been home, it would have been me and the kids in the van. I had errands to run today and wouldn't of had my cell phone because it was dead this morning...forgot to charge it. So the kids and I would've been stuck on the side of the road with a blown motor and no way to call anyone. My errands were much farther away than just where he went today.
So on the downside, we had two broke down vehicles in the driveway and no way to go get parts for them! But we are so thankful to the provisions and protection that God gave us within the last two days! They don't make a repair manual for Kia Sedona's and you can only get parts through the dealership, so we had to tow it to the service department at the dealership. Without a book, my husband has no way to fix it. It's nothing like a Chevy, or Ford, and most of it's computerized since it's so new. We have very little money, so I'm praying that God will work another miracle and provide us with a way to get it fixed. This is the last thing we wanted or needed now, financially, but how can you complain, after what God has just protected us from? The last thing I would want or need right now would be to loose my husband, so I'll take a van in the shop!
Since I'm not doing anything else right now, I thought I'd show you some pictures of the snow we had. I took some great shots and would like to show them to someone before winter is over! Growing up in Colorado, snow is a part of winter, and I learned to just love it! That's been one of the hardest parts of being in Georgia, is not having the snow. I am so thankful that since we've moved here, we've had one really good snow each year. The kids and I were so excited when we saw this accumulating outside...
My poor dog turned into a drowned and muddy rat! All three of them loved it though...I couldn't get the little two to stay inside...
Absolutely breathtaking as the sun pops up over the top of the trees! These trees aren't made for snow, but they sure look pretty covered in it! At least this time, the branches didn't break under the weight of the snow, they all held up fine. I could of stared at the trees all day! Such a bummer that the snow melted that same day. I'm just thankful I have these pictures...
You don't see roads like this very often around here! It took us several tries to get up the hill when we left in the van a little later that day...
Needless to say, the kids were having a ball with all that snow! We had to drag them back into the house to warm up. They really miss all the snow we had in Kansas. Hubby doesn't miss shoveling it all though. Kansas has had some record breaking snow fall amounts since we've left, and hubby is soooo glad we missed out on those!
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They also have special chores that we rotate or roll dice to choose who gets to do that chore for the day. It keeps things more interesting when they don't have to do the same chores every day. The anticipation of who gets to do what is so fun for them too! 1-6 are easy chores that the oldest 3 get to rotate or roll for, and 7-10 are harder chores that only the boys share. They are put on the charts after it is decided who will do them that day. We put the chores facing out, and when they are done, we turn the cards around so the numbers are showing.
Now for the reward system, if they do everything that day that they are supposed to do, they get a designated amount of money for it. If they don't do it, they don't get the money, and they get a consequence decided on by their father. I made "badges" each with a different amount of money on it. I keep them in a basket on my desk.
There are 5 spots for each child on the money chart. Once they reach 50cents, they get the 50 cent card, then when they reach $1.00, they get the dollar badge, and so on, so we've never needed more than 5 spots. They can earn extra money by doing extra things or jobs for Mommy or Daddy. Only Mommy can take up or take off the money badges.
We've been doing this for over a month now, and it is so nice for me to be able just to ask them periodically, if they've done their chart, or ask them to check their chart. It's much more fun for them and they feel like they are getting results from their hard work. Let's face it, children aren't all that thrilled about just having a clean and organized home! It does make it feel more like they are a part of the family too, than doing "chores".
It spins around like a giant 
Not only is this thing functional, but it is absolutely the most beautiful thing in my kitchen! (Well, maybe not THE MOST, but it sure competes for the title!) Just one more thing I have been blessed with to make my home more