Miracles

Over the weekend we said goodbye to the Expedition that we got when Emily was six months old. A lot has happened in that car. She was so good to us but the last couple of years the amount of money we've spent on her has far exceeded what we wanted to so it was time to start looking.

We've halfheartedly been looking for at least two years, perusing websites to see what was out there, how much they cost etc, and I started praying for a miracle. We have been without a car payment for 10+ years so the thought of having to shell out a bunch of money every month for a car was not something I was looking forward to. I really started praying the last six months or so that God would provide a miracle car for us, halfway thinking that we'd get a $15,000 check in the mail or that someone would anonymously give us a car. If you're going to ask you might as well ask big right?

So about two weeks ago it was decided that we really needed to make a decision. Our car was on her final leg and it was go time. And yes, I was still waiting patiently for the check. Rob found a couple for us to look at so on Tuesday we set out to find a new car with our very short list of criteria;
1) Runs well 2) Looks decent 3) Have a third row seat that folds down into the floor.

The first place we went had already sold theirs and the other one was in Nampa so off we went. We pulled up and it looked good so we took it for a test drive and lo and behold she ran great and the third row folded down beautifully. It seemed like a great car but, much like a bride who finds her wedding dress on the first try, I couldn't believe that everything could be working out so well so I insisted we go drive a couple more. It only took driving one to see how good the first was. Convinced we had found our car, they allowed Rob to pick it up Wednesday morning and take it to our mechanic to have it looked at. We got the all clear from him so we decided we would buy it. Rob took it back and let them know we wanted it but with it being New Year's Eve and banks closing early and staying closed it was going to be a couple days before we could get our loan finalized and get the money to them. They shook hands and sent him on his way.

The first rolls around and Rob takes another look online to make sure the car was off the market, but not only was it still advertised, the price had dropped by $800! We were both annoyed so Rob sent them an email and told them he hoped that this was the new price that we would be charged when we came to pick it up. We waited and waited to get a response and, without even having to dicker with them, they said that that was the new price and it would be waiting there for us to pick up. Floored. Long story short(er) we finalized the loan, went and picked up our car and have been blissfully happy ever since!

I think when people pray for miracles they expect the parting of the red sea, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. God tells us to pray big. That's certainly what I was praying for, but God doesn't always provide the way we want or the way we think is easiest. Did God send us a big fat check? No, but I absolutely believe he provided our miracle in so many small ways.

--Had all our requirements and SO MUCH MORE!
DVD player
Sunroof which, hand to heaven, I have wanted since I started driving
Beautiful interior
Dual heated and cooled seats
Dual temperature control
These may be old hat to some people but for those of us driving a 15 year old car they are reason for a happy dance.
--The car was basically dropped in our laps with little searching necessary.
--Loan was held up which allowed the price to drop another $800
--We didn't have to bargain with them to get the new price
--He provided Rob with raises this year that far exceed any extra expenses

So grateful and thankful for His provision!

even in the little things

we just returned from a week long vacation to lincoln city, oregon and i have to say that we had a great time! mom and dad came with us which made it even better. with the kids getting older it is harder and harder to get them to family things so a full week, out of town, where they can't leave...brilliant!

early in the week as we were on the beach looking for treasures my dad said something about a sand dollar. emily asked what that was so he told her. he said he would find one for her and set off to do just that. her poppa searched, head down, scouring the beach all week for a sand dollar that he could give to his baby granddaughter. it got to be thursday and other than the teeny tiny sand dollar that i found he had had no luck.

we just got done playing at hidden beach and he and my mom were off to search some more. as we were all going our different directions in search of whatever treasures caught our attention i started praying. nothing big, i just asked god if he would allow them to find one. i told him that i knew it was just a small thing for him to do but it would mean so much for them to find one. had i not been there for this next part i wouldn't have believed it, but not five minutes after my little talk with god my mom starts calling my name. i walk over to her and you know what she had in her hand?! a stinkin sand dollar!!! a whole, unbroken normal sized sand dollar!

i was overjoyed and a little surprised, although i know i shouldn't be.
1 john 5:14 says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." it goes on to say in verse 15 "And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."

i know from experience that god doesn't always work like that. if he did i would be a millionaire :o) but why was i so surprised that god actually heard my prayer and cared enough about me to answer it? he cares about everything we care about no matter how small. so thankful for my 'rainbow' and a lesson that i needed reminding in.

the light of day

the day after the accident we went to get austin's stuff out of the truck. 

the accident looked bad by moonlight but it really gave us a new perspective when we saw in in the light of day.

i can't thank god enough for sparing those two boys.

i can't thank him enough for protecting them.

i keep wondering how they have no visible injuries.

nothing from breaking glass, no bumps, no bruises.

jake has since been diagnosed with a bad concussion and we pray for his quick recovery.

this is what miracles look like.

this is where jake was sitting.

i can't imagine the feelings he must have felt when he realized what had happened considering his side was against the ground, it was dark and he couldn't see austin.

before we left i told austin to stand in front of the truck and smile.

rob asked what there was to smile about (since we only had liability, it's a total loss) to which i replied,

"he's alive. that's plenty to smile about".

Psalm 121:1-8

Psalm 121:1-8
I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you-the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

we got that phone call.

you know, the one that no parent ever wants to receive.

the one that says your child has been in an accident.

fortunately, for us, it was austin doing the calling so i knew, at least for that moment, he was ok.
i answered my phone and all he said was "well, we rolled it".
"rolled what?!"
"the truck".

after asking questions...
are you hurt?
where are you?
are the police there?
...and trying to cope with my mixed emotions of wanting to kill him and hug him at the same time we went after them.

they were about twenty minutes away from where we were so we raced there.

i had no idea what we would find.

all i knew that they they had rolled the truck.

were they covered in cuts and bruises?

was anything broken?

whiplash?

internal bleeding?

we had no idea.

they were on a dirt road in the foothills so as we made the drive up the hill we could sporadically see flashing lights.

we pull around the corner and this is all i could see.

 as we got closer we finally saw the truck.

the boys said they were coming around the corner, hit ice and started sliding.

i can only assume that austin tried to correct and just couldn't get it righted.

the officer said that it looked like they fishtailed several times before they flipped, which made it worse.
the boys don't remember what happened.
they said they were sliding and the next thing they knew they were upside down.

it looked serious upside down.

my child and another mother's child were in this car.

and that was bad enough.

then they flipped it over. 

they didn't just roll the truck.

they hit the ditch and the back end flipped up and over and smashed down onto the edge of the ditch.

the brunt of the impact was in the middle.

right between them.

the officer said that had they landed cross ways they probably wouldn't have made it.

had it been a few inches either direction their heads would've been under that crease.

i know that god watches over our children.

i pray for them daily to be safe in his hands.

this is proof of that protection.

those two boys were able to walk away with no visible effects other than a tiny scratch on austin's hand.

they will be sore and banged up for a few days but when i look at these pictures i think of what might have been and can do nothing but praise god for giving them another chance and giving us more time with them.

color run

alyssa told me about the color run a couple months ago.

all i knew was that it was a fun run/walk and at different points along the course you got blasted with colored powder making it the "happiest 5k on the planet!".

before the race we were so clean in our brand new white shirts.

as we went along the course there were four color stations.

pink, yellow, orange and blue powder was tossed, hurled and showered on us.

we were towards the front of the second wave of runners so we had a pretty easy time getting around everyone to take up a jogging pace. 

i have never done a 5k before and i wasn't planning on doing one today but i was convinced by a few girls that i could most definitely do it so i took the challenge.

i am very proud to say that i ran all of it, except for two very short two minute "i must walk or i will die" sections.

let me also say that i paid for it the next few days.

after the race there is a color party. 

we received color packets when we registered and every  twenty minutes or so everyone throws their packets in the air.

its' a beautiful, but slightly choking experience. 

there was colored powder everywhere.

this is kari. she was my running jogging partner.
she was so great to run jog at my pace and walk when i needed to.

i started laughing right as i took this picture cause i got a glimpse of my teeth. classy.

our whole group after. such a fun group of girls and so many fun memories!

we're moving!

when we decided to build this house we did it with the intention of being here forever.
my family moved about every two years growing up so it was a constant of new houses, schools and friends.
i wanted my kids to be in one house for the majority of their school age years, so when we found out we were pregnant with emily, and our three bedroom would no longer do, we set out on a search to find that house we would settle into for the remainder of their years home.
we wanted to be in our home before she was born and time was in short supply so we ended up rushing into a house.
we moved in on december 17th 2002 and our little princess was born on december 19th.
after being here a while we decided we didn't love our new house.
it was fine but had we really thought over the design we wouldn't have picked this one.
it was too late now and it fit our needs so we have made it our home for the past 9 1/2 years.

in those 9+ years there have been times that we have thought about moving but have stayed put for different reasons.
in the last two years, though, more pressing issues have come up that have forced us to rethink our position.
about two years ago the school board wanted to change the school boundaries so that the west side of meridian road, the side we live on, would have to change to meridian high.
parents complained, they didn't change them, they tried again last year, parents were up in arms, they didn't change them.
i fear that on the third try they will pass the boundary change and tell parents to get over it.
austin has been at mountain view for three years and we really like the school and want the other two to attend there as well.
in another few years, i believe, living here will make that an impossibility.
strike one.

about a year ago we got the news that the great city of meridian is putting a walmart in our back yard.
it will, literally, be 200 feet from our back door and we will get to see it ever day in all it's glory.
no thank you.
why they couldn't put it a quarter mile down the road where there aren't any houses built yet is beyond me.
and construction began last week.
strike two.

we received an email about 6 weeks ago from our neighborhood watch.
it let us know that there were two intruders in the back yard of someone on our street.
our yard backs up to a road and has a much too low five foot fence.
any child could jump it and that has always made me a little leery.
that email sent me over the edge but i still didn't think about selling until i was driving down the road later that day thinking about the email,our house etc.
the lord said, clear as day, "it's time to sell".
strike three.

we are under water in our house so after we do a short sale we will have to rent for a couple of years.
we have been home owners for 12 years so this will be different for us but i feel like it also gives us time.
time to decide where we want to live.
time to find the perfect house for us.
time to make the best decision for our family.

my only sadness comes when i think about austin.
i always wanted him to leave for college and be able come back to his childhood home.
the place where he skinned his knees, rode his bike, and learned so much about becoming a man.
it won't play out like i wanted but as the song says, "home is wherever i'm with you".
no matter where we rest our head it will always be home.

so with that we've submitted paper work, purged and cleaned and hopefully it goes on the market this week.
onto our new adventure.

65 and counting

 there aren't many people who can say they've been married for 65 years.

i feel very blessed to know a couple who has.

grandma and grandpa reed celebrated their 65th anniversary over labor day weekend.

weren't they cute?

wedding day

september 2012

cake toppers from their wedding cake, 25th and 50th anniversaries.

 congratulations on 65 years!