Yesterday

yesterday the kids & i went to the waterpark. i had been promising Asher all summer to go to the waterpark. we spent 4 hours at the waterpark & left because thunder & lightening shut the park down for an hour. i was spent so we just left rather than wait a whole hour anticipating that the lightening & thunder would not return. the kids fell asleep in the van on the way home - all of the kids, from Rachel to Levi. i was enjoying the quiet & had talk radio on listening to the latest happenings on the political scene. we were roughly 1 mile from our house when this happened.  unfortunately the driver of the red truck failed to stop at the stop sign & i couldnt stop completely so i T-boned him. our air bags deployed & we ended up in that ditch. not a fun way for the kids to wake up from an afternoon car ride nap.

thankfully everyone walked away on their own 2 feet. the driver of the other vehicle did have a face full of glass & admitted to failing to stop. he was charged with the accident & i will have to go to court at the end of Oct. our insurance company is taking care of everything. thankfully clay has provided good coverage on the van & we will be back up & running before too long.

i have found that while i am completely grateful to the Lord for His divine protection, i find myself thinking about the what ifs. what if one of the kids had decided to not be in their seatbelt...what if we had of been in the little honda van...what if i had of been speeding....what if...what if....what if. it's horrible the what ifs.
but thankfully i dont have to deal with the what ifs because the what ifs are just that "what if". thankfully, we only have to deal with reality & the reality is we are all safe. this accident reminds us to be diligent in checking car seats & seat belts...reminds me to continue to strive to be the best driver i can be...no more tickets...no more speeding. reminds me to be thankful for every minute...every giggle, every tear, every hug, every breath we have together. i am so thankful...so very, very thankful.

but i am sad. i really like my big "Great White" van...."Jaws". i never thought we would need a vehicle this large and would prefer a super cool SUV; but quite frankly...I LOVE MY VAN!!! i miss it & hope he comes home soon! and i am thankful for his steel bumper & 1 ton size. I feel badly for the little izuzu. The poor little izuzu truck didnt stand a chance.

Asher's first plane ride!

Asher got to go on his first airplane ride. He rode on a Southwest Airlines Airplane down to  Atlanta, GA to spend 5 days with Clayton & Mema (Clayton's mother). Asher was tickled to get to ride on the airplane. He wasnt especially thrilled to be away from his Mommy but he survived & had a good time. And Asher, being so tenderhearted wanted to bring Mema back with him. He is a lover...not a fighter...and quite frankly he worries about Mema being all alone since Beba passed way.

he got to check out the cockpit, got wings & a certificate!

this was taken on the return trip.

while they were gone we dealt with an abundance of snakes.

this picture was taken after finding & killing  a black snake that was inside of our chicken coop. 

parks & snakes dont mix

Clay took Asher, Esther & Levi to the park today while I took the 3 oldest kids to their Monday night karate classes. I had fixed them a picnic supper to enjoy while they had a fun time at the park with Clay. (the park & picnic was actually Clay's idea...i just helped make it happen easier by having the picnic prepared ahead of time. less stress for Clay means less stress for the kids that are left to spend the evening with him.)
anyway, while they were walking he said that Esther & Levi stepped over a snake & then Esther said pointing & looking back......"a snake!" Clay looked back, saw the snake they had just stepped over, snapped a picture & then kicked it away from them.
on further examination & enlarging of the picture...it definitely looks poisonous. The park they went to...Northwest River Park....which is only 5 minutes top from our house...does have poisonous snakes over friendly snakes....rattlers, cotton mouths, water moccasins.....this one looks like a rattler if you blow the picture up enough.

***edited 08/28/2012 - the snake was a copperhead.

We never know how often we escape or just miss danger but thank God, they escaped one of them getting bitten. Clay & I just had a conversation about that .... them escaping being bitten. He said he cant give it too much thought or he could be sick...He said "what would i have done if she had of gotten bitten?" He also said he did look for a park ranger...but there wasnt one to be found after the fact. but again, THANK GOD FOR PROTECTING THEM!!

taking applications

i have been silent in this space for a while. i seem to have lost inspiration. none of my usual muses are inspiring me to write (taking applications for a new muse!)....and good things are happening even if i'm not inspired. i'm just exhausted with this pregnancy, with life and have no energy to generally write. i have learned to keep a record i have to make myself write as much as possible. i want to look back at this space...print it off into book form for the kids....and remember with them all of the many memories...good or bad. i know i will eventually get my groove back. until then a picture will suffice.

this is Rachel with her oldest living cousin, Collis Hutchinson. Collis or "Hutch" as most people call him, served in the United States Marine as his life's calling. You cut him & he bleeds Marines. It's in the way he speaks, the way he stands, the way he thinks.....being a Marine is engraved in this man's very being. He's a smart man, a funny man, a proud, witty man. He's fun to be around and you always learn something from him & can usually get a couple of good stories out of him (you should hear his tales from Gitmo!)  he is 71 and Rachel finally got to meet him at Beba's funeral in June. I first got to meet Hutch at my wedding. He laid a kiss on the bride....I was so caught off guard. But i soon learned, it's his way. And when i saw him again in June, he laid a kiss on me then also & it still caught me off guard. Again, it's just his way. He has endeared himself to Rachel, as you might can tell from the smile on her face. Hutch is a cool cousin & she is proud to call him her friend.