Drawers

Last week, a good friend of mine was cleaning out her closet. She had a serious case of too many clothes and I was more than happy to take some off her hands. I ended up coming home with a big garbage bag full of clothes, which in turn made me need to clean out some clothes of my own so the new ones could be put away. You may be pleased to know that I am going to rid myself of this very fine t-shirt that I have not worn since before I was pregnant with Josh. Yes, I actually wore that really cool X-men shirt. But only to bed. Talk about sexy jammies, eh? Whenever I empty my drawers of excess clothing, I always take my drawers out and set them on the floor. This time I took advantage of the opportunity and soaped up the edges of my drawers so they will slide better. The only problem is that the bottom of my drawer seems to be coming off. Suppose I pack my drawer too full? We do tend to overpack our drawers because Adam and I share our dresser. The drawers are nice and big, but when one has clothes a plenty, they still end up too full. Anyway, my drawer has yet to go back into the dresser, since I am not a fan of destroying our antique dresser. Suppose I should find a hammer and get to it, since the cats like to sleep in my clothes. *Not a fan of hairy clothes*

This morning Josh decided to help me soap up the dresser again. He is my big helper.
He couldn't help himself, when it came to tasting the soap. He licked his fingers several times, before he finally realized that soap really wasn't all that appetizing. I got a good laugh out of it though!

A New Baby!

Hooray for babies!!! Stephanie's baby was born today at 5:50 pm. His name is Tyler Steven and weighed in at 8 lbs 10 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. She pushed for hours and they finally took him by cesarean. Praise the Lord that he is healthy and so is Mom, though she is very, very tired. I wish she didn't live 2+ hours away, or I'd jump in my car tonight to go see her! Pray for her and Tyler as they recover the arduous birth process together!

A Few Words

Just a few words to say... It is late, and I have been avoiding my blog because it is neglected... Again. But cheers to all!

We have bought a new car. (HOORAY!) This time we did not get a SUV, though I will miss mine terribly (and still look with longing at any Ford Escape that goes by...), but a Honda Accord. I already love it and have a hard time believing that it it the car that I drive. Yes, it is just. that. pretty. It's a 2006 and a really nice color. They call the color graphite, which makes complete sense. It's strange though, when I drive it, I have this very increased paranoia of getting in an accident. Just being honest here. I never used to feel that way when I drove my first couple of cars. But now I feel extra vulnerable. Wouldn't have anything to do with being in an accident already, would it? Hmmm..... During our search for a vehicle, we did briefly mention minivans, but neither Adam or I were ready to feel just so "old". And, although, we would looove more kids, we are just not sure when God will see fit to so bless us with another addition. So we felt it was okay to get a car. Save gas, save time, save money. (Okay, I just threw the save time in there for fun.) I'll put up a picture when I get around to it. (That is one way of saying "no grarantees.)

Onto another pleasant subject... Gardens. :) I can't help but smile. I love flowers. I love greens. I love the dirt.

I'm sorry, but I had to take a slight detour from the garden topic. As I sit and type, I hear a "choo-choo" coming from Joshua's room. He keeps several books in his bed that make noise. I am not sure if he rolled in his sleep or if he is still up (hopefully not the latter), but his Thomas the Train Engine Book was chooing. Josh loves trains. On our way to daycare a week or two ago, we had the very good fortune of being stopped at a train crossing. This very rarely happens on this particular road, and to make it even better, we were first in line. So this train engine comes by with one car, tooting and chooing and making train-like noises... Josh was fascinated. I think that train made his day. It was great. For the next 15 minutes of drive time, Josh sat in the back "choo-chooing" all the way. And a few days later, my Aunt gives us her kids' old Brio train set. Wooden tracks, little trains, bridges, and farm animals. Perfect timing. What a great toy. Growing up, we had a set almost identical, and all through our childhood years my brothers and I would set up elaborate towns, tracks, roads, homes... The works. So I am glad to have the opportunity to plays trains with Joshua now. He already loves the train engines and will walk around the house going "choo-choo". Good old classic toys...

Well, the garden stories will have to wait. It is late and sleep is calling. Keep praying for Stephanie. She hasn't had her baby yet. Her water broke last night at 8:00pm and at 7:30 this evening she was still only 2 cm dialated, according to her brothers' facebook. I am so anxious... I wish I knew how she was doing. I cannot imagine being in labor for so long. Josh came so quick. I hope she is doing okay and getting some rest between contractions...

Prayers Please!

My friend Stephanie has been in labor all night and is still only one cm. So please pray for her today! I hope she has this baby soon.

One Big Tourist Attraction

I'm finally getting around to posting about the rest of our vacation. After getting to Nashville, we really did have an enjoyable stay. We visited a few of the most popular tourist attractions, like The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson. Unfortunately, we took no pictures while we were there, but the history was incredible and it was a fascinating glimpse into history. We also visited the Opryland Hotel. Amazing. This is a hotel that most likely rivals the largest hotel on earth. There must be thousands of rooms. All of the pictures you see here are taken inside the Opryland Hotel. Prior to our vacation, I was told about the hotel, but seeing it first hand just blew me away. One wouldn't expect a hotel to be a tourist attraction, but you could make an exception for this one. There are three different botanical gardens inside giant greenhouses, a real live mini shopping district, many, many restaurants of varying flavors, a movie theatre, an ice cream shop, jewelry store.... etc, etc, etc. All inside one giant hotel. One could visit Nashville and never leave their hotel and yet not run out of things to do. The gardens were so beautiful, complete with waterfalls and tropical plants. There was even an indoor boat ride. I wished we could have stayed at this hotel for one night, as I would've loved to stroll through those gardens on a romantic evening. But just visiting for a couple hours on an afternoon would have to suffice, cause it was all just a little too "hoity-toity" for Adam.

Our First Taste of Nashville

We hadn't eaten since Saturday afternoon, besides a few pretzels and a cracker pack. The time was now around 3:00 pm Sunday. Our tummies were grumbling. Adam had heard of a place to find good food, so after our lovely nap, we were off to the famous Loveless Cafe. I have to tell you, I had never eaten food so good. As soon as we were seated, our waitress came out with freshly baked biscuits and homemade jam. Oh, we couldn't help but sigh... Deliciousness. Have you ever gone an extended period of time with no food or been so completely worn out, then sit down to eat and not been able to get over how wonderful the food was? Adam and I split an order of fried chicken. The chicken even melted in our mouths... We knew we had come upon a winner and that we would come back. Four more times. (Maybe three, but four sounds better.) If you are ever in Nashville, you must go here. Everyone else goes there too.

The Second Half of our Dramatic Weekend

Sorry that last post sounded so miserable, but I was trying to help you see the whole picture. The very real feeling of being helpless. So thankful I am for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And for my family and the prayers of those who love us. While Adam was haggling with the car-rental man, he also was on the phone with his father, Bob. Bob was ready to buy a ticket at that moment and fly down to help us. I know my Dad would've done the same, if we had asked. After we had secured a rental car for 24 hours, we drove out to the junk yard to get our stuff out of our car. This is what greeted us, and once again my emotions rose up inside of me.We pulled out our luggage, papers, Adam's golf clubs and my borrowed set of clubs, my flip-flops, which had been left behind the night before, and anything else which was of any importance. My Bible, which I had been reading earlier during our drive through Ohio, was saturated with coffee. So I left that behind with a note saying Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for his goodness and protection. Perhaps someone will read it and be touched by my Savior's love. And then we left.

We decided that, since we had already paid for a hotel close to Nashville, we would continue on our way, even though Adam had had zero sleep. We would make the best of it. Sleep sounded really good and we knew we could really rest once we got to our hotel. (Thanks for the advice Dad.) The last couple hours of travel went smoothly and a bed awaited us upon arrival. A shower never felt nicer. Sleep was never so good. Bob had booked a flight and was coming in at 7:30. Things were going to work out. We were alive and determined to make the best of our vacation.

The Moral of That Story

Phew! We're home from our crazy trip to Nashville. Things didn't go quite as we had planned, as we made a detour half way through Kentucky to go to the hospital. The moral of that story is simply "Do not drink and drive". It's that simple. Just don't do it folks, you could ruin someone's vacation. Or worse.

It was about 9:00 pm and we pulled off the interstate for some coffee and to top off our gas tank. We had been driving pretty much all day, but we had 2 1/2 hours to go before we would get to our hotel. The guy at McDonald's literally took 20+ minutes to get the coffee. First it wasn't made, then we had to wait, after which he forgot us. I had to go in and ask if it was ready... Anyway, our quick stop for coffee turned into an extended stay. When we were finally going to get back on I-65, we began driving over the bridge under our green light. When we were pulling through the intersection, we caught sight of a car coming from the opposite direction, turning directly into our path. Before I knew it, I heard a smash and the car began to tip over. I remember everything in slow motion, as it happened:

Smash. Tip. Brace myself. Elbow drags along in the glass as it smashes on the asphalt. I watch Adam as his head hits the ceiling, his arms fly "up" while the car continues to roll onto it's roof. Oh my goodness... Our car just rolled over. Hyperventilate. Adam unbuckles, which cues me to do the same. I crawl out the smashed window. There is Adam holding his head. He tells me his head hurts and I urge him to sit down. All I can think is that he is going to pass out. Sirens. There is already an ambulance on the scene. We were two minutes from a hospital and the ambulance crew saw the whole thing. We sit at the bottom of a light pole, while the police ask questions and the medical personnel wrap our wounds in gauze. My arm has a pretty big gash in it and Adam's head is dripping blood. The cop mentions something about the other driver being 10-40 - Police talk for DWI. We are alive, walking, talking and praising Jesus that we are alive. And our car is totaled. And we are more than 600 miles from home. Neither I nor Adam know anyone who lives in Kentucky.

Six hours, 33 stitches, and four staples later, Adam and I hitch a ride (via taxi) to the nearest car rental, which happens to be at the Louisville Airport. It is around 4:30 am and we sleep/rest our eyes while waiting for the car rental to open. Mind you, we have had no sleep, look and smell terrible, have blood on our clothing and I have no shoes. I have hospital slipper socks on, which are 3x's too big, and am using a hospital scrub shirt as a blanket. (I am forever thankful for kind hospital nurses.) Upon opening, Adam haggles with the car rental man for two hours, because we are "unable" to rent a car. He is absolutely exhausted and the man is not being very understanding at all. Apparently, we couldn't use our bank card to rent a car, for whatever reason, even though we had enough money in there to be able to. And our emergency credit card we had left home, and even though we had all our numbers for it, we couldn't use it because it was against their "policy". Imagine yourself in Adam's shoes for a minute. You and your wife were just hit by a drunk driver. You're 12 hours from home, know no one, have no car. Haven't slept a wink. Your head hurts, your wife has no shoes and has 33 stitches in her arm. Your credit card won't work and the one that would work, is against "policy" to use. The smart looking, well dressed, clean, rental-car man, has this smug look on his face and is COMPLETELY unwilling to help you. "I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do." Adam tells me about it. We have no idea what to do. We are stuck. No way to get our stuff, no way to get to our hotel or any hotel at that. All alone. There is to cab in the taxi booth, so trying my best to gather myself together, and hoping for a smidgen of pity or goodwill from the car-rental man if I talked to him. After all, wouldn't you think he would've had some sort of desire to help the couple in distress, especially if the wife asked? This is where I saw the smug look. Maybe I imagined it, but I don't think he had one ounce of pity and even a desire to help. I asked him to call a cab. That is all. And then I started to cry. I told him I didn't even have any shoes. I was exhausted and Adam said, "Come on Beth. He doesn't care." I went out to the pick up lane outside the airport to wait for out cab to come. Adam was still inside. But I slid down to the ground next to a concrete pillar. 6:30 in the morning. The air was cool and you could hear birds, cars and distant airport noise. And the tears began to roll down my cheeks. I prayed. I felt so alone. God, please help us! Send someone who cares! Shortly thereafter, I heard Adam call me. He had asked the car-rental man if he could give us a car for one day. Just one day, instead of a week. And then it worked. So God didn't send someone, but He did give us a car. For one day. Thank you Jesus. A bight spot at the end of the tunnel. And starting there our vacation got better. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for his goodness and protection. Watching over us when our lives were in danger and when there was no one who seemed to care. I am so glad my life is in his hands.

So the moral of my story is:

#1 Don't drink and drive
#2 Don't leave your major credit card home when you go on vacation
#3 Rent a car or fly
and most importantly...
#4 Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to be your protector and deliverer of your soul

I'll post car pictures when my camera battery has charged.