Be forewarned my readers…It is going to be a long post…Lots of things happening today and my mind is racing to get it all written down in correct order…
Day started out as usual…Hubby, got an opportunity to work today with family…So, I was up with him early in the morning to share a cup of coffee and ship him out for the day…Thank You God for the work opportunity…
I did not want to wake the kids up to early…They decided to stay up late again…No one wants grumpy and tired children awake if they do not have to be…So, I let them sleep in…Back up one sentence…I always want my kids grumpy, moody, loving and/or tired…Just no reason to bring more stress than needed in my home…Thank You God for the quiet time all to myself…
Spent the morning making phone calls, paying bills and organizing paperwork…Dishes and usual picking up the house…Walk the dog, feed the pets and read my news online…Thank You God for the funds to pay some bills this month…
Woke the kids up after a few hours and they all crawled into my bed under the warm covers…Our bed is heated and the kids love to curl up in it…I let them wake up slowly but when they started jumping, laughing, giggling and playing with the pets…I knew it was time to get moving…Instead of rushing them out of my room and making them start their day…I decided to enjoy them…I jumped in the bed with them…I tickled, wrestled, hugged and kissed on em for over 15 minutes…The dog was barking and growling at me the whole time…He thought I was hurting the kids because they were screaming…Had to stop having fun with the kids though because I had an agenda for the day…Up and Atom, I declared…Thank You God for the memories and enjoyment of being a mother…
Kids dress, eat breakfast, start chores and talk about doing schoolwork…Before, I knew it…It was time to go…Had a scheduled appointment to get a brake inspection on our van…Rushed the kids out the door…My youngest though was having a very hard time…He started to argue, scream and then began crying…I tried to talk in my calmest tone and get him out the door on time…He was not wanting to cooperate in the van either…He did finally put on his seatbelt and sat quietly in the car…The look in his eyes though, told me another story…This was not going to be easy or fun…
Dropped the van off and decided to get the kids lunch across the street at Subway…Crossing 4 lanes of traffic is not easy with 3 kids in tow but we managed very carefully and quickly…My youngest though, decided he was going to stop in the middle of the turning lane and slowly cross the street…I didn’t have times for this at all…As a super worried and concern mother of getting them across the street safely…My first instinct kicked into high gear…I took my left hand and grabbed the back of his head and forced him across the street…He was not happy about it but he is still alive…Thank You God for safety of my children and I…
In subway, he continued his behavior and would not follow directions…He would walk away from the order counter and just pouted without any response when I asked him a question…Finally, I was able to coax him to order and choose something…We all sat down and ate our food…My youngest’s mood changed dramatically…He was happy, laughing, smiling and engaging in conversation with us…
My youngest’s nickname around the house is TURTLE…Because everything he does is so slow…Majority of the time it is not a problem…Usually, though when we rarely go out to eat as a family…He has to take his food to go because he never finishes it…Today though, I had all the time in the world to enjoy my kids…He was the last one to finish but he did eat everything he ordered…We spent another 30 minutes talking and playing WOULD YOU RATHER with each other in Subway…Thank You God for the available money to feed my family and the time with my kids…
The service station hadn’t called me to tell me my van was done…So, I decided we walk over to the library and pick up some movies and books…Remember, tonight is movie night and snack dinner…Break for everyone tonight…FAMILY TIME…
We walk over to the library and stay for a bit…I work on some paperwork…While the kids search the place…Interesting fact, my youngest even searched on his own…He was able to talk to the librarian and ask her where things were…I pretty sure, he does not have a social problem if he is able to ask strangers questions to find what he needs without any help from me…That is just my personal opinion though…Although, I do trust it…
Time to move on and walk to check out what is going on with our van…Still, haven’t heard anything from them…The kids and I walked the sidewalk and were almost to the traffic light to cross when we heard a loud crushing/crashing sound then bam, bam, bam…A jeep that was speeding rear ended a SUV that caused the SUV to crash into a van…There was no brake squeaking at all…The jeep driver hit the SUV full force…
It appeared no one was critically injured…So I decided we should sit on the sidewalk and wait…They were in the process of calling emergency crews and police…I wanted to stay and talk to the police and let them know what we witnessed…It just happen to be that a fire truck and ambulance was across the street eating lunch at another restaurant…So they attended to the scene pretty quickly…There was a young child in the SUV who was not injured but very scared and everyone else was walking and talking to the emergency crew…I waited patiently until the police officer was able to come over to me and talk…I explained what I witnessed and he wrote it down…I gave him my contact information and he went about the rest of his business to attend to the crash…Thank You God for the safety of all involved…
Well, we finally crossed the street and began walking towards the auto shop…When we hear a honk and yelling…My brother has noticed us walking down the street and pulled over…His first thought was why are we walking??? We explained the car was getting inspected and we were coming back from the library…The kids had to tell their uncle over and over again about the crash they just witnessed…Thank You God for placing family in the right place at the right time…
He was doing some banking and the auto shop was just next door…So we continued on our way…We get in the shop and they told us…Well, he said he called you…I ask when…Because it didn’t show up on my cell…The mechanic comes to the front desk and says he called my home number…The one listed on my printout…The gentleman up front, wrote my cell phone number down but forgot to mention to the mechanic to call that number instead…
Not upset at all here…A simple mistake…This is where I got hit with a ton of bricks it felt like…The mechanic walks me into the shop and begins to tell me what needs done…Boy oh Boy, not really a surprise but didn’t change anything when I was told and shown in person…The kids were content sitting in the waiting room…They learned the shop has free wi-fi…So they played away on their tablets…
I was told, I needed new drums, rotors, pads, cylinder and everything else on both of my back brakes…The drums are rusting and pieces are falling off…The pads are worn down as thin as my socks…Which has caused everything else to need replaced…$550 for all…Umm, don’t really have it and there is not much I can do about it…The mechanic says, “I can take $100 off of that price for you”…Yeah, that does help…But, I still don’t have that kind of money anywhere…I can barely keep my lights on in my house…I say to myself…
Then we discuss the front brakes…Something about the pistons and calipers need replaced…$210 in all…Umm, still don’t have it…
They put the wheels back on and we drive home…Talked to my hubby about it all…Not much else to say about it though…We both already know we are literally and financially BROKE…He talked to me about his day and I had to lie down for a nap…I just couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore…
As I laid in bed…Trying to drift asleep…My mind continued to race about the day’s events…I begin to think about how I would share this info on my blog without writing a story??? How can I share the goodness of my life and my praise and thanks to God when I am worried about money???Then, I got out of bed and my mind was set…
I talked it over with my hubby and this is my conclusion…I have been super excited the past 2 days because of the news of my new college opportunity…Finally, things looked up for us…I may have a chance to earn some decent money in a few years and pursue one of my dreams…The devil is going to bring us down any way he can…Money has always been a burden for us…We never have had an excess or plenty…But we have always had enough…No, don’t be silly…I am not implying that the devil caused my brakes to go bad…I am simply implying that at this time in our life…The devil has weaseled his way to get us back down as believers in Christ…
I told my husband, I am not going to let this get me down or take away my excitement of school…I am not going to allow this to steal my joy…I know it needs to be taken care of…I also believe God has a plan bigger than I could ever imagine…God knew we needed to be there to see that crash…God knew our van was going to need brakes…God already knows were financially struggling…I have talked about it before…God has huge dynamic plans for our family…I strongly believe and try my hardest to keep my faith and realize…Without, all my pain, struggles, down times, heartbreak, brokenness, financially strapped times…I would be completely and utterly unable to give God the glory and recognize what I have and how good I will have it…I will be able to appreciate it all when God pours out his blessing onto us…Then, I can truly have the power to praise God’s Glorious name over and over again…
Remember a few paragraphs back, when I talked about the struggles my youngest was having earlier in the day…After talking to my husband, it hit me WHY…He does not do well with changes in routine…He does not like to feel rushed…He feels like he is being personally attacked…He was extremely tired…He was hungry but not awake enough to fill his belly…I often forget to talk to him before he goes to bed about our plans for the next day…He woke up assuming it was a usual routine day at home…That is overwhelming, when I think about it for just about anyone…Thank You God for helping me to understand my child more…
That is my day…I reminded myself while writing that I should be careful what I talk to God about…It wasn’t even long ago, that I was complaining about how boring my life was and how routine my days have become…Then God surprises me today with a multitude of different things…I recognize it God…Thank You for the change even if it was frustrating and overwhelming…
Going to go get ready to enjoy Movie Night with the kids and have a bowl of ice cream…
A favorite song of mine is from Rodney Atkins entitled. “IF YOUR GOING THROUGH HELL (BEFORE THE DEVIL EVEN KNOWS)…Lyrics taken from Metrolyrics.com
Well you know those times
When you feel like there’s a sign there on your back
Says I don’t mind if ya kick me seems like everybody has
Things go from bad to worse you’d think they can’t get worse than that
And then they do
You step off the straight and narrow and you don’t know where you are
Use the needle of your compass to sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie in a bottle of Jim Beam
And she lies to you, that’s when you’ll learn the truth
If you’re going through hell keep on going
Don’t slow down, if you’re scared, don’t show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
Well I been deep down in that darkness, I been down to my last match
Felt a hundred different demons breathing fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled I’d fall right into the trap
That they were laying, yeah
But the good news is there’s angels everywhere out on the street
Holding out a hand to pull you back upon your feet
The ones that you been dragging for so long you’re on your knees
You might as well be free
Guess what I’m saying
If you’re going through hell keep on going
Don’t slow down, if you’re scared, don’t show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
Yeah, if you’re going through hell keep on moving
Face that fire walk right through it
You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
If you’re going through hell keep on going
Don’t slow down, if you’re scared, don’t show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
Yeah, if you’re going through hell, keep on moving
Face that fire, walk right through it
You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
Yeah you might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
Yeah, ooh
I will Praise You God even in the midst of my storms…You have promised to love me and be by my side…I have promised to stay faithful and lift up your name even through my storms…You are my awesome creator God…
Luke 12:24-26 NIV says, Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn: yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
