more accidents

and more grace.
"But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6

My husband was in another accident Tuesday night. He had gone to visit my brother in an unfamiliar city, and got lost. He pulled over to call for directions, but realized that he recognized where he was. He began to pull back onto the four-lane highway, and was hit by a car that swerved from the other lane. The car door is so deeply dented that the frame is bent. The glass is gone. The door won't open. But miraculously, my husband is okay. Sore, but okay.

We are thankful for the little graces, and for the big things - for his life, for the fact that we have a second car that was recently fixed, for my job, and for the beauty of the past few (rain-less) days.

Breathing.

accident

no one ever means for it to happen.
it's terrifying, traumatizing, and just all around bad.
but it made me more thankful.
for the living to tell about it part, I am incredibly thankful.

so, last week, my husband got rear-ended when he was driving my cute little black Nissan. minor, just needed to be taken to a repair shop to get an estimate. insurance will cover it. no big deal.

on friday, as in the 30th of january, my husband came down to my office to pick up my car and take it to the dealership to get an estimate. he was driving our new red chevy (2001 cavalier), and left it in the parking lot for me while he took my car to get the estimate.

here's the red car.

about 15 minutes later, he called, lost, needing help to find the dealership. he had just gone too far, and needed to turn around. (which he did while talking to me on the phone...) as he was pulling his u-turn on a relatively quiet country road, he just didn't look to see the semi coming down the road, and pulled out - an absolutely terrifying experience of glass breaking, metal crunching, and then silence on my end.

i was shocked, and so grateful to hear his voice when he called back 5 minutes later to tell me that he was okay, he had been hit, the car was wrecked, and he had called 911. he was sobbing - way more than disconcerting!

this is the damage.

i hopped in the car with my manager, and she drove me all the way to where he was. on the way, i called my pastor (who started praying immediately and put us on the prayer chain), my parents, and the other branch of the office where i worked to let them know what was going on.

when i got there, he seemed okay. i am so grateful for his life.

so grateful. i can't even explain how thankful i am for him. (tears - just a second - i'll be back.)

i'm back. i shall upload car photos now so you can see the damage...

and evidently it is fixable. we shall see. at this point, i'm thankful for insurance.

there are so many reasons for me to live a grateful life, and this is hopefully the only attention-arresting moment we'll ever have to endure. it has been a tough two months - with my husband's Saturn dying, having to buy another car, getting rear-ended, and now this. we're not sure how we'll make it, but we know that God will provide for all our needs. he has kept us safe, and we are incredibly thankful to Him - for life, for each other, for safety, and for our family and friends.

snowy

it has been snowing all day so far - i woke up to big fluffy fake-looking flakes that looked like they belonged on a movie set in the middle of the summer. it's really pretty snow, and i'm enjoying watching it fall as i sit here at my desk. the only downside to snow is the driving in it. well, and the cold. but only one of those is preventable, so i'll just try to be happy anyway.

so we bought a new car... and we're picking it up tomorrow. it'll be so much easier for us to be able to fulfill our scheduled commitments. i really hope it turns out to be great! my husband is excited about having a car at all, and the fact that it's a bit sporty makes him happy. (ps - it's fire engine red! whoa!)

before things really got going this morning at work, i was able to take a few minutes to sketch a picture of a red-breasted nuthatch on a piece of scrap paper. i used a photo that one of my flickr friends took as a reference point. it turned out alright - i haven't sketched much lately. i should get back into that.

speaking of which - i should be getting back to practicing piano and voice. and doing art more often than once in a blue moon.

and i should get back to work.

i am thankful that God provides the work of our hands.

girls' night

last night was really nice - a bunch of the girls and i all got together and had a girls' night in. it involved making really tasty salads, enjoying nutella and truffles, and just being girly together. i haven't had fun like this since college, and it was great to enjoy their company!

coming home, though, made me even more thankful for my husband. he is everything i could have asked for, and so much more than i deserve. so in love.

today i'm thankful for the beauty of the blue sky and sun - so lovely.

my husband's car broke down and is irreparable. today we just bought a new-to-us used car from a man at church who fixes up old cars and resells them at a crazy-low price. we're so blessed to be able to even get another car - and we're thankful. even though it means half our savings are gone.

we'll make it through - God takes care of us, and provides for all our needs.