April 1 was a highly anticipated day. Every year our church holds a Father/Daughter Banquet. In the past it was in the fall, but last fall they postponed until this spring. Aaris looks forward to this the moment the current one is over. So, needless to say, she had been inquiring about her "special date" since last fall.
We pulled out her new Easter dress early, and fixed her hair with a crown. When Daddy got home he gave her the roses he buys her every year. We went to take pictures, took a ton, and then realized that my card wasn't in the camera. Then, when it was in the camera, I realized that it was full and I needed to go clear/delete them. So, finally, I re-took the pictures and Aaron and Aaris loaded up in the car to go. Aaron really wanted to take his Avalon because it is just a newer, nicer car and more suited to the mood of the special date. Unfortunately, I had plans to have help from a friend, Kelby Palmer, at our church to help me dig a hole for out new tree that afternoon. We had switched Aaron's Avalon for Aaron's dad's pick up so we could go and load up the tailgate with mulch. Anyway, after my delaying them with the pictures, they loaded up in the Explorer. Aaron, as he has done for the past 2 years, put Aaris' booster in the passenger's front seat to make the evening feel more special and like a real date.
Pictures from home
Less than 5 minutes later I receive a call on my phone from Aaron. I call him back and he tells me that he and Aaris have been in a car wreck. Aaris is hurt and I probably need to come. Our friend Kelby was in his car ready to drive off when I ran out to stop him. Normally, I would have been home by myself with Titus and Skylyn. Kelby told me to go and he would stay with Titus and Skylyn.
The crash was only about 2 miles away. As Aaron was going through a light, and car from the other direction wanting to turn in front of him started to also get a yellow light. They didn't want to wait through a yellow light so they tried to beat Aaron. They didn't Aaron tried to swerve to miss them but couldn't. The impact was on Aaris' side. The airbags deployed. When I showed up Aaris was very distraught and her face was burning. The paramedics said they thought she was okay beside the airbag burns on her face (from the powder and the impact of the bag). Tow trucks were called to haul off the undrive-able cars. Aaron didn't want to miss the banquet, so he and Aaris loaded up in the truck I had driven up there and went on to the party.
Besides missing on most of the dinner, Aaron and Aaris had a great time at the banquet. In fact, there was a dance-off and Aaris and Aaron won it! What?!?! I was in shock, but so very happy for them. Aaris was just on cloud 9 and beaming with joy when they got home.
Picture from the banquet: you can see the burns on her face
After telling me about the banquet Aaris hesitated some and then said, "Mommy, I have had a headache and I feel like throwing up." Well, after the trauma of the accident, I don't take phrases like that lightly. I took her to the ER. They ran some tests and determined that she was okay. We got home at about 2:30 am, but it was worth knowing that she was safe. The main thing that was left to show for her pain were the burns on her face. Here is a picture of her 3 days later. You can still see the scabs:
Okay, so here is the silver lining to the whole night. We bought our Explorer used and it was now 10 years old. We used it to bring all 3 kids home from the hospital. Aaron used it to start and run his Christmas Lighting Business. It was old and worn out! The door handles were broken from the inside for the back seat. I had to crawl in to buckle Skylyn who sat squeezed between the older two kids all on the same row. We were about to have to put thousands into it just to replace worn out parts and help it pass inspection. BUT, it was paid off, so we were just going to keep it until it died. God knew how much I REALLY wanted a minivan. He timed things perfectly that night in order for no one to be seriously hurt, but for our car to be totalled by the insurance company. Therefore, we were able to buy a perfect wonderful used minivan. It's a '03, but it only had 65K miles on it. It had all the upgrades and I love that I don't have to open and close the doors for the kids any more. It's great that I can stand comfortably as I buckle Skylyn in her seat. It is refreshing to not have all the kids bumping elbows.
So, in His crazy way, God made something great happen for our family that we could not have done ourselves. Thank you God for being in complete control and for always surprising us with your plans that go beyond our own understanding and imaginations.
