2007: Early Tough Times, and Miracles

Okay, Friday was fine. The game went well. Josh played the whole fourth quarter. He had two steals and two points. That was great. I got it all on video thanks to my 2MB memory card, which lets me take over an hour and a half of video with my digital camera. Yay! I spent the better part of the JR. varsity game AND varsity game, talking to Josh's friend, Beckah. She is a delightful girl. I enjoyed talking to her a great deal.

Saturday was pretty fun, though crowded in our little house. The weather has gotten too cold for our two big dogs to be outside, despite the luxurious dog house (aka small bedroom) that they have. The dog house was custom made by a local farmer for his 6' long German Shepard. It is constructed with double insulation, a ramp, it's on blocks, has a roof, insulation then another roof. It's filled with straw and pine shavings. When the farmer's dog died of old age, we got the dog house, because I knew the family. It took four of us to move it, with a dolly and a lot of strained muscles. Wheh!

However, I wouldn't want to be outside even with those type of accommodations, so all the dogs were in the house. We had so much fun! I bathed them, gave them a smell-good treatment, and their monthly flea treatment. They were very well behaved. At night they slept in our enclosed porch, which is somewhat climate controlled, although not as warm as the house. It stayed about 35-40 degrees, despite the below zero weather. Their water doesn't freeze and they are out of the blowing snow. They all have bean bag beds to sleep on, so they're pretty content.

Sunday I did laundry and played "The Incredibles" for X-Box with Jo all day. Together, we beat the whole game! Boy, was my thumb puffy and red from all that pushing of buttons! What happened to an old fashioned Atari joystick? Geez!

Sunday night we watched the Superbowl, which was fun. Yay Colts!

Then, I went to take John home, whose house is about 1 mile from ours. That's when the weekend went downhill fast. Literally.

We were traveling along, going along at about 40 mph, when we suddenly hit a stretch of black ice that went on and on, going downhill about 1/4 of a mile from the house. I tried not to over correct, and went to one side of the road and back and back and forth for like 1/16th of a mile. I thought if I could ever hit a spot in the road that wasn't pure ice, I could regain control. No such luck.

Finally, I told John (Jess' boyfriend) to hold on, that we were going to go off the road. I tapped the brake, and we started spinning. We were originally headed east and we ended up in a yard, pointed west. It was a loud impact, but aside from a crunched bumper, lots of broken plastic, grass and mud in the grill and our front license plate breaking off, we weren't hurt and the car seems structurally okay.

God was looking out for us for sure! On John's side was a big oak tree, just a few feet away. Yesterday I drove down to see if I damaged anything in the yard I landed in. Indeed, I had knocked down a section of chicken wire fence and left some pretty nasty ruts in the yard. The homeowners are a smart couple that actually go to Florida for the winter. I left a note in their door, indicating who to contact when they return. I let them know I will happily repair their fence, and apologized for the inconvenience.

Further, yesterday Carlito and Gideon disappeared. We have a fenced in yard (tall chain link) all the way around, and we bungee the gates so when we let the dogs out to go to the bathroom, they won't get out. However, that didn't work. Somehow, the escape artists found a way out. When the kids went to let them back in from their bathroom break, they were gone.

After work yesterday, Robert and I took separate vehicles and drove all over the place, looking for them. We called and called them to no avail. We are right in the middle of two counties. I called both counties' dog wardens and described Carlito and Gideon. Neither had heard anything about two loose dogs.

Last night, Jo and I prayed. The biggest concern I had was neighboring farmers. Many will shoot dogs who get in with their cattle or sheep. I prayed that God would protect them from any angry farmers and the bitter cold.

Well, praise report: I just got a call from our county's animal control. She said, "We have your boys!" They were found by a farmer about 3 miles from our house, chasing their cows. The farmer, knowing they belonged to someone, took the dogs into his barn, fed and watered them, and gave them a warm place to sleep for the night. The farmer has pregnant cows, so the dogs being in with the cows was creating a dangerous situation for his livestock. This morning the farmer called animal control, and they picked them up. Right away, by the description I gave them, they knew these were the dogs I called to report missing.

Thank the Lord! Jo is so excited that they are safe! He is excited, knowing prayer works, because the two things we asked God to do, He did. He sent them to a kind farmer who gave them shelter from the extreme cold and did not shoot them! Wheh! I am so relieved!

So, that's my news today. I hope your stories all have happy endings this week!