RIP Grand Caravan

In July 2014 we took a couple extra days off of work to take a long weekend beach trip. This would have been our first trip to the beach this summer and although we went to Disney World earlier this summer this was going to be our only "vacation", since who can really vacate in Disney World with 3 children, 5 and under. This also would have been Eva's very first trip out to the ocean since last year she was an infant not to mention she spent most of THAT trip in the hospital. So we were SUPER excited about this trip to say the least to get to play out on the beach as a family of five! We got a great head start, getting on the road by 1:30pm and were making great time! Eva started getting fussy a bit in as I realized that I had left her milk cup in the fridge at home. This presented no worries, because I had an extra cup and a bottle of water so we were going to be able to make do until we could get to the grocery store. Then she started complaining about her diaper, so we pulled off to change her only to find that we had forgotten not only the diaper bag but also the bag of diapers that I had packed. So we got back on the road, discouraged, but headed for the next available Wal-Mart. I do want to add that Addie (my little Mama)HAD in fact packed Eva some diapers. We could see off in the distance that there was a storm ahead of us, but we didn't realize that it was moving towards us. Just as we lost signal to our GPS the rain hit. We were doing just fine when I noticed that we had passed a few cars stopped under overpasses then I looked up to see that the two cars in front of us were hydroplaning. I just mentioned it nonchalantly to Chris when he replied "we are too, we have been hydroplaning this whole time". At that point we both looked back to check on the girls(Cara has a tendency to wiggle out of her seatbelt without us knowing)everyone was in their seats buckled doing exactly what they were supposed to. As I turned around I hear Chris say "here we go!" and then the back started to fishtail. During the next chain of events I can only remember bits and pieces... I remember seeing Chris' hands turning the steering wheel back and forth as he tried to keep us inline, and I could see everything outside the window spinning through my peripheral vision, but my eyes never left Cara. I was sitting angled to the side a bit and she was the only one in my view. All of a sudden something popped behind my head and we had stopped moving. When we stopped, we stopped perfectly in the middle of the median away from traffic. No sooner had we stopped, an eighteen wheeler shot past us in the left lane. I turned to the right to see the airbag had deployed immediately unbuckled and jumped in the back to check on the girls. They were fine, really scared and shaken up, so we started praying. We thanked God for his protection and asked for peace over our fears. Chris had gotten out of the car to assess the damages and call 911 when he got back in the car we prayed again. The storm was so severe outside that as soon as Chris got back into the car while we were praying the car was shaking back and forth vigorously from the rain, wind and thunder! Then all of a sudden, calm, the sun came out and all was clear. I believe it was when the airbag deployed, but within the mechanics of the van (as a security feature)it is set to automatically shut down so once the car stopped moving we were unable to turn it back on. We didn't sit there long before a couple of trucks on the other side of the road pulled over to check on us. Chris had already called 911 but we didn't know where we were, the GPS lost signal just moments before the accident( which I think may have been caused by the storm, if that's even possible). So thankfully they were able to tell us where we were, before we knew it 3 more trucks had pulled over on our side of the road and there were people putting cones out around our car and they were directing traffic around us. These people are volunteers that actually just drive the highways to assist people in need and I thank God that they were there. They were able to call us an ambulance and the highway patrol. I would say about 30 min later, although at this point I had no perception of time, the trooper showed up. I had yet to get out of the car but Chris said that he was pretty sure it was totaled. So I took this opportunity as Chris and the trooper were discussing the state of the vehicle to get out and take a look for myself, surely it wasn't THAT bad (I thought). But as I got out of the driver's side of the vehicle(since none of the doors would open on the passenger's side), well I then could see what he was talking about. See, when we started hydroplaning we spun, hitting the median on the passenger side, then we bounced back and spun around hitting the median on the driver's side, bouncing back out and spinning around another full revolution before coming to a stop. We probably went a half of mile before the car came to a stop. The median had basically cut around the vehicle like a can opener. But, you would really have to see it to get the full picture. After assessing the chain of events and the vehicle, They decided to try and start the car. It started!!!! So the trooper had us drive down the road a bit while he followed us to make sure that there was nothing leaking or falling off of the car and it drove perfectly, not so much as a pull from the wheel! No ticks nothing, so we drove home! It was nerve racking, but God carried us safely home. What a blessing it was to have God protect us as He did!!! Not only were we all safe with not so much as a scratch, but the settlement amount was plentiful for what we needed and just look at the beauty we were able to upgrade to! God is good in his constant protection and provisions, there is nothing more than I can say. I am overwhelmed by His grace that He gives us in abundance. I am thankful that He chose to cover our family during this and that we were able to walk away to give our testimony. Please, I beg of you, if you do not know Christ as your savior, please ask. Find Him and invite Him into your heart, it is not the protection that He has given us here on earth, but the protection that He has promised us beyond the here and now. It is the sacrifice that He didn't have to endure, but did so that we may have it all!