Monday, January 7, 2008

Comfy Socks and Crappy Vans

How could one have a bad day when your tootsies are being loved on by these brand new lil' sweeties? Oh, the unspeakable comfort of my socks....so soft and cute.

I must say, the arrival of these amazing little gems was not coincidental in it's timing. No siree. They came at the precise moment that I have no use for shoes whatsoever. You see, I am van-less for an indefinite amount of time, so I won't be going anywhere.
We were heading to church yesterday, happy to be early for once. We had nursery duty and we were feeling quite proud of ourselves for being able to relieve the S.S. workers sooner than usual. But, as we turned the corner to get onto the interstate, we realized that smoke and fumes were billowing all around us. (Sorry, Kimmie and Andrea)
Let me just pause to ask: Is it just me, or is there a feeling that is unique only to car trouble? You know, the sinking, stranded one?
Anyway, we were barely able to get it to the closest gas station, but thankfully, amidst choking and gagging over the fumes that were probably poisoning us, we managed. It was there that we noticed oil and water spewing from the bottom, creating a concoction strikingly similar to mud.
"This is not going to be good" was the brilliance that came forth from my husband, but guess what? He was right. However, our good friend/awesome mechanic man thinks that it might not be as bad as we first thought...like replacing the engine bad. It may only be head gasket bad, which still isn't so good....but better than engine bad...ya follow?
We paid this bugger off last year, so we will do what we can to fix it because we are determined to pay cash for a new one (well, probably slightly used) within the next few years. We have worked so hard to get all the way out of debt, so I was a little bummed out at the prospect of having to go get another vehicle. Well, it wasn't the new vehicle I was sad about, it was the payment, actually. ;)
We still aren't completely in the clear because they can't get to it until tomorrow, but I feel pretty confident that we are going to be able to get it fixed. God took care of the Crew once again.
Not only that, but we were so blessed through the whole ordeal to see a few families that we love dearly, but rarely get the chance to spend time with due to over-active schedules on all counts. It turns out that they had some Christmas gifts for us from last year so they brought them over. Now, just so that I can make this post one very complete circle...my gift.... was the comfy pair of socks above that make my whole world a little sweeter. Amen.
Have a great Monday!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gayle,
I am so sorry to hear about your van trouble. I am glad that it will be a better fix than what you previously thought.
Ruth

Anonymous said...

Blessings amongst trials/troubles.

At the beginning of December my dog was attacked by something. This put us into a LARGE vet bill. PTL for a little blessing of me winning a Wii system for our family earlier in November! Without that, it was going to be a small Christmas.

P.S.
I'm married to a 20 year veteran mechanic and I've seen over the years how something that seems like it would be a HUGE issue with a car, tends to be little. So I'm praying that for you right now! :-)

javamamma said...

I'm sorry about your van but try to take advantage of being 'stranded' and for sure enjoy those cute little socks!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the van after we were just discussing it. I do hope it is a cheaper fix than you first thought. Love to you and yours.

Lorna H.

EEEEMommy said...

I love socks, and those are especially cute!
I'm sorry about the van! I do hope it's repaired with minimal expense. I understand the frustration of considering having to buy a "new" one just after you paid off this one. We got ours paid off only to get in an accident. Fortunately, it was repaired and we can enjoy life without a car payment for a while longer! :)

Regarding your comment, my husband is from the Hershey area. We met just north of Pittsburg at Grove City College. Heard of it?

Cindy-Still His Girl said...

Cars are stupid.
But those socks are fabulous!

Anonymous said...

we're on our way to digging out of debt too. so glad for you. stick to your guns. God will certainly honor that!
julie
www.homeschoolblogger.com/juliestew

Cindy-Still His Girl said...

Hey friend. Hopefully this comes through ok; anytime I leave a comment for you, my hotmail says it was undeliverable. newlandcindy@hotmail.com

ConservaChick said...

Atleast you didn't get a new pair of walking shoes... that might have made me a bit nervous! Socks are more like "time off". See... you are blessed! ~K

Leanne said...

Hey!

I was blessed to see your comment on my recent post. We indeed share some of the same friends, that must mean that we can be good friends too!! YAY!

I love dear friends, good blended decaf coffee drinks, great reads, hard words, fantastic sweaters, newborn baby skin, not to mention new friends!!

I'll bookmark ya so I can just click to you from there instead of going to Em's blog everytime I want to read ya, not that I don't want to go to Em's blog, because I totally love her, after all, she IS my dear real life friend.......oh, never mind!!!!!

Yeah, car trouble! We've never had a car payment, so I can't identify there, but we're about three months pregnant with our 7th child, so guess what beckons to us??? Yep, a 15 seater!!!! And we are determined to NOT go into debt for it.....we've been praying that God would bless us with a really nice one very soon, after all, I'm due this summer.......

Great to talk to you again, come visit me again soon!

Love
Leanne in Longview

Gayle said...

Your socks look adorable...somehow I knew you'd have skinny feet. Car troubles suck. I'm getting the feeling that my suburban is working it's way up to a breakdown so everytime I drive it, I'm paranoid. Sounds like a little enforced-slowdown might not be such a bad thing after all.

Thanks for calling me last night! I LOVED IT! I'll be the stalker next time...I promise!