David's First Day

After two years of partial day pre-school and pre-K, this is really David's first day of school.... first full day. Kindergarten in a public school. He helped pack his "Cars" lunch box this morning and happily slipped into his uniform... all went very well. In fact Lily packed her "Dora" lunch box as well though her school doesn't start until next Monday. David will ride the bus home by himself (mom will be waiting when it stops) at the end of the day. This is a very big day for David! We are so proud of him, though, as he has grown so much since a year or so ago!

The 43-hour layover ends ... or... On the road again

After 43 hours and more than $700 we're on the road again. Tom picked us up at the Super 8 around lunch, in our repaired car, and took us back to the garage to settle things. He and his brother co-own the shop which is very successful. While in town, anytime we mentioned Bard's, we heard good things and I told him that. He said their father was a minister and though he and his brother may never get to the mission field, they feel like they are helping a lot of people. Tom left a 13-year job in the banking industry, as a senior vice president, to follow his passion and help his brother out in this business. This is why we were treated with care, value, dignity and respect. Plus, via email correspondence, I learned that my tuition reimbursement check is waiting for me -- which more than covers the repairs. That's how God moved. Now, I can't wait to see how He'll move to replace the money yet again so I can take my next MBA class, but if I wait on Him, I know He'll be faithful!

Last night, we walked around Hancock (founded in 1749) visiting a little park and then on to eat at Weaver's restaurant where they bake over 500 pies a week! Very good cooking!! We enjoyed that.

An unexpected layover ... or... "stuck inside of Hancock, MD blues"

Great! Oh we're having fun tonight!

We're (all of my immediate family save Lily) stuck in Hancock, MD! We were following the van with everyone else (on the way back to VA) in the pouring rain - and almost two hours into the trip on Rt. 522, our car started making an unknown sound and the dash panel lit up. It was about then that the car just died as I pulled off the road. Funny thing is that those in the van never noticed and kept on going. Of course, with the rain, and 3 bicycles attached to the back, it was difficult ... plus turns out they thought I took a turn for a short-cut at that spot. So, then we played battle against poor cell coverage and left Tina several messages on her phone unable to reach her. This was after I crossed the street to and visited a very nice elderly couple (married 63 years!) who let me use their phone. They told me about a good service shop about a mile down the road (Bard's ... is that somehow appropriate?)... the poetic humor of all of these events... The service man (one of the brothers who co-owned) was very nice, sent a truck, towed the car as we rode in the truck, and hoped it was to be a quick fix. The rain subsided and we passed a Nerf football in the parking lot. Still continued to play phone tag... this time with borrowed cell phones since we were getting no signal with T-Mobile. Remind me next time to go with Cingular!!! The garage closed at 7p - this is all happening within the last hour before they close. We did soon learn that Cavaliers are great cars and it was very unusual but everything pointed to the timing chain that broke from their early tests... no compression! They will explore further tomorrow... and a head gasket will be needed too because the plugs I put in last week already were covered in oil. So, though this is rare for Cavaliers, we are the 1 in the 1-in-whatever statitistics.

We still were not able to reach Tina, home phone was busy as they also were trying to reach her or speaking with her.... we knew we were faced with spending the night in a hotel and called Super 8 about ten miles away in Hancock. The fine, nice, very kind and friendly gentleman at the station transported us here.

We did finally reach Tina, since she had entered cell coverage again and she debated coming back... but the van was full and all are going on to Lynchburg. We'll see about tomorrow when the day gets here. For now, we're safe. God knows exactly where we are and why and I choose to trust that. We prayed after we got into the room, because I was feeling quite a bit of stress -- the logistics, the unknowns, the expense involved, etc. I'm asking God for provision, for wisdom and guidance and for the ability to trust Him.

I truly believe He either allowed this to protect us from something terrible or to teach us something terrific. OR -- Satan was allowed to cause this to happen meaning it for evil, but God will ultimately receive the glory. You can join us in that prayer.

Oh well, for now we'll enjoy the wireless and cable tv. Hopefully we'll have somewhere to walk to tomorrow.