The picture is to highlight randomness. It has nothing whatsoever to do with this post except for the children are apart of the post too. This was taken the Fourth of July as we were leaving our ward picnic and found many frogs to pick up and play with. I did my best to look excited with the idea of bacteria riddled frogs in my children's fingers.
This past week has brought some unexpected blessings. First, a good friend, (we'll call her L. Westbrook or Lynn W.) let me in on a fantastic deal. End result: a free membership at the YMCA near us. And for those who had my scary concept of what YMCA's look like, set your minds at ease. It is a new facility that usually costs a whopping $80 to join. For some that is not very much, but for me it is. The childcare is pretty good and the Zumba class is heaven. (Zumba is a new term for a latin jazzercise class). Could there really be anything better then good latin music and dancing for and hour? Yes, it could also burn calories and tone some flabby jabby.
Miracle number two: Fernando has a pretty great schedule this month. He does take call every few days, but then has a whole day off. Shocking. Well, on one of these off days, we went to the gym, then headed to Costco, and finally back home just in time to pick up Mia from the bus. We decided to get our mail which is located around the corner from our house. Lazily, I pulled the car over to get the mail. Nothing was found. So, I jumped back into our 2006 Civic and expected to drive the block home. False. Yes, False! The car simply wouldn't start. Talia and Tiago were done being in the car which only added to the frustration. Fernando ran home and drove the 96 Corolla to jump our dead car. To no avail. A nice neighbor who we have waived to once or twice in passing, stopped his car to try and help. He seemed to be pretty well versed with cars and we felt that gut wrenching/wallet squeezing feeling that always accompanies the words "bad starter or faulty alternator".
It should be mentioned here, the military has a funny habit of mismanagement. Now, I don't mean to judge harshly since it is a large organization. Somehow every transfer there is a risk the the military can overpay you. Strange as it may seem, the thousands of transfers that are categorically similar sometime go a muck. Then after a few months and money spent finding the overpaid people, they take their money back. All of it, all at once. Yes, it happened to us. It just so happened that a few days before the car incident, they came and found $800 they wanted back from us. Why don't they use all those post transfer money finding people to just get things right the first time? Back to the car. . .
Fernando and I had the fantastic experience of pushing our car home. I really mean fantastic. Pushing a broken car has its own kind of charm and makes one feel like they could do anything. We rolled in into our driveway just in time to catch Mia from the bus.
I was so grateful that our car chose to die in front of our mail box and not a 30 minute drive away at the Costco parking lot just before Mia came home from school. I am glad I wasn't flying solo and cell phone-less with the kids when it happened. But, I never expected the blessing that came next.
Fernando spent over an hour checking all the fuses and found no hope. We prayed and prayed again. The kids prayed, we prayed all in hopes of figuring out what went wrong. I also prayed that we would wake up in time the next day and get ready quick enough to walk to school since there was no other option. Sure enough, we made it on time for school and I had the distinct feeling to call a Honda dealership. I explain our situation and then had to have the service man repeat the next part:
Quote "Mam, it sounds like your battery has died and it is still under warranty. We will pay a tow truck to get your car to our dealership, replace the battery at no cost to you and have it done by this afternoon."
True to his word, we have a well running car (the whole reason we bought the Honda Civic) and a new battery with a new 8 year warranty. This was also music to my ears since Texas is harsh on batteries and I was told to not be shocked if I only got two years out of my battery.
There are so many other little things, including gas for $1.86. It make Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-19 even more impressive.
"17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.
19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."
