Yesterday boasted a little more action than we planned for!! It started snowing around 5pm right as the boys and I were leaving karate. We had to run home, get ready, make a quick dish and then turn around and head back to the church for the Branch V-day Party. Long story short, the difference between the 5pm snow and the 7pm was phenomenal! Before we knew it we were driving 15 mph in a bit of a snowstorm. Now, I do have an SUV, but it is neither all wheel, nor front wheel drive… the thing is a nightmare to drive in the snow. Had I realized when we left how bad/dangerous the roads were, I wouldn’t have gone, but just 2 hours before they were fine, so we decided to head out anyway.
So there we were trekking along as slow as possible, trying not to freak out. It didn’t help that my windshield wipers are apparently on it’s their last legs and I was having trouble seeing out the window. Anyway, about half way there, I hit a patch of something and started sliding. I was in the right line… we slid left, then back right (It’s all slow motion, but I think I remember lighting trying to turn the wheel and NOT slam on the breaks). From there we did a full 360 and then started another one as we spun into the median/ditch in the middle of the road. We ended up stuck in the ditch facing on coming traffic. I couldn’t move the car and I was trying to stay CALM!! No one was hurt; the boys were fine (though Braden was worried that we were going to get a ticket).
What happened from here on out, I consider an absolute miracle and godsend!! I called Blake (at the church) and he left immediately, but was still a good 20 mins. away. He told me to stay put… I couldn’t really move so that was fine. A few minutes later, my neighbor Kelly called and asked if I was home… I told her I was actually stuck in a ditch on the 521. She said, she was afraid I would say that!! They had just passed me on the road and saw the white ENVOY. Here’s the kicker: she was driving by but wasn’t sure if it was me stuck in the snow. At the moment she turned her head back I turned my interior light on and she saw my hair. I had a feeling to turn on my interior light at that moment and I’m so glad I listened. She called and sent her husband back to help us AND here’s why having Jason help us was such a godsend. I would’ve stayed put, but Jason decided to start backing us up (parallel to the road) to see if we could get a little more traction somewhere else. After we backed up a bit, he got out to survey the area. Literally moments after we had moved, a mustang came flying off the road and spun/landed in the exact spot where were before we moved. Ahhhhhh… can you even imagine. I am beyond grateful that again, no one was hurt. We left the car there last night, but managed to get it out this morning once the snow melted a bit. Everything’s fine, but it’s got me thinking.
I know we were blessed, watched over and protected and I don’t ever want to take that for granted. There were so many little ways the Lord watched out for us last night… It was not a big accident or anything over traumatic, but something happens when your car starts spinning and things start happening in slow motion! I am beyond grateful for all my blessings – little and big. I feel foolish for having expectations of the shape and form of blessings; when in fact little tenders mercies and being safe and protect exceed all else. By sharing this, I don’t want to make it more dramatic than it was… I just want to be able to have the reminder that the Lord truly is mindful of us and loves us all.
Happy Valentines Day… I am definitely feeling the love.
This post is a HUGE shout out to some AMAZING workers at FED EX. There are good… no, GREAT people in this world so I’ve got to post about it.
Let me go back a bit… Hart to Hart Digital is Headed to "The Wedding Affair" Bridal Show, January 31st at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center. I have been excited ALL month!! This will be a much larger event than my last one and I have pumped up the volume w/ my layout. So, up until about 1pm yesterday I was pumped. Here's what has happened since then:
I designed 3 new albums this month that are HUGE seller pieces. Great display albums are what attract brides and keep them at your table looking and talking. You then have the chance to sell yourself and your personality, which helps them decide to call you back. Anyway, these albums were stunning, show stoppers and were supposed to be arriving sometime during the week. By Wed. I panicked and called my supplier? With promises of returned phone calls, I never heard back. By Thursday I was super nervous about not receiving them in time so I called and requested overnight shipping. I was promised they would be shipped and received by Friday....phew...crisis averted... hundreds of customers no longer lost (hehehe, one can dream right!!!).
So, Friday, when Fed EX arrived, you can image my horror when the albums did NOT arrive in the package. Instead I received a frame order. Long story SHORT, they overnighted the wrong order. Okay… don’t panic, it’s not the end of the world, EXCEPT I really needed those albums and they said they would be here!!!!! When I called my supplier back I got a lame “I’m sorry”… they’ll be there Monday. MONDAY DOES NOT HELP ME!! I HAVE NOT SPENT HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON ALBUMS AND TRADE SHOW ENTRANCE FEES TO HAVE ALBUMS BY MONDAY!!
Calmly I called FED EX b/c something needed to be done!! I was transferred to a call center in India (or somewhere overseas) where I was told there was nothing that could be done. The order shipped “ground” and was in IL as of that morning. I said, “But can’t I upgrade and have it re-shipped overnight… I will pay ANYTHING” ??? Sorry Mam, there is NOTHING we can do, 10 times over.
I have a REALLY hard time taking no for an answer when I need a solution!! I asked to speak to a manager and here’s where my LOVE for FED EX was born.
I was transferred to Dan in Illinois… the nicest most accommodating person I had talked to all day. He heard me out, though my package had just left IL, he agreed to track the package, call the Charlotte hub and make sure someone “trapped” the package so I could pick it up on Sat. Of course with the glooming inclement weather, I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but there was still a good possibility I could pick it up myself on Sat. He told me to call the Charlotte Hub around midnight to see if it the package had been trapped. I WAS SO GRATEFULL that this guy took a few minutes to make some calls and work this out. He even called me back to confirm. WOW! I was impressed.
Around midnight (right when I was about to make my call) I received a call from the Charlotte HUB. They had my package!!! The man was worried about the snow that had started to fall and possible ice on Sat. He was worried about me driving all the way up to North Charlotte so he said he was going to personally deliver the package at 2am during his break!! WHAT… these guys were going ABOVE and BEYOND. I could NOT even express my gratitude. After getting my directions, he realized he had a colleague that lived around my area. They settled on this man personally dropping it on my door stop after his shift at 6am. Again, I was blown away by the customer service.
I woke up this morning to my 3 beautiful albums delivered (sitting in a pile of snow, might I add) on my doorstep. My appreciation is insurmountable. That will make a HUGE difference for me this weekend and despite the snow, the show will go on!! I am so grateful these people took time out of their schedules to go way above and beyond the norm. 3 HUGE CHEERS FOR FED EX and answers to prayers and not taking NO for an answer!!!
Have a great weekend! Mine is looking a lot brighter!!
This one is from Blake:
I have been thinking of ways to help the rescue effort in Haiti. I came across this blog that I used to follow while this guy, Jake Wood was chronicling his tours of duty as a Marine sniper in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is out of the marines now and the day the earthquake happened he pulled together a crew of ex marines, firemen, doctors and nurses to go on their own into the backcountry of Haiti to help.
I have made a donation and I think that if you spend two minutes reading his blog account, you might want to as well. Send this on, as you can be sure that every penny sent will be put to good effort. Other than a donation to the church’s humanitarian aid fund, this is the best bang for your buck as far as charitable giving is concerned.
http://blog.teamrubiconhaiti.org/index.html
Just wanted to share!! Thanks -- Blake
