Chapter 1: Family Road Trip
Summer is so close to being over and getting back into the daily grind again, but what would a summer be without one last "quick" road trip! After quick thought Anna and I decided to go see our family in Corpus Christi and maybe get in a little beach time. So off we went, in my car of course because I just got it all fixed up and ready to go to Florida a few weeks earlier, and we didn't think the stang would be a good choice. Anna got off work that morning (Saturday) after working 12 hr night shift and we hit the road shortly after that...of course not without some yummy chick-fil-A breakfast. That was the start of our healthy choices in food. BUT this was our last real excuse to just eat w/ out thinking too much about it before the wedding starvation diets begin. :)
We were welcomed to Corpus by none other than Uncle Allen's fried Shrimp...whoaaa wait hold up, not this time! To our shocking surprise he GRILLED THEM! I can honestly say that I liked this alternative better, not only was it healthier but I have never had grilled shrimp like this in my life and I LOVE shrimp.Oh and the best part was Jason got to come visit for the night. We enjoyed a lunch date together the next day before he left...so sad. We got to spend time with them and really enjoyed hanging out w/ our cousins and our Aunt and Uncle. We also got to see our Grandparents for a lil bit and of course went out for a feast of fried food....again not thinking about dresses of any sort!
We headed home Tuesday morning so Anna could be safely back home in time for work. We could have stayed until Wed. but just to be on the safe side. I also had my best friend Tandy waiting for me in Dallas, she was visiting from Austin. (this is important to remember for later)
Chapter 2: Car "hiccup"
So remember back in ch.1 when Anna and I decided my car was the best choice for this mini vaca....well sadly that was a misjudgement and lead us to an unexpected extended vacation. As we drove through Austin we realized my car was just not acting right. It kept "hiccuping" and not catching gears..weird. Then a big yellow exclamation mark started blinking at me...NOT GOOD. I quickly looked up and saw an NTB at the exit we were quickly approaching, so I quickly took it an
d pulled in. As we waited for them to put it up to see what it could be, my Step Dad Randy asked me to check the color of the pond underneath my car. Sadly it was red, which I quickly learned meant $$$$$$$$$/transmission. So a tow ride later, and tossed around "Hey Cupcakes" we ended up at Jerry's Auto Shop. This guy was very helpful and very nice, but I know when he saw two girls (I would say cute, but no showers, sweat, and tears...we were lookin' kind of rough!) walk in and needing to get to Dallas, he saw $$$$$$$$ just in a different way than I. So my Step Dad having lots of connections and business in cars quickly got
involved and made sure things were handled correctly. So now what? Here we are in the middle of no where, with a bunch of greasy guys, and no car...uuuuhhhhhh???? So Anna quickly got in touch with Ben and Kate Turner, who came to our resuce and took us to their home to get things figured out. In the mean time my best friend who was waiting on me in Dallas(ch.1), hit the road back home to Austin once we found out my car wasn't going to be ready the next day..or the next...or the next! How awesome is that! Just picked up and left within an hour!
So Tandy got in town safely, we enjoyed a night on the town to relieve a little stress and make the best of a crummy car situation, got Anna on a plane home the next day, and I enjoyed a few extra days there getting everything figured out. In the end my car cost a few K to fix...OUCH and won't be ready til next week when Jason will pick it up on his way home from Brownsville. It's Friday, almost a week later and I'm finally in my own bed relaxing w/ my pups. Oh how I missed them! They had a rough week as well, but that's a whole other posting!Ch. 3: Reflection
As I think back on all of this, I think about why God lead us down this crooked path home. I think the biggest thing AGAIN I have learned is to trust in Him and know that He is guiding you through each step. He is always 5 steps ahead and regardless of how much I might have wanted something to go a certain way, He is the final decision maker! I love it when He puts me through tough situations like these, not only are they fun stories, but it just really strengthens my trust and growing relationship with Him. What an awesome God!
Things I'm Thankful for during this car ordeal: (no particular order!)
1. Didn't break down in the middle of nowhere between Corpus and San Antonio in the pouring rain.
2. Got stuck in Austin and not Temple, Tx
3. Have my summer school paycheck which was just a lil over what the cost of my car was going to be.
4. Jason being in Brownsville to be able to pick my car up so I wouldn't have to take personal days (which I need for wedding stuff)
5. My bestest friend tandy lee for giving me a place to stay and driving to Austin to save us!
6. Ben being close by to come get us from the greasy men
7. Randy for knowing/having connections in the car business
8. Jason for guiding me through each step of decisions that needed to be made.
9. Anna for keeping me calm and being an awesome sister
10. God for holding my hand and making a bad situation turn out very smoothly!
11.The NTB guys for getting on the ball when they realized they couldn't help and finding Jerry's
12. Jerry's Garage for helping us out and Todd for being cooperative and extremely friendly to us throughout the whole situation.
