Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

We took a little road trip this past weekend.  Our family went to see the fourth annual draft horse and mule plowing event and my uncle's farm.  The weather was awful.  Cold, windy, dusty.  Yuck.

I opted to stay in the van to watch the plowing while Matt, the dog and the kids ventured outside.   Some of the kids got rides on a horse drawn buggy.  While that was happening, Rachel, our dog cuddled up on my lap for one of her favorite pastimes--a nap in the sun.

I had a good chuckle at the anachronism of the cowboy on the buggy talking on his cell phone.

On Sunday morning we went to church, ate a nice lunch with Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna and then we headed down the road to visit my parents.  My mom hasn't been doing well these past months.  We are grateful that the Lord has provided a wonderful caregiver for her.  Mrs. L is a gem and she even has her own little farm, complete with sheep and a root cellar.  A woman after my own heart.

As we began our trek to my mom and dad's house, we heard a loud noise from underneath our van.  Grace and Paul, who were driving in a car behind us, informed us that a part had fallen off of the van.  We stopped and tried to find the part, but were unsuccessful.  Matt decided it was fine to continue our journey.  We made it to mom and dad's without incident.

Once there, Matt opened an early birthday present from my parents while we watched the Masters Golf Tournament.  Our kids were completely enthralled.  The boys may have caught the golf bug, which I'm sure will delight both of their grandpas.

When the time came for us to leave, we pulled out of the driveway and the van started making horrible noises.  Matt pulled back into the driveway, jacked up the van and pulled off the wheel.  That's when he realized that he was in over his head.

Understand that all this happened late Sunday afternoon.  At that point, I thought the chances of sleeping in my own bed that night were slim to none.  Anyhow, my dad went over to the neighbor's and knocked on the door.  The neighbor is a mechanic.  He came over a took a look at the van and said the wheel bearings were going out.  He couldn't believe we had driven 35 miles like that without losing the wheel.

He suggested that Matt call the auto parts store to see if they had a wheel bearing in stock.  They did.  Matt picked up the part while I went to Walmart and picked up a big sub sandwich and chips for the kids' dinner.

When we got back to the house, the angel of  a neighbor replaced the wheel bearing.  He refused payment.  The silver lining was that the kids and I got to spend more time with my mom while the men worked on the van.

We arrived home safe and sound around bedtime.  I was ever so glad to get into my own bed that night.  The whole incident reminded me of a recent BSF lecture.  The teaching leader said that we don't even realize how often the Lord protects us from tragedies.  Our family knows that He protected us this past weekend and we praise Him for it.

P.S.--My mom will have surgery this Friday.  Prayers for her would be appreciated.