We decided to go to Bastrop, TX to visit Russ' family. The only weekend that worked was Halloween. Russell worked half the day on Thursday and we picked Charles up at Kids Day Inn and were on our way out of town at 1:30 pm.
Things went smoothly, we stopped around 5:30 to fill the gas tank and our tummies. I bought an adaptor for my breast pump so I could use it in the car. I made a bottle and when we got back in the car after our stop, Russell sat in the backseat and fed it to Micah. Things were going along fine until about 7:30pm on I-35W near Fort Worth. All of a sudden there was a noise...our passenger side tire blew out. I was in the fast lane and pulled over, only to discover that there was NO way Russell could change a tire with cars zooming by at 70+ miles per hour...never mind that the speed limit drops at dark! There was actually a break in the traffic so we could cross the Interstate and pull over on the other shoulder, out of harms way.
We tried to call several people we know that live in the Dallas area. No one was answering their phones. So, I called my cousin Carissa to see if she could go on-line and find a phone number for me. To my surprise she told me her husband's aunt & uncle could help us. Uncle Steve called me, gave me some basic instructions and after doing some research on where to find tires met up with us and led us to the tire store. Turns out they live just a few miles from where we broke down. He stayed with us while we got new tires (we decided we might as well get four new ones instead of just replacing the one that blew out) and led us back to I-35W. What a sweetheart!
Now, this may not sound like such a big deal, but God took care of us. Like Russell told some colleagues, "if I didn't believe in God before, now I do!" Earlier in the week Russ & his brother Randy had been discussing tires. Randy was told that tires only last about 7 years, even if the tread looks good by the time they are seven years old they need to be replaced. After hearing this Russell decided to check the spare while he checking the rest of the tires. It didn't look like it, but the spare was flat. It measured a 3 when it should measured 60.
Another miracle was the break in traffic so we could pull across two lanes of interstate to safely change the tire. If you've driven in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, you know how busy it is even at 7 in the evening. Also, we're blessed to have God send us an angel in the form of "Uncle Steve." He was so sweet and kind, taking care of us and going out of his way to help us get things settled. "Aunt Cass" knew exactly who we were, she'd seen Carissa's pictures of Micah! And lastly, the tire store. The sign on the door said they closed at 8:00 pm, but told Steve on the phone that they were open until 9:00. They stayed late to put on our tires. They also had four of the cheapest tires in the size we should have been using but hadn't been able to find the last time we purchased tires.
So, we just praise the Lord. He takes good care of us. After all this we only were only stopped two hours in Fort Worth. Not bad! We got to Bastrop about 2am, and didn't really fight being tired while driving the last leg. How could we after such excitement?!? The boys did well and went straight to bed and slept until about 7 am. Russell and I were tired, but did get enough sleep to get by.
Thankfully the rest of the weekend was uneventful! We enjoyed family and the cousins got to go trick-or-treating together.
Things went smoothly, we stopped around 5:30 to fill the gas tank and our tummies. I bought an adaptor for my breast pump so I could use it in the car. I made a bottle and when we got back in the car after our stop, Russell sat in the backseat and fed it to Micah. Things were going along fine until about 7:30pm on I-35W near Fort Worth. All of a sudden there was a noise...our passenger side tire blew out. I was in the fast lane and pulled over, only to discover that there was NO way Russell could change a tire with cars zooming by at 70+ miles per hour...never mind that the speed limit drops at dark! There was actually a break in the traffic so we could cross the Interstate and pull over on the other shoulder, out of harms way.
We tried to call several people we know that live in the Dallas area. No one was answering their phones. So, I called my cousin Carissa to see if she could go on-line and find a phone number for me. To my surprise she told me her husband's aunt & uncle could help us. Uncle Steve called me, gave me some basic instructions and after doing some research on where to find tires met up with us and led us to the tire store. Turns out they live just a few miles from where we broke down. He stayed with us while we got new tires (we decided we might as well get four new ones instead of just replacing the one that blew out) and led us back to I-35W. What a sweetheart!
Now, this may not sound like such a big deal, but God took care of us. Like Russell told some colleagues, "if I didn't believe in God before, now I do!" Earlier in the week Russ & his brother Randy had been discussing tires. Randy was told that tires only last about 7 years, even if the tread looks good by the time they are seven years old they need to be replaced. After hearing this Russell decided to check the spare while he checking the rest of the tires. It didn't look like it, but the spare was flat. It measured a 3 when it should measured 60.
Another miracle was the break in traffic so we could pull across two lanes of interstate to safely change the tire. If you've driven in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, you know how busy it is even at 7 in the evening. Also, we're blessed to have God send us an angel in the form of "Uncle Steve." He was so sweet and kind, taking care of us and going out of his way to help us get things settled. "Aunt Cass" knew exactly who we were, she'd seen Carissa's pictures of Micah! And lastly, the tire store. The sign on the door said they closed at 8:00 pm, but told Steve on the phone that they were open until 9:00. They stayed late to put on our tires. They also had four of the cheapest tires in the size we should have been using but hadn't been able to find the last time we purchased tires.
So, we just praise the Lord. He takes good care of us. After all this we only were only stopped two hours in Fort Worth. Not bad! We got to Bastrop about 2am, and didn't really fight being tired while driving the last leg. How could we after such excitement?!? The boys did well and went straight to bed and slept until about 7 am. Russell and I were tired, but did get enough sleep to get by.
Thankfully the rest of the weekend was uneventful! We enjoyed family and the cousins got to go trick-or-treating together.
Grandpa babysat Micah while the rest of us Trick-or-Treated.
Since we were all together in one place we had to take some family photos. Here they are, I've done them in birth order for those of you who aren't as familiar with Russell's siblings.
Mom & Dad/Grandma & Grandpa
Kim & Elisha with Caleb (born September 8th)
Russell & me with Charles & Micah. As you can see, Charles does NOT want to be taking pictures. He takes after his dad!
Kerri & Dave with Ian (5) & Ashley (4)
Randy with Courtney
All of the Sharp clan!
Grandma & Grandpa with the grandchildren...minus Charles he was done having anything to do with the camera!
The Sharp family with Grandpa/Great Grandpa Norman
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