You ever have one of those weeks where it all seems to go wrong at once? This has been that week for us. I’m actually pretty proud of how we’ve handled it. And I’m very thankful for God’s provision through it all!
A couple of weeks ago the brakes in “Chuck”, my yellow Nissan Xterra started showing signs of needing replacement. Zale (being the very handy guy that he is), was prepared to change the break pads himself. BUT, when he got in there, things were just too rusted and he didn’t have the necessary tools to deal with it. So we borrowed his Mom’s extra vehicle and dropped Chuck off with our mechanic.
I was driving Zale’s car on Tuesday morning, when I was supposed to go pick up my niece and take her and my girls to the Zoo. Where I was supposed to meet my good friend and her boys at 11. You should probably know that trying to get my girls up and out the door in the mornings is like herding cats. If you can figure out why it takes little girls 15 minutes and a melt down to put on shoes, please let me know. Not to mention dealing with the dogs and preparing to leave them alone in the house for a few hours is a bit of a task. We pretty much have to put anything “not nailed down” behind closed doors, or it will be chewed to bits when we return. As I’ve learned, things on counters and tables aren’t safe either! After all that running around, getting ready, packing snacks, etc, we get in the car and I try to start it. Nothing. Dead battery. Let me point out that I’m very grateful it happened at home, and we weren’t stranded somewhere. My biggest concern was that my niece was waiting on me, along with my friend and her boys for this day of fun at the Zoo we’ve been planning for awhile.
Thankfully, we have a battery charger, I was able to call Zale and have him walk me through hooking it up. Now, it’s only supposed to take 15 minutes or so to charge the battery. My plan was to charge it up, head to Advance Auto, replace battery, and be on my way. Maybe a little late, but plans still intact. I’m pretty sure God laughs when we try to make plans. More proof that He has a sense of humor. It ended up taking 3 hours to charge the battery, and there went my plans. But the good news, was that through some careful internet shopping, coupon codes, and money back through Ebates.com. I was able to get a $108 “gold” battery for $67. Ordered on line, in store pickup, where several very nice gentlemen replaced the battery. That was in a case, and at a weird angle. It literally took three men to take out the old battery and two to put in the new battery.
Our trip to the Zoo was ruined, but at least I was able to go ahead and pick up my niece. We made it to the Zoo the next day, unfortunately without my friend and her boys. But I think the girls still had fun. To recap the week so far, we’ve got one vehicle in the shop for new brakes, new battery in Zale’s car, which was a good thing, because his Mom’s spare vehicle started showing signs of needing repair, and did I mention our fridge was going out?
Yep, our Sears scratch and dent fridge that we bought 8 1/2 years ago for $400, decided to check out. It was a $900 fridge that had a few dings on it (hidden carefully with magnets), so I was expecting it to last longer. But no. Back to the good news, Lowe’s was having a sale, along with free home delivery as well as free removal of the “old and busted” fridge, with next day delivery. Ready to be blown away??? They got here when they said they would!!! So even though this wasn’t an expense we wanted to pay right now (and honestly we’re not paying right now, Lowe’s also has 6 months no interest), it is nice to have a shiny new fridge in the kitchen! It’s also nice to have new brakes on Chuck, and a new battery in Zale’s car.
Things haven’t gone perfectly this week, but that’s ok.
We’re still blessed beyond measure!







