Well, well, well...

I don't know where to even begin today. There is much to tell. I guess I'll start with, I took Grandma home today. I didn't want her to go, the kids surely didn't want her to go, and I know Brian didn't want her to go. Especially with everything that's transpired over the last several days. I truly believe that her being here was what kept him from truly going over the edge.

Let's rewind to last Thursday, January 29th. Brian had gotten called out to go hook up a generator at the Kroger store in Logan the night before. He was on his way home, Thursday morning, when on I-71N, just north of the 5th Ave. exit, he hit a patch of black ice. He slid sideways a little ways, and then down into a ditch. When the rear bumper and trailer hitch caught the side of the ditch, his work truck flipped on it's side. It landed on the passenger side. My cell phone rang at 5:30a.m. It was Brian asking if I could do him a favor. He wanted me to call the Columbus police to report the accident. Since he wasn't injured (Thank you Lord!), he didn't want to call 911. He explained to me what had happened. He kept going on and on about the truck being wrecked, the bed of the truck being ruined, etc. I finally just blurted out, ARE YOU OKAY? He yelled back that he was fine!! So we hung up, and I tried to find a number for CPD. In the meantime, he calls me back, says to never mind, that there were 3 CPD cruisers on scene, and that they had called a tow truck. He said he'd call me again later, and oh yeah, do NOT tell my mom. We said our goodbyes, and I flipped on the news, only to see Monica Day on NBC4 talking about a vehicle flipped on it's side on 71 northbound, just north of 5th Ave. Anyway, he had it towed home, which cost a small fortune by the way. By then, the kids were up and getting ready for school, and so was Grandma. She was not happy with me when she found out that I already knew about the accident, but she quickly got over it. I am amazed though, that during the wreck, nothing was broken. No windows, no mirrors, no tools, that we're aware of, and the truck still runs, although, being on it's side wasn't good for it. Brian thinks it will need a complete tune up before it runs like normal again. However, the bed of his work truck wasn't so lucky. The truck has a utility bed on it. The doors are bent, and some are missing. There are several dents and scratches in it. There is also a big dent in the passenger door. But just by looking at it, you'd never know it's had flipped over. When he came in, I noticed he had a large bump and a small cut on his forehead, which is now pretty much gone. I took the kids to school, and came back to fix him some lunch. After he ate, he went to sleep for awhile. While he was sleeping, Brian's mom and I went to this little antique store in Centerburg. We each found a couple things we liked and just couldn't live without!! lol We came home, and Brian was online looking at new and used trucks. He then cleaned out the pick up that I used to drive, and started loading his tools and material into it. He had to go back down to Logan to unhook the generator, but didn't have to leave until 3am, so he would be able to get a little more sleep. So, as you can see, it was a bit of a scare, and I am just so thankful to God for protecting Brian, and bring him home safely to me and the kids.

But wait...there's more!! Friday evening when he got home, while I was making supper, he got to talking to his mom about using his dad's old work van for 2-3 months, until he was able to get a new work truck. Over supper, we made plans that Brian, Andy, and his mom, would pull the Bobcat down to his mom's house on Saturday, clean out her driveway, clean out the work van, he'd drive the pick up with the Bobcat home, and his mom would follow behind him & Andy. I was to stay home with Sarah, as I was working on laundry and Sarah was desperate for her turn on the Wii. I bet it wasn't even 20 minutes later, he calls me and tells me that the transfer case on the pick up truck just broke, and I need to come get them. There were at the Hartford Fire Dept. in Croton. So I put on some warmer clothes, tell Sarah to get her snow boots on, and to grab her snow pants, coat, etc. and we head for Croton. We get there, Brian hooks up the trailer with the Bobcat to my Expedition, and we head for Grandma's house in Johnstown. We get there, get the driveway cleaned off, the vans cleaned off, the bird feeders filled, plants watered, and the work van cleaned out and ready to go. Brian then decides to leave the Bobcat at his mom's, hoping to load the pick up on the trailer and pull it home. When we're about to leave his mom's house, he tells me to take her to the post office to pick up her mail, and he'd see us at home. NO sooner do we turn onto Croton Road, after picking up the mail, do I get a phone call. "You are NOT going to believe this!!" he says. I look over at Grandma, who says "Oh no." He tells me he's in a ditch, just before you get the egg plant in Croton. Apparently, the wind had picked up and was blowing drifts in the road, and some a-hole in a Dodge pick up truck, decided he needed the entire road, and rather than hit the guy head on, Brian had slowed way down thinking the guy would eventually get over, but he didn't. He just kept on coming, so the guy ran Brian (who had Andy with him) off the road. We get up to them and someone had stopped (she was an EMT), and I pulled in behind her. A Hartford cop showed up shortly after we did, took a report, called Licking County, and told us that the sheriff was on his way, as well as a tow truck. It was almost 7p.m. by the time Licking County showed up. While waiting for the sheriff to show up, the Hartford cop had called Johnstown, because he didn't have any flares. A Johnstown cop brought some flares. The deputy sheriff takes some pictures, makes out his report, talks to us some more, and then says he's going to wait another 15-20 minutes and then call about that tow truck. The roads were getting really bad by now, as the wind was really howling. So we wait some more. By 8:30, Brian's had enough of just sitting and waiting, so he gets out of my truck, and walks back to the sheriff's car. He gets in, and asks him to call about the tow truck. So the sheriff calls the Hartford cop, wanting to know who he called about the tow. And this is where Brian starts to about lose his mind, and I don't blame him at all. Apparently, the Hartford assumed that when he called Licking County, their dispatcher would call to get a tow truck on the scene. So then then he calls Johnstown PD, just in case they might have called it in. NOPE!! He was told that the Hartford cop informed them that Licking County was dispatched as well as a tow truck. So, we sat there, on Croton Road for almost 2 hours before a tow truck was even dispatched!! I was beyond livid, but what was I going to do. I just wanted to get the van & trailed pulled out of the ditch, and head for home. It was about 9:30 when the tow truck arrived. Within 30 minutes he had both the trailed and the van pulled out. Brian hooked the trailer onto my truck and asked if I could pull it to Hartford. I was a nervous wreck but I managed. We pull into where the pick up was left, and Brian begins the difficult task of winching this thing up onto the trailer. It took him a little over 2 hours to get the pick up truck loaded onto the trailer, and then I got into the van with his mom (she was driving), and we were headed for home. The whole time I prayed that God would get us home safely, and all the vehicles intact. I also prayed for God to give Brian the strength to get through this, and to comfort him as well. The roads everywhere were awful!! The only time we saw any type of plow truck, was when we turned onto 229, from 314, by the high school. We turn on Co. Rd. 191, and are just about to our road when Brian calls and says he's stuck!! We are within 2 miles of home, and he gets stuck!! ARRGH!! So, in turn, Brian's mom & I get the van stuck as well. I just keep thinking to myself, this can not be happening!! Why, Lord? Why?? Anyway, Brian spends about an hour or so trying get going, but can't...the snow is just drifted way too high for him to get out. So, he unhooks the trailer, and goes "around the block", so he's able to get in behind us and hook up some chains, to pull us out. He pulls us out, turns my truck around at Swetland's, and comes back to the van. His mom gets out and into the truck with the kids, I write a note so Swetlands don't have the van towed, and Brian parks the van there, and then we all head home in the Expedition. We get home just before 2a.m. and we're all starving. None of us had had anything to eat since lunch, because the plan was that Brian would pull the pick up home with the van, and we'd go pick up a couple pizzas on our way home, and we'd all be fine and dandy. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

Sunday morning, Brian got a hold of our neighbor and they went and got the trailer out and pulled it home, and then he went after the van. Brian said as of 11a.m. Sunday morning, Morrow County still hadn't touched 191!! Sunday, he, his mom, and the kids, spent most of the day working on getting most of Brian's tools & material loaded up into the van and getting it ready to go to work this morning. I spent the day doing laundry, and getting things ready for going back to school today. The kids have had three 3-day weekends in a row now, thanks to scheduled days off & the weather.

So, now the fun begins. Brian will be getting a new work truck, but it will need to be ordered, and he said this morning he's going to make a list of everything he wants on it!! lol Oh Lord, help us!! hahaha His biggest decision will be whether or not to get an extended cab or not. We had a really nice and L O N G visit with Grandma. I really hated to take her home, but she's got some things to tend to, and 3 other kids clamoring to have their turn with her. lol It'll be weird when warm weather gets here, and she stays home most of the time. I'll update again soon. There is much to catch up on!!