Geez a Louise.

"When he falls, he will not be thrown down, because the Lord holds his hand."  -Pslam 37:24

This has been an insane week.  Nope, let me take that back; it's been an insane year.  As most of us experienced this week, the ice storm definitely dragged us on our butts.  Four days off from school, being home, one tv, making it work, finding constructive things to do, etc...  I'm thankful we only lost power for about an hour and a half on Tuesday night; it could have been so much worse.  And don't get me wrong, it's a blast to get a snow day off, but four days can be wearing.  The Craig Family made it work, though, as did all of us.  We got out of the house on both Thursday and Friday to hit the gym and see a movie.
Yesterday, our beloved dog, Charlie, had surgery on her eye and her stomach.  She's doing fine today, although she looks like she's been scrapping.  We're thankful that she's doing well and not picking at her stitches (this way she doesn't have to wear that stupid cone).
Alex started vomiting last night.  She fell asleep with her head on the toilet bowl around 9:30 last night and then curled in fetal position on the cold tile floor.  We've all had those yucky stomach flus.  I finally coaxed her into bed around 10:30 after she vomited again, and then she proceeded to puke all over two sets of sheets.  Steve, who I believe is much more domestic than I, finally comes upstairs around 12 am to suggest that she just sleep on towels rather than constantly changing the sheets.  I may be a mother, but my husband is much more efficient than me.  I'm thankful he's my other half.  Consequently, our little angel woke me up around 8am to whisper/breathe in my face with her nasty breath, "Mommy, can you make me breakfast?"  I don't know how kids bounce back so resiliently.  I, on the other hand, need a flipping nap.
It started snowing this morning on top of the 4 inches of ice.  Determined and just plain over it, I and the rest of Indianapolis was not going to let a little snow slow me down.  For some reason, I decided to use Steve's car to run and get Alex some 7up and some Super Bowl goodies for tomorrow.  As I'm perusing the aisles of my favorite place in the whole wide world, I get a phone call...Steve and Alex were in a car accident.  Thankfully, they were fine, but Alex was definitely shaken up, and my beloved mini van is now totaled.
Amidst all of this, I'm thankful for a few things:
1.  My neighbor and pal, Kim, passed by the accident.  She picked up Alex and took her to her house while Steve sorted things out at the scene.
2.  Everyone is ok, even the two kids who swerved into Steve's lane coming the opposite way.
3.  They were just feet from the bridge that crosses Geist.  Could you imagine if this happened on the bridge?
4.  It was my lovely mini van and not Steve's new car.
5.  As I dumped my filled up cart into the arms of the Target lady, she was so nice.  She "hoped that everything was ok."  No questions asked, no dirty looks.
6.  A super nice lady, whose kids also attend Heritage, pulled over and stayed with Steve and Alex until the police officer arrived.  She saw the whole thing and wanted to make sure she gave the officer her information as a witness.
7.  Alex yelled out, after they hit the tree, "Mommy's gonna kill us!" How hysterical is that???

I guess I find myself pleasantly surprised when I see kindness emerge from strangers, but I can't help and look at the whole crazy week and day and see that God's hands were there all the way to help us through.  This has definitely been our theme these past few months.  Although the craziness will crash down, His hand will be there, and for us, it was in the little things that I feel blessed to see.  But I know that it's not through my eyes that I'm able to do this, but through His.
Thank You, Lord, for being there.  Thank You for holding our hands and lifting us back up.  I just want to praise You through it all because I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have You.  Amen.