WHAT A VACATION!!!

So, we decided to travel to Louisiana to visit Michelle's family. After visiting Sulpher, LA we drove to Ponchatoula, LA to see the rest of the fam. On Monday we were driving to Michelle's cousins Brian & Lisa to go ride in the boat for the day. On our way to their house we were in a not so pretty wreck. Even now as I type I am in shock that it happened.

The low down;
Driving aprox. 42 miles per hour over a bridge when a Chevrolet Z71 pulling a large ski boat pulls out in front of us. (I'm thinking to myself I can't believe he did that) then pulls over to the shoulder. I say out loud, "Oh he realized he cut us off and is letting us go around him." Then all of the sudden he tries to pull a U-Turn with out signaling right in front of us! He never looked and never saw us. As I see what is happening I begin to try to cross over the middle lane to avoid hitting him, knowing the boat has us pinned in on the other side. He is still trying to turn around and is not getting out of the way. I am slamming on the brakes and turning to the left side over the middle lane.

At this point Michelle is screaming and I am helpless as I being to skid on the rocks in the middle of the highway and we plow straight into their front driver side. Both of our air bags deploy and Michelle's side air bags as well. As we are both disoriented I look over at her and ask if she is ok. She is hysterically screaming she can't breath. I kept saying are you ok???? I realize she is moving and seems ok so I told her it's ok. "Is anything broke?" "No, I just can't breath." I see smoke in the car so I told her we need to get out! I help her crawl out on my side because her door was pinned in. We both get out and are trying to figure out what happened, when the other people (4 passengers) get out to see if we are ok. My poor baby is crying and can't figure out what just happened. I am trying to calm her down and figure out if she is ok. Then the cops show up and tell her to sit down.

I will let the pictures tell the rest.




This is the parking lot this guy is supposedly (story below) trying to turn around in????

I'm just glad we weren't in my car, who knows what would have happened.


Her poor car! We really loved this car....
You can see why she is hurting more than me!



The glass didn't shatter, it just cracked, thank you JESUS!

Michelle is going to kill me for posting this picture! I'm just so glad she is ok!!!!


SO the medical responder in the ambulance wants to take Michelle to the hospital for precautionary matters. They want to take some x-rays to make sure nothing is broken. After like four hours at the hospital she is diagnosed with a sprained neck. I was completely fine yesterday and now I my neck is hurting worse by the moment.

The cop shows up and tells me what he assumes happened. He tried to tell me after we left, that the the other driver told him he was pulling into the parking lot to turn around (which is still illegal) and the cop said, "Where were you turning, into to a ditch!" The trooper said he gave him a citation for making an improper turn. The funny thing is there was a no U-Turn sign less than five feet in front of the wreck. He told us that he (the other driver) can tell his story all day long because the road shows exactly what happened and that he knows that guy isn't telling the truth. MY personal opinion is if the guy would have seen us coming he could have straightened out and we might have missed him, but because he was still trying to u-turn we crashed straight into him.

NOW it is all up to the insurance company. If you are reading this please pray that his insurance is legit and everything is taken care of. Being that I don't have a job right now we need no extra bills!!!! I believe in my heart we did everything we could to avoid this and that the Lord will take care of everything. I want to personally thank all of MICHELLE'S family for being so supportive and sweet to us. They have really been so concerned and that means a lot to me and her.

I want to thank the LORD for watching out for us and for those who prayed for us that morning!! :) I know that it could have been a lot worse and if I never get to say it again, "I LOVE MY WIFE so much and I can't imagine life without her!!!!

Update

Brian ended up taking Moses to the Vet this morning. He had to stay home to pump water out of the side of the house so it wouldn't flood again. Moses was getting worse and worse and was just miserable so he went ahead and took him. They gave him a steroid shot that is supposed to give him "immediate relief" and last for a month. So, we will see!!!!! I am so ready for the weekend!!!!! Have a great night! =)

Whats Been Happening

We celebrated Brian's birthday a couple of weeks ago. It was such a success! We went to see the movie, "21" (black jack movie)then he went to AT&T to buy an Iphone with all of his birthday money. Then we met a bunch of friends at Powerhouse for his birthday dinner. It was a success and he LOVES his phone. He totally deserves it! He never buys anything for himself and has never had a nice phone. I have threatened him with his life if he drops/loses/gets it stolen, etc.

I think we are going next month to visit my grandparents in Louisiana. Of course they are getting up there in age and I hate that I only see them at major family events. We realized at my sister's wedding that they would not be traveling again for a long time. It's just really too hard for them. And I don't want to have any regrets about not visiting them more later on in life.

Moses is having issues. Apparently, he is having allergies associated with Springtime. I pretty much think that is the most ridiculous thing ever, I mean how can a dog be allergic to being outside?? It's a DOG!!! He has to go in on Saturday for some routine shots and the Vet is going to see what else she can do. The poor dog is so miserable, constantly scratching his belly and licking and biting at his feet. I have actually been giving him benadryl but I think he has become immune to it b/c it no longer phases him. I even bought medicated moisturizing shampoo and it doesn't help much either. Here is the article I read that convinced me it was allergies. I really do feel bad for the little guy. Hopefully they will have something for him on Saturday.

We had a new couple at our life group tonight. They were really fun and sweet. There is another new couple that is supposed to be coming next time and we are having dinner with them on Saturday so we are excited about that. I love seeing new faces and meeting new people!!

Adding flood insurance to our Homeowner's policy tomorrow after that last fiasco. Hopefully it won't rain too hard tonight. I can't handle all that stress again.

I think that is about all that is going on. Oh, 3 weeks until Brian graduates!!! whoot whoot!!!

Happy Thursday!!!! =)

garage sale!!!!

on Saturday, me, amy, and katherine will be having a garage sale at my house. Some major items are: stroller,basketball goal, bike rack, never used cookware, prom dresses, wedding dress (no, not mine) , crockpot, clothes, kid toys, kid clothes , shoes, purses, blackberry, and a bunch of other stuff. See our ad on craigs list!

Belly Laugh

If you want a good laugh, and I mean a good, heartfelt belly laugh, watch this video. This little girl is so cute, makes me want one, almost =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk

Movie Night

Some of us girls are going to see a late movie tonight: The Other Boleyn Girl @ 10:00 pm at the Pinnacle Hills Mall theater. Call me if you want to come!!!!!!! 501-425-7060. Thanks for all the emails/comments/calls about our house. We are getting the padding replaced tomorrow and getting new carpet in one of the rooms tomorrow. I took a bunch of pics and I will post them later tonight. Have a great rest of your Friday!!!! =)

BLACK TUESDAY

Things got bad today:

1). House flooded b/c of all the rain. Have spend the last 7 or so hours suctioning up water off the carpet, pulling up the carpet, removing the padding, and suctioning the water off of the concrete. Lovely. This is the brand-new carpet we just bought in July.
2). Brian and Troy pumped all the water out the side of the house that was causing the flooding and dug a drain. It's still raining.
3). In the midst of all this, Brian's phone got wet and stopped working.
4). While digging the drain, the underground fence got torn and now that has to be fixed as well.

Can I sound any more depressing? Well now that I got all that complaining out of my system, I can try to return to my optimistic self--things could always be worse. Lessons learned--don't be a cheapskate and opt out of flood insurance--I think it would be well worth it!

Thanks to the Canalichio's for all their help today!!! I'll post pics of all the excitement another night--I'm off to bed. Night!

RECAP of the Week

It has been a L-O-N-G week. Lets backtrack. Last weekend we went to a Marriage Conference put on by Family Life. It was at the Embassy Suites in Bentonville and Brian actually won the whole weekend on the radio including a 2 night stay at the Embassy. We had such a great time! I totally recommend their marriage conference to ANYONE. Whether you are doing awesome or if you have major issues, it is so helpful and so refreshing. I'm so glad we went and wish that we would have attended one of these when we were first married. I really encourage all you married people to catch the one in Branson or the one coming up in Little Rock. Go here to check it out. It's totally worth it! I promise you won't be disappointed! We have like 10 books on our reading list now!

I got sick on Tuesday, sinus junk and head cold. So that made for a really long week at work. I'm still not feeling too hot and I sound like a man when I talk. No jokes tomorrow please! My husband and Brock have already made fun of me enough!!!!!!!!!!

Lauren and I kicked butt at spades last night =) Girls RULE! lol! I made a new recipe that was delicious! Check it out:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Tortilla-Soup/Detail.aspx

Oh, and I attended the sewing night at Genessa's this week and learned how to use my sewing machine. I made some really cute napkins. Once I finish them completely I'll post some pics. I love them!

Brian is counting down the days until graduation! He has passed all of his Praxis Tests now and now is just waiting to finish up! I'm so proud of him--he is on his way to a 4.0 for grad school! I know that is tough and he has worked so hard for it! He's my hero =)

Can Spring get here already???

Surprises Surprises......

This is my favorite Valentines Day so far. Brian totally surprised me, and I have to admit--I totally surprised him as well. He got me some perfume that I have been wanting forever:

Euphoria by Calvin Klein---LOVE IT!!!!!!

About a month ago, I was at work and looked out in the lobby by the transcript window to see Darren McFadden. This reminded me how Brian got his autograph for his dad but never got one for himself but always wanted one. So, I grabbed a piece of paper and walked out there before I lost my nerve and asked him for his autograph. I was super pumped and decided that I was going to frame it and give it to Brian for Valentines day. Then, the next day I look out in the lobby and Felix Jones is in the lobby. Seriously? Is my luck really this good? So, I grabbed my precious autographed paper and march myself out there again. I chatted it up with Felix for a minute and got his autograph too! Brian is seriously going to be beside himself! So I have to keep this secret for over a month and it was KILLING ME!!! I can't keep surprises very good and I have NO patience!!!! So i finally get it framed and ready last night and couldn't wait any longer--we cheated and exchanged presents a little bit early. I was right--Brian freaked out =)

**for those non-sports fans---Darren McFadden and Felix Jones are former Razorback football players that will be first round draft picks in the NFL, in other words--they are hot stuff!!!**

Life Group Tonight

We are having our first life group tonight for the semester at our house! So, if you want to come, it starts at 6:30!!! We would love to have you there! =)

FOR ALL YOU CHILD-LESS PET OWNERS

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3 Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children

HaHa =)

ROAD TTTRRRIIIPPPPPP!!!!!

After work today, Lauren and I are heading to Dallas! My cousin is getting married and she is road-tripping it with me to spend some QT with her fam. It will be so much fun! I'm so excited! Lots of pics and stories to come, I'm sure!!!!

Snow Day!!!!!

Even though I didn't get out of going to work for the snow days, I still had fun after work. The snow doesn't phase this dog, he still loves to chase his soccer ball. We had a great time playing around and chasing each other. Brian recorded a video below and I recorded a video of the next day when his friend from next door came over. There is a hole in the neighbors fence that the dog crawls under to come and visit Moses. It is a huge brown dog. He is kind of timid but pretty sweet. He makes us mad though because he PEES ON EVERYTHING. I've even seen him pee on my dog--GROSS. I had to hose him down, it was disgusting! But anyways, you can barely see him in the last video but he is at the way back of the yard.




ok, can't get videos to load (arrggghhh) so oh well!

My Rants Part TWO

Is it sleeting and snowing outside? YES. Are all the school districts closed? YES. Is the UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS OPEN? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Bowl Time!!!!

If you are reading this then you are invited to a Super Bowl Party at our house this Sunday! It starts at 5:30 but feel free to come by anytime after 4:30!!! If you think you might come then shoot me an email: mmander@uark.edu so I can get the details figured out (food, drinks, etc.). We will probably do "bring your favorite dish" as usual! So just let me know! Have a great Thursday!!!

My Grandpa is a Celeb!!!!

I found out today that my grandpa, Maxie Docusen (aka "little duke") and my great uncle, Bernard Docusen (aka "big duke") are being inducted into the World Hall of Fame for Boxing in California in June 2008. This is a picture of them plus another brother. My grandpa is first, then my Uncle Bernard. Then there is another picture of my grandpa below this one, its actually on sale on Ebay! I think I might buy it! It seems that my Uncle got more publicity than my grandpa and has a whole "bio" online if you want to check it out: http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Bernard_Docusen
Bernard actually fought Sugar Ray Robinson and lost in a decision. Pretty cool! Here are some facts about my grandpa:

~lightweight -class boxer, born on 11-15-1928
~Won 72 Fights , with 26 knockouts
~Lost 6 Fights, with 3 ending in a knockout
~Has forced a draw in 3 fights.
~Boxing stance: Orthodox
~Height--5'7
~Fight Reach/Arm Length: 31"
~Total Career Fights: 82

Its kinda cool to google your grandpa and see all this stuff come up! I dont' get to see him all that often and I sure do miss him and my Meme! Love you both!!! =)

Moses Loves Babies...=)

We went to dinner with V & C & A (haha) the other night and then they came over. Moses LOVED A!!! He would just sniff him and then start licking him and then A didn't know what to think about that! It was so funny! I think he got a little freaked out and started crying and mom had to pick him up and then Moses had a cow! He started whining and circling around like what did I do? Why can't the baby play anymore? It was so sweet! He was so gentle with him and was so curious! They were really cracking us up! Here is a pic of Moses sniffing and circling around him! Big ol' tail!!! haha!

My Rants

I wish someone would let the University know that it takes more than TEN GRAINS OF SALT to de-ice the parking lots and sidewalks. I was more than irate this morning when I pulled in to park in a sheet of ice parking lot and walk up the hill on a sheet of ice sidewalk. I don't mind coming in when the weather is nasty but a little SALT would be nice. (breath, breath).

A Weekend To Remember Conference

My awesome husband called in on the radio everyday and won us free registration and free accommodations ( 2 night stay at the Embassy Suites in Bentonville) to this marriage and family life conference the weekend of Valentines Day!! We are so pumped about it! I've never been to a marriage conference before and it will be wonderful to stay at the Embassy for 2 nights for free! Plus, their breakfast ROCKS!!!! The registration is usually $130 per person for the conference but you can get it for $89 per person through Keypoint Church. I know that is a lot of money but we have heard nothing but good things about this conference!

We had a wonderful day off of work/school today! Brian relaxed and cleaned the house (my hero) and ran some errands. I went to lunch at Olive Garden with Sabrina, Genessa, Lauren, Monica, and Stacy to celebrate Sabrina's birthday! We had a lot of fun eating lots of yummy food! Then I went up to the church to help decorate for ~Crowned~ this Friday night. The foyer looks amazing and we had a lot of fun doing it! If you haven't decided yet, you should definitely COME! It will be so much fun! I really really HOPE that it ices over tonight and they close the U of A tomorrow. Doubt it but I can always hope!!!!! Anyways, have a great night! =)

New Car !!!!!

This is a picture of me and my first car back in my Senior year of High School. I'm not putting the close up on here b/c I have a mushroom head haircut!!! lol! Say goodbye to Mustang Sally!!!!

And say hello to my new (slightly used) 2007 Honda Civic:

I'm too lazy to go outside in the 15 degree weather and take a picture!

Side View

Inside view

It was a little sad to see the Mustang go b/c it was my first car, it held lots of memories, and it was paid for!!! BUT, I hydroplaned on a regular basis, it was pushing 100,000 miles, electric seat didn't work anymore, electric locks worked sometimes, and the check engine light was permanently on. We found a good deal and went with it! I LOVE this new car, it has so much more room, smells all new and it only has 12,500 miles on it--it will last me forever! I feel like an official adult now b/c I have a four door!! =) Still can't picture any carseats in the back seat though....ha!