The Breckenridges

Have you ever had one of those days where everything goes wrong, really wrong, and yet you see that throughout it all Heavenly Father is watching over you, taking care of the little things while you deal with the big thing? Well, yesterday was one of those days for our family. We had a trip planned to Kenedy for Grandpa Hunt's birthday party. The day started off great. Then a big, bad thunderstorm hit and our electricity was out for most of the afternoon, but the rain cooled the day off enough for us to head towards Kenedy. The ride was uneventful until we reached to toll plaza on Beltway 8 in Houston, as we pull in to pay the toll, 20 cars deep with no where to go, steam starts billowing out from underneath the hood. Then we hear a snapping sound and Josh's realized the main serpentine belt just broke. So we end up pulled over on a little 500 ft. stretch of shoulder on the toll road, waiting for help, as hundreds of cars are flying by, in the fading light of sunset. It was scary. The cool part was that there is free roadside assistance to get anyone that is stranded on the toll road off, because it is so dangerous. Any tollorad in Texas, as a matter of fact. So we were towed to a gas station off the beltway in a very bad part of Houston. The constable that transported Josh and our dog, Asia, said her couldn't in his right mind leave a young family stranded, especially in the bad neighborhood we were in. So even though he wasn't supposed to, he took Josh to the auto parts store to get the belt. Josh had it changed in record time and we were off again, everything well, or so we thought.

Just driving along, pulled out of Schulenburg, catching the highway that leads off I-10, to head to Kenedy, when low and behold, the belt snaps AGAIN!!! At this point, we know that there is something wrong with the ride and not just worn-out belt. So for the second time that night we were stranded on the side of the road. This time with no roadside assistance, in the middle of nowhere, with touch-and-go cell phone signal. This is around 11:30 PM, I call Mr. Hunt, my bonus dad, who graciously drives the long highway to pick us up.

Have you ever been stuck on the side of the road? Not just for a little while but a couple of hours, with no one and nothing in site, but the barking of dogs in the distance and faint rustles of grass in the pasture next to you, which you pray are cows. It was hot and humid, hardly a breeze. Josh got out and laid on the hood for a while and saw two shooting stars, one bright blue with a big streaking tail that disappeared in a bright flash of light. When I took my turn outside the car, I spread one of Bella's baby blankets she uses to wrap her baby dolls in the roadside weeds, careful to avoid the many mounds of fire ants. There I practiced something I haven't done in many years, whistling with a piece of grass through your thumbs and also cupping my hands, placed just so to blow through them that mournful dove-like sound. Took me a few minutes to get it just right, but I celebrated when I finally perfected the sound.

Needless to say we made it to The 505 at 3 AM, leaving the car right where is was on the side of the road, left to be dealt with at a later time in the daylight. Saturday afternoon, Josh and I journey back with proper part to fix it in hand (the onlypart in town). Took a total of ten minutes to replace the tension pulley and another 5 to put the belt on. She runs fine now. Quite a weekend adventure...or was it?

This summer we made a trip to Kerrville to visit Josh's aunt and see one of the places where he grew up. While we were that close to San Antonio with Josh's mom, Alice, and his sister, Judy, and her kids, Alice treated us with a trip to Sea World. We had a great time!!! Bella's favorite part was the Sea Lion Show and the penguins. We saw alligators, dolphins, played in the kiddie pool, and had a great time with our family. Bella enjoyed being Mother's Helper with her cousin, Abby, who is just starting to sit up on her own. Thank you, Nanny!!!

We love making summer memories!

Hello, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this site. I have been so busy since I have been home! Today is my first chance to relax and read, play on the computer, etc. I had a wonderful visit to to the flatlands of the USA, Kansas...Dodge City, to be more specific. This is where my brother lives, with his wife and their new baby girl, Gaby. It was great to see them, but the best part was getting to hang out all day with my niece. She is such a good baby; it just amazed me. They are very blessed.

Hello, all! Took a trip to the plains to see my brother, his wife, and new baby, Gabrielle Drew. It was wonderful experience and I have found a place in my heart for my little niece. Will write more soon. Have to head to pick up Isabella. Until next time...

When Josh and I picked up Bella from her trip to see her Emmy and Tee Lee in Kenedy last weekend, we, of course, left her entire bag of clothes on the floor in the kitchen. Mom got the phone call the next morning, after we woke up, went to get Bella's clothes for school and realized that we had left her clothes 4 1/2 hours away. Bummer. You see, Bella is rough on clothing, as I think most kids are. She wears most of her food (her daddy says that is genetic, too, because I never fail to wear at least part of my dinner. He's not funny.) and she always finds dirt I didn't know was in my house, or the one marker that doesn't have a top, or she grows more and then everything is too short. I have lots of clothes for her, but with the stains and ill-fit, they are not the clothes I let her go into public with, not to mention she is...particular about her clothing and all the clothes she loved had been forgotten (for the first time ever) far, far away. So, while we waited for the box from Kenedy with her bag o' clothes in it, I got very creative while finding Bella her daily outfit. We managed just fine, she always looked cute, but it was a lot harder than if I just had her familiar, favorite clothes that fit.

The box was supposed to be in Livingston no later than Saturday, but just our luck, it didn't arrive until Monday. Well, it was just the slip that they put in your mail box, saying the box wouldn't fit and we would have to pick it up at the post office, before 5 PM. Try explaining that to a 3 year-old! What is even more frustrating is that the mail runs late in the day, so it wasn't in there when I left to go pick Bella up from school, believe me, I checked. But it was when we returned, and, of course, it was after 5 PM. Not only did I have to explain why we had a peach-colored card instead of her box, but also that we couldn't get it until the next day, after school. Let's just say after a million questions, rewording responses to answer the reworded questions, and her father telling her the exact same things I did, she was ready to let it pass. I asked her to put the package slip on the fridge with one of her magnets so that it wouldn't get lost, and many times throughout the evening I found her at the fridge just looking at it. Another thing about Bella, she NEVER forgets. Sure, you can change the subject for a while or distract her with other things, but before the day is done she'll talk to you about it again, never fails. So I wasn't surprised, as we read our stories before lights out, that the box and the post office kept sneaking in to our conversation. After reassurances and simple explanations, she drifted off to sleep to dream of her very own package in the mail.

The next morning, reminding her that we would go pick up her box from the post office after I picked her up from school was great stimulus to get her out of bed. She was at the door waiting on me so we could get to school, with her package slip in hand to put in the car for safe-keeping. The promise of the box also assisted in allowing me to take my leave with very little sniffling as I dropped her off, because she was so excited to tell her teacher about the package she was was going to acquire after school.

So, I picked her up a bit early to ensure we had plenty of time to go to the post office. She was so excited! Constant chatter as we waited in line, full of questions and pointing out all the things and happenings in the post office lobby. With slip in hand, she approached the counter, and then turned to me with arms raised so I could lift her up to speak with the postwoman. Everyone in there knew from our five minute wait in line exactly what we were there for and that this was her first big girl trip to visit the USPS. The nice lady behind the counter played her part in assisting Bella, spoke directly to her, took the slip from her hand and then went to retrieve the box from the back. The look on Bella's face was priceless!! A huge grin of expectation, with eyes and arms open wide as she reached for the box, but in the end turned to daddy to pick it up for her and carry it to the car. She couldn't believe how big it was and the smile never left her face. Her hand laid on top of it the whole way home, and it was like her birthday, she said, after daddy opened it and she saw her things. There was a new Kindermat for her nap times, all her clothes, her swimsuit (she thought is was forever lost), and a pumice stone for Bella to do her feet in the shower. Her Emmy told her that women never have rough feet and this is how we keep them soft, so, of course, Bella has to have one. At last, the box arrived and my daughter was content, finally!!!

Until next time...