Miracles

When I first started this blog, I wanted it to be a place that I could put our family's experiences as well as photos so the kids could go back and remember their growing up years. I figured they would look at it in the future but I never realized how much they would go and read it even now. I find them a couple times a month in on the computer reading and laughing at the pictures and the stories. I'm so grateful I decided to do this whole blog thing even if I'm not as consistent as I once hoped I would be. But this isn't just a place for funny stories and cute pictures. I know I don't share too many spiritual experiences but today I must because I am extremely grateful and indebted to our Heavenly Father for the miracles he has performed in our lives in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday was like any other frustrating day. It actually wasn't too bad until I had gone to scouts and the kids were awful. I know 9 year olds have lots and energy and like to be accepted by their peers and all that and I really do give them room to be boys but they were on one yesterday and we finally had to do some threatening. So I was a little frustrated with that when I came home and vented to the neighbor but then came in and got dinner ready while Steve and the boys were at soccer practice. We all sat down to dinner and Railey was eating a chip when I put meat on her chips and she started to throw a fit. Well that brought on choking because there was a chip that got lodged down in her throat. I watched as she was gagging and then started turning blue before Steve was finally able to help her dislodge the chip. I did send up a little prayer of gratitude that she was ok and breathing again, but continued to get frustrated by her stubbornness of not wanting her taco salad they way it should be. Lets just say I was looking forward to her bedtime in less than a 1/2 hour.

Dinner got done and cleaned up when Steve had to run and do a sprinkler repair. As he was walking out the door one of my scouts knocked on the door. So Steve walked out followed by the girls and Seth was already out there. I let my scout and his mom in and shut the door so we wouldn't be disturbed. He had come to apologize and while he was in the middle of it I hear Steve yelling at Seth to get out of the way as he started pounding on the door. I open the door for him to come barging in all frustrated holding Kenna in his arms and her crying uncontrollably.

Steve forced his way to the couch only to say, "I just ran over Kenna." What? I was in disbelief. I think he was too. He repeated himself a little louder, "I just ran over Kenna." "With your bike?" I asked knowing the answer. "No, with my truck."

We both just sat there, not knowing what to do. Our neighbor could sense the anxiety in the room and said she could watch the kids if we needed to go to the hospital and then she quietly slipped out of the door with her boy. Kenna reached up and wanted me but Steve didn't want to let go. He kept pressing on her leg where there was a big black mark, we are thinking from the tires, but not sure. He pushed, stretched, moved, pinched everything we could think of but there was no response from her. She wasn't crying anymore. In fact her cry from the beginning wasn't a hurt cry it was a scared, mad cry. We all know how mother's know their kids cries. Once Kenna came to me she didn't cry anymore so we continued to poke and pry focusing all of our attention on her legs, but honestly we couldn't see anything. We didn't know what to do, there honestly were no signs of injury, except the black tire mark across her shin. Should we take her in and get her x-rayed all over just to be sure? We didn't know. We did put her down and tried having her walk to us and right at first she fell straight to the ground when she put pressure on the leg we thought might be hurt, but then she got up and walked over to me.

By this time, Steve and I just look at each other in total shock and the tears started streaming (at least from me). We couldn't believe what had just happened. You always hear of the stories on the news of how the 20 month old died after being run over by a car backing up. We both knew that a miracle had just taken place in our lives. See there were no kids outside when Steve left (they followed behind him). So though he did check his truck it was all clear. It wasn't until he was backing up that he felt the truck go over something and he knew. He hoped it wasn't so but he knew. Kenna, who's a little Daddys' girl was going to get Dad. Steve found her completely under the truck. Her whole body, he knows for sure he ran over something and yet he didn't feel the truck bump anything. We don't know she got all the way under the truck! We don't know how she came out alive let alone with no broken bones and only a scrape on her elbow that we found this morning after giving her a bath.

Steve left after making sure we were all fine, to go do his repair. He pulled out and got a couple blocks away before the tears came flowing down his cheeks uncontrollably. We had just experienced our own huge miracle.

Throughout the night, or at least until she fell asleep we kept a close eye on Kenna. She wouldn't sit still was constantly running around and didn't seem to be hurt at all. She did keep saying over and over again, "Daddy bye byes, leg, toes." "Daddy bye byes, leg, toes." As if she was trying to say "Daddy was going bye byes and ran over my leg and toes." She would reach down each time and grab at her leg and then her ankle. We didn't know if it hurt or not but it didn't appear to. Even this morning she said the same thing but there is literally nothing wrong with her. How, she was completely under the truck?

(no I didn't think to take a picture, this was one I had from a few weeks ago when she was sick)

After it all happened Seth came in the house and was hovering around knowing what had happened and Steve got after him, wanting to put blame somewhere but knowing it couldn't be. But he asked why he didn't grab Kenna and keep her away from the truck. Seth was too worried about two lizards he had just buried. But suddenly he felt responsible. We quickly, both Steve and I told him it wasn't his fault, but the lip was still quivering a titch. Once he knew she was ok I told him to go and get in the bath so we could get to bed. When I went to check on him he wasn't in the bath. He was sitting in the office at the computer and I got after him to go get in. I was sitting on the couch when he came out. I knew not to get mad this time for some reason as he reached his arm out and handed me a picture he had just drawn.

"It's for Kenna, see she's in the rain but the rain can't hit her mom, she's protected and it can't get her. And Kennas' thoughts are in the clouds." he told me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Seth had so beautifully just described in his own way what had just happened. He knew Kenna had been protected and so did I. I loved that he used art to describe his feelings. Steve later told me that he doesn't know how or what he did but that somehow his dad was involved in protecting our little girl. Thanks to whatever angles protected her, whether it was one or many. Thanks for letting us keep our little girl, even if it's just for one more day. I will say this she has been pretty spoiled today with lots of hugs and kisses, as have all our kids. If only I can always remember how precious life is and not to take it for granted.