We have upgraded to an 8 seater 2006 toyota sienna. it has less than 30,000 miles on it, but it also has a salvage title. the price was right. it doesn't have any weird noises when we drive it. we test drove an '08 that had a funny noise and had more miles. our sienna had been totaled out after being hit in the back corner. but they did a nice job of repairing it. and i wish you could've seen the kids when they jumped in the van and found the dvd player. it has a tv!! they shouted. and nick is interested in the gps. when we drive from mom & dad's to our house, he tells me when he can see "our house" or our street actually, when it comes on the map. we for sure were not looking for a van with these extras, but we're not complaining with how things worked out.
i found out recently that there are companies out there that will turn your blog into a book. i think one of them is blurb.com but i know there are others. anyways.... now i don't feel so entirely guilty about not writing in a tradtional journal very often, or having a scrapbook. because now i can have both in book form. i am really excited about this. and maybe it will prompt more blogging since i know it is part journal. so for the journal reason, i just wanted to write down a little about the accident. seems like it has been occupying a lot of time for the last month, and i know most of you already know the whole story, but i'm going to write it out.
sunday december 20th we were driving home from church. mom and dad had left church just after us, but they continue south on eastern while we wait for the light to make a left on cottage. we waited for maybe 10 seconds,we got the green arrow, and we started to go forward and then make the left. i could see a smaller suv coming the opposite direction that was still pretty far away from the intersection, but coming fast. it didn't appear to be slowing down. because of how the intersection is, to make a left you have to go forward a number of yards before you make the turn. we started making the turn and i said something 2 times to jake. i couldn't remember what it was i said, i thought maybe it was "no" or something, but jake said it was "they're not slowing down, they're not slowing down" i remember as i said it feeling like i didn't have time to say what i needed to say. i turned my head away from the car coming and then we felt the hit and we spun a little. the car seat belts worked great. and so did the air bags. i was scared of possibly having a car fire or getting hit by another car. so i got out of my seat and got to the kids as fast as i could, my door was busted in but it was already open, and the sliding door i think was open slightly but i pushed it all the way open. nick, carly, and annelise were all crying/screaming. i hurried to get them out, and grabbed the baby's car seat as fast as i could. in my hurrying i ripped my skirt. isaac was wide awake just looking at me. jake and i had the kids sit on the lawn and try to calm down. the kids were screaming, and pointing to the van. they were very concerned about the fate of the van. a lot of people stopped and tried to help us calm the kids down and see if everyone was ok. someone else called 911. jake called mom and dad who were not home yet and they came right over. while we were sitting on the curb the other lady was over by her car and mouthed to me i'm sorry. she was really upset. the firemen came right away. they made sure everyone was ok, they asked us about pains. jake had hurt his shoulder and knee. my chest hurt. but all the kids were fine. jake said that before the firemen got there, one of the first guys to approach jake was a lawyer who lived in a house right next to the intersection. he gave jake his business card. the policeman spoke to us and got our versions and all of our info. people started to leave after the firemen left. nick told us.. well.. now i know what an airbag looks like. an older man that was one of the first to help me with the kids stopped us as he was leaving and said he saw the whole thing and her light was red. and he was almost yelling as he pointed to a red light saying, " red... red as that light right there!" in hindsight i should've gotten his name and number as a witness. another lady gave us her card as a witness, and that was the only one we got, and as it turns out, she didn't know who had a green and who had a red. the officer spoke to us and said the other driver pretty much admitted to running a red. as the two tow trucks came and were cleaning things up, we exchanged insurance info with the other driver. she was being comforted by her husband who had come. she said she had a grandson and when she saw our girls come out she just.... she was really emotional. she was apologetic. she said she'd go home and call her insurance. she said it in a way where i figured she meant she would be calling them so that we could have things taken care of. mom and dad took the kids to their house. jake rode with the tow truck driver who happened to be the same guy who had towed the mg b for him a year ago. sister timpson had stopped by to help us and she drove isaac and me home. i fed isaac and then we took him to mom, and dad drove jake and i to the ER to get checked out. we both had x-rays. jake got a shot and i got some pills. all the rest of the day i felt so greatful that i would have another Christmas with my kids. it was sad to think of what could've happened but so happy to know we all walked away from it. not even any blood. we called her insurance the next day and they said, she had called the day before but had only spoken to customer service since it was the weekend and hadn't made a statement, just opened the claim. so on Christmas eve i got a call from my insurance guy who said that he had heard from her insurance, she claimed she was not at fault and she had gotten a lawyer. that was pretty tough, but it was so good to be with family. it really helped to be with everyone. glen really helped answer a lot of questions and gave a lot of good insight. he went with me to talk to the fire dept. to see if there were any details we could get to help things along. but it looked like we would just need to wait for the police report. when we got that it was very clear that she had admitted to running the red. our insurance guy seemed pleased about it, since she was seeking damages as well. our insurance called us back the next day and said, she still says she's not at fault so our next move would be to either talk to her insurance or take her to court. we hadn't ever planned on sueing, but i was beginning to seriously consider it. i called her insurance which was very frustrating. she said that since there was a witness listed on the police report they needed to talk to him before they made a decision. i was frustrated that the police report wasn't enough for them. they argued that their client was very adamant that she didn't run a red, so they had to do a thorough investigation. lucky for me they were able to get ahold of the witness and he made it clear that she had run the red. that's when we started making progress with the claim. things are going to work out now. all that is left is for jake and i to sign some papers. it is a big relief to have this come to a close. the caravan was towed yesterday. the picture of the girls was taken yesterday morning.
