01 02 03 The Dayton Houghs: Saying Thank you 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Saying Thank you

34
There are moments when your life changes in an instant. December 1st was one such day for us. Brian had left for work as he always does. The oldest three kids were up and getting ready for school. I was laying in bed awake, but not up yet when the phone rang. I sat straight up and looked at the clock. 6:09 am...My heart sank. Nobody calls at 6:09 in the morning to tell you something great. When I reached for the phone, it wasn't there. i jumped out of bed and raced down the hallway as Jake handed me the phone. "It's dad." he said. "Hello! What's wrong?" I asked. "I am fine, but I was in a major car accident." he replied. He went on to tell me that he wasn't sure what was going on, the policeman was trying to talk to him and he would call me back. My legs were shaking and my stomach turned as I tried to wrap my brain around what had just happened. He said that he was fine. That was good, right? But a major accident, that was decidedly bad. I called my parents, not quite sure what else to do, while I waited for Brian to call me back. I just kept saying, "I don't know what to do! I just don't know..." My parents recognized the stress and fear in my voice and my dad took over. "Call Joan and see if she can come out and stay with the kids. I will come and get you and we will go and get Brian. "  Ok, a plan. That's what I needed. I needed to do something. I called Brian's mom, trying to downplay how scared I was and I told her what I knew. Brian had hit black ice and then a car hit him. She immediately agreed to come and stay with the kids. We hung up and I called my parents back and told them that she was coming. Dad said that they were on their way. I started to get dressed when Brian called back. He told me to meet him at the GetGo gas station. He had to go again to talk to the policeman who was filling out the paperwork. Within 30 minutes Joan and my parents were here and I was on my way to Butler. I still wasn't quite sure what had happened. I just wanted to, no NEEDED to see my love. I needed to know that he was actually ok. The 45 minute drive felt like it took days, but we finally got the meeting spot. I got out of the car and walked into the GetGo and there he was. He was all in one piece and seemed to be ok. I ran over to him and he wrapped me up in his arms. He felt ok. It must not have been as bad as I thought. He seemed fine. We got into my parents' car and headed to the place where the jeep had been towed. It wasn't until then that we got the whole story. He had been heading to work, as usual, and was almost to work when he hit a patch of black ice while driving on an overpass. He slid and hit the median head on. It was dark and he was facing the median, so nobody could see him. He saw the headlights coming at him and realized that he was basically a sitting duck. He tried to pull himself into the middle of the jeep because the car was heading straight for him. He said that it was only moments, but it felt like forever. He braced himself for the inevitable collision. The driver of the first car hit him at about 50 mph. He spun so that he was now facing the oncoming traffic. He was hit again and spun again so that he was now facing the other side of the road. He was hit by a third car on the passenger side and spun a final time so that he was heading in his original direction. The fact that he was able to get out of the car was a miracle in and of itself. The only way that he could get out was to climb out through the hatch in the trunk. I was getting sick to my stomach as I he went into detail. It was indeed an major accident. We pulled into the place where the jeep was sitting and got out to see it and I was shocked. Here was the love of my life,  my handsome, sweet husband standing in front of me with nothing more than a scrape on then top of his head. And here was our jeep a crumpled, tangled mess of glass and metal! How in the world did he walk away from that mess with a tiny scratch? The severity of the accident hit me then. Tears filled my eyes as I realized how close we were to losing him. The policeman had said to him, "Somebody must have been looking out for you." as he pointed to the sky. "God must not be finished with me yet, " He said with a grin. "Ummm Hello! I'm not done with you yet! We have 9 kids to raise!" It serves to remind all of us that our lives can change in an instant. For me it brought some much needed clarity. It is so easy to get discouraged and frustrated by all of the things that aren't going "our way." But Brian's accident reminded me that all of the things that were stressing me out aren't really that important after all. When I looked at him and then looked at what used to be our Jeep, I was reminded of what is really important. Family is important. People are important. Having someone to go through the day-to-day with is important. Being able to say, "Thank you God for keeping my love safe and sound and intact," is important.  So, I will now say, thank you God! Thank you for keeping my family together and safe.


This used to be our jeep  :(


This is where the first car hit...right into Brian's side.


This is where the third car hit.


The driver's seat was folded in half. 


This is the first car that hit Brian on the drivers side. 
35 36 37 38 The Dayton Houghs: Saying Thank you

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Saying Thank you

There are moments when your life changes in an instant. December 1st was one such day for us. Brian had left for work as he always does. The oldest three kids were up and getting ready for school. I was laying in bed awake, but not up yet when the phone rang. I sat straight up and looked at the clock. 6:09 am...My heart sank. Nobody calls at 6:09 in the morning to tell you something great. When I reached for the phone, it wasn't there. i jumped out of bed and raced down the hallway as Jake handed me the phone. "It's dad." he said. "Hello! What's wrong?" I asked. "I am fine, but I was in a major car accident." he replied. He went on to tell me that he wasn't sure what was going on, the policeman was trying to talk to him and he would call me back. My legs were shaking and my stomach turned as I tried to wrap my brain around what had just happened. He said that he was fine. That was good, right? But a major accident, that was decidedly bad. I called my parents, not quite sure what else to do, while I waited for Brian to call me back. I just kept saying, "I don't know what to do! I just don't know..." My parents recognized the stress and fear in my voice and my dad took over. "Call Joan and see if she can come out and stay with the kids. I will come and get you and we will go and get Brian. "  Ok, a plan. That's what I needed. I needed to do something. I called Brian's mom, trying to downplay how scared I was and I told her what I knew. Brian had hit black ice and then a car hit him. She immediately agreed to come and stay with the kids. We hung up and I called my parents back and told them that she was coming. Dad said that they were on their way. I started to get dressed when Brian called back. He told me to meet him at the GetGo gas station. He had to go again to talk to the policeman who was filling out the paperwork. Within 30 minutes Joan and my parents were here and I was on my way to Butler. I still wasn't quite sure what had happened. I just wanted to, no NEEDED to see my love. I needed to know that he was actually ok. The 45 minute drive felt like it took days, but we finally got the meeting spot. I got out of the car and walked into the GetGo and there he was. He was all in one piece and seemed to be ok. I ran over to him and he wrapped me up in his arms. He felt ok. It must not have been as bad as I thought. He seemed fine. We got into my parents' car and headed to the place where the jeep had been towed. It wasn't until then that we got the whole story. He had been heading to work, as usual, and was almost to work when he hit a patch of black ice while driving on an overpass. He slid and hit the median head on. It was dark and he was facing the median, so nobody could see him. He saw the headlights coming at him and realized that he was basically a sitting duck. He tried to pull himself into the middle of the jeep because the car was heading straight for him. He said that it was only moments, but it felt like forever. He braced himself for the inevitable collision. The driver of the first car hit him at about 50 mph. He spun so that he was now facing the oncoming traffic. He was hit again and spun again so that he was now facing the other side of the road. He was hit by a third car on the passenger side and spun a final time so that he was heading in his original direction. The fact that he was able to get out of the car was a miracle in and of itself. The only way that he could get out was to climb out through the hatch in the trunk. I was getting sick to my stomach as I he went into detail. It was indeed an major accident. We pulled into the place where the jeep was sitting and got out to see it and I was shocked. Here was the love of my life,  my handsome, sweet husband standing in front of me with nothing more than a scrape on then top of his head. And here was our jeep a crumpled, tangled mess of glass and metal! How in the world did he walk away from that mess with a tiny scratch? The severity of the accident hit me then. Tears filled my eyes as I realized how close we were to losing him. The policeman had said to him, "Somebody must have been looking out for you." as he pointed to the sky. "God must not be finished with me yet, " He said with a grin. "Ummm Hello! I'm not done with you yet! We have 9 kids to raise!" It serves to remind all of us that our lives can change in an instant. For me it brought some much needed clarity. It is so easy to get discouraged and frustrated by all of the things that aren't going "our way." But Brian's accident reminded me that all of the things that were stressing me out aren't really that important after all. When I looked at him and then looked at what used to be our Jeep, I was reminded of what is really important. Family is important. People are important. Having someone to go through the day-to-day with is important. Being able to say, "Thank you God for keeping my love safe and sound and intact," is important.  So, I will now say, thank you God! Thank you for keeping my family together and safe.


This used to be our jeep  :(


This is where the first car hit...right into Brian's side.


This is where the third car hit.


The driver's seat was folded in half. 


This is the first car that hit Brian on the drivers side. 

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