My Worst Nightmare... lived through....only by the Grace of God!

You know the dreaded call at 9:30pm from your kids, telling you they have been in an accident?  Yes.... that one.... we received it on September 26, 2014.  Our worst fears as parents were going through our heads and we were 4 hours away from touching our child. 

On or about 9:05 p.m. an 18 wheeler crossed over the median of Interstate 35, in Oklahoma,  and struck the passenger bus that my daughter and her softball team were traveling in on their way back from a scrimmage game, earlier in the day.  Not only did this truck hit the passenger bus, but it hit them hard enough at a speed of 72mph that the bus flipped over and 'helicoptered' on it's side for several revolutions.  My daughter was seated in the middle of the bus where the strongest force of the impact was felt.

The heartbreaking discovery was that four of the young girls, our daughter's friends, had been killed and we couldn't get to Bailey fast enough to simply reassure ourselves and her that she was going to be ok.  As a parent, it's the most helpless feeling in the world to know your child is hurt, suffering, struggling to live and you can't get to them.  Bailey was  taken to a hospital in OKC via care flight and all we knew was that her injuries were life threatening.  We would learn 24 hours later that the EMT's and Dr's treating her didn't think she would survive.  GUT WRENCHING experience, folks.  Our lives were forever changed in the split second that the truck driver became distracted. 

This is Bailey, our precious 18 year old college sophomore.... about 8 hours after the accident and heavily medicated while in the trauma center of OU Medical Center.  We really did not know the extent of her injuries at this point and we were hanging on to her through lots of tears and countless prayers.  Even now, as I see this picture and think back on that night I am brought to tears. 

I will never be able to say 'thank you' enough to the most caring and wonderfully skilled healthcare professionals that saved Bailey's life; we are truly blessed to have been cared for by these folks at OU Medical Center.  If this tragic accident had to happen, God put his hand on Bailey and guided her to the right place, I will never doubt HIS guidance in all of this.  There are far too many 'God moment's' in all of this experience that continue to bring me to my knees in awe of the power that is HIS.

WHEW... Life is just a big ole' whirl wind... and I've been tossed about!!

Hello blogger friends, long time no blog..... Trying to get my mojo back and hopefully blogging again will offer a little therapy along the way!  :)   So much has happened in my world over the past couple of years; I'll try to find the best way to chronicle the craziness that is my normal - without making anyone too confused. Or.... let's just say, I'll try to share what I can with what few brain cells I have left. 

To start things off..... ugh... my blog looks horrible!!  I really must get busy editing the look of things around here or I'm not even going to want to read it. I need to upload a few new pictures of my diva daughters, they have all grown and changed so much, in so many ways.   So please send me links to your favorite places to beg, borrow, and steal (well, I'll gladly pay for them too) blog designs from and I'll get busy updating my little part the blog world. 

With the popularity of Facebook, I suppose my 'need to know' has been curbed by the constant news feeds on FB.  However.... there's just not much therapy for me in reading newsfeeds and then again there's not much 'sharing' time that I can do on FB without sounding like I'm a negative Nelly, or a prideful Patty.  Ya' know what I mean? 

As always I have a ton of projects going on in my mind and Pinterest and Etsy certainly don't help my need to create, which by the way, is always trumped by my NEED to have a clean and clutter free house.  Therefore -- constant turmoil -- within my already limited brain cells. 

So... now that I feel as if I've confessed my blogging sins of neglect, and I'm promising to do better, I'll leave you with a picture/tease of stories to come....

Yes, my daughter was riding this bus - in the middle - and by the grace of God she survived and is currently at home recovering.  I will have more details and pictures to share in the upcoming days.