Friday, January 18, 2013

Another update

 
One of my goals for 2013 was to blog everyday. Well, with everything that is going on in our lives right now I totally blew that out of the water.  Hopefully, I will accomplish my goal at some point when things seem a little less crazy :)
 
I have had a lot of people asking me lately how we are doing and if things are settling down for us. Honestly, I am shocked at how many people care about us. God has brought some of the most wonderful people on the planet into our lives and I am truly blessed!
 
I do want to take a few minutes to update everyone about what has happened over the last couple of weeks.
 
We went to court on the 7th, but nothing happened. It was court for us to tell the judge if we were going to hire our own lawyer or if we were going to need a court appointed one. We were not sure at the time so he set at new court date for Feb 11th to come back and tell him our decision.
 
After we left court that day we went to talk with a lawyer. The lawyer basically said that this is not a criminal matter it is a civil matter. Penske doesn't have anything criminal against us, but they jumped through every hoop that they could possibly jump though to make it a criminal matter. Basically, Penske is using the court to be their bill collector. The lawyer said that he (or anyone who represents us) should make it clear to the judge that is what is what is going on. If our representation does their job right, it should be dropped. The lawyer wants $3500 to represent both of us, and that is just not in the budget right now so we will be going with a court appointed lawyer.
 
Prayers for a court appointed lawyer who cares about his/her job and is out to fight for us would be greatly appreciated!! My biggest fear is getting a lawyer who just doesn't care. This is a felony and could possibly mean jail time if the lawyer doesn't do his job right.
 
I also talked to him about my ticket for driving with a suspended license. He doesn't seem to think that it will be a big deal. I honestly didn't know about it and when I found out I fixed it the next business day. Plus I have a perfect driving record so there is nothing to suggest that I was purposely trying to break the law. Prayers for this would be appreciated also since I have chosen not to hire a lawyer for this. I go to court on Feb 22nd for the ticket.
 
As far as the car goes, the insurance said it was a total loss. I figured that was going to be the case :( They are giving us a little over $1400 or the car. Which for the year and just book value isn't that bad. The problem is that the car has been in my family for the past 17 year and I KNOW how it was cared for. My mother and then my grandparents were never late on an oil change. They had every tune-up done at the mileage suggested. The littlest noise it was taken to the shop to be fixed. It was a mechanically good car! PLUS it fit 8 people!! Anything that we will be able to buy for $1400 is going to be junk :( Everything we have seen is small and there is something wrong with it...... air, heat, needs a new whatever......
 
My husband and I made a decision a couple of years ago that we would NEVER again finance a vehicle and we are going to stick by that decision. So honestly I have no clue what we are going to do about replacing our vehicle. I need a fairy Godmother to appear and hand me over some keys to a new van....lol
 
I was told yesterday that I need to make a list up of everything that I lost in the vehicle grocery wise, plus money lost because of work and giving other people money to drive me around and turn that into the insurance guy so I can be compensated for that. Something else to be added to my list of things to do..... it keeps growing and growing
 
I had a state trooper come to the house 2 nights ago to question me about the trooper who arrested me. I filed a complaint through the state and he had to come over and get a statement from me. He also took pictures of my wrists now to compare to the pictures that I have from the incident.
 
There are other personal things we are dealing with as well, but I know that God is still good and I still see Him in the midst of all of this craziness! I know that He is bigger than any of this and He has my back :) I am taking things day by day and it will be another couple of months until all of this is settled down. Until then I will continue to Praise Him throughout my day because I know that He will use this for His glory some day!
 
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
 
 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Closer than before

Through this trying time I have learned so much! I am so glad that in the midst of all of my tears, heartache and fear that God is still there :) He is showing me new things daily about me, my life and the people in it.
 
I have learned that in the little amount of time that we have lived out here (6 months) that we have more friends and people that we can turn to than anywhere else we have lived before.
 
We are strengthening relationships that we already had and building new ones. I pray that the people who have stepped up and helped us out and showed us support through this end up being close friends to us as well!  
 
I have learned that family isn't just who your blood line is. There are friends/people who are in my life now that I consider family more than, say my brother...... I hope that these people know that I will always be there for them when they need me!!
 
Most importantly, I am closer to my husband that I ever was before. I knew that my husband loved me before all of this, but there is something about going through a tough situation. It can either push you apart or it can pull you closer together. I am thankful that God is using this hard time for His glory and I know that when we come out of this fire that we will be stronger and closer than ever before!
 
Seeing Michael and how he reacted when I was arrested will be forever ingrained in my mind. Seeing him through the little window in his holding area at the jail brought me more comfort than I ever though possible. His hand pressed up against the glass was exactly what I needed to see to know that everything was going to be ok. When I got him out of jail, he held me and I never wanted him to let go! His arms were the only place in the world that I wanted to be. Last Sunday at church I was feeling like I was going to loose it and I looked over at him and he looked me in the eyes and it totally calmed me down.
 
I am so blessed to have a husband who I know will always be by my side to help calm me down and make me laugh when I need it most. We are going to get to go out for a date tonight and I am counting down the minutes! I am blessed that God placed Michael in my life to help me become the person that He wants for me to be.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.


We love each other more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow :)
 


Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Year's post proven

I just received a phone call from my aunt (My biological dad's sister). She called to tell me that my grandpa had passed away earlier this week.
They had his service and funeral yesterday.
 
I just received a Christmas card from him on Saturday.
I was going to call him this week to tell him thank you for the card, but my mind was so occupied with all the other stuff going on right now I didn't get to it. I always thought of calling him when it when it was either early in the morning or late in the evening. Not really appropriate times to call :(
 
Like I said last week........ Don't wait until it is too late to tell those around you that you love them, because you may loose your chance.
 
All of the stuff that is going on around me isn't more important than my family, but I have allowed myself to be caught up in it. Because of that I will never get to talk to my grandpa agian (well, not on earth that is) 
 
I know that he is in heaven dacing with my grandma again and that he is probably the happiest he has ever been before in his life! I also know that in time I will see him again, but there is still a small guilt feeling in my stomach for not picking up the phone earlier in the week.
 
I have never been closse to anyone on my father's side of the family, but he was the one I was closest to and I loved him. He was the the first Christian influence that I ever had in my life and I will always remember him for that :) 
 
Again, I can't stress enough that your family and friends are what is most important in your life, don't let yourself get consumed with your life and your stuff that you forget that. 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Time for an update

Here is the latest update on everything that is going on over here in the Vincent house.
 
For those of you who don't know as of yesterday morning I still had no idea who the insurance company was of the man who hit me. The cop who was at the scene and did the report did not get his insurance information :( More concerned with arresting me I guess.......
 
I still had no clue as to why my license was suspended and I still had not talked to a lawyer. Everything had been closed since all of this went down Friday because of the New Year holiday.
 
Anyways, the stress of all of this was really getting to me. I had to get up at 4:30ish with Michael instead of 5:30 because he was going to have to walk to work because we don't have a car. Thank God we only live 1.5 miles from his job, but I was still worried about him. It is pitch black out that early in the morning and it is also only in the lower 20's that early in the morning.
 
I did't know if/how we were ever going to find out this man's insurance, I needed to talk to a lawyer, I needed to go to the DMV, Michael has had to miss work and is going to miss more...... Plus, I am totally freaking out about how we are going to be able to pay for all of this, plus pay our rent, electric, etc..........just way too much stuff going on and my emotions are running high.
 
Also, not having a vehicle is very stressful in itself. I have to keep asking people to come drive me around. I know they offered to help me, but I still feel like an inconvenience to others when I need to ask for help. It is very hard not to be able to just get up and go do what I need to do. I need to make arrangements for someone to drive me around to different places all day. I need to find someone to come and sit with my kids because I can't take them all with me like I usually can. It really is a difficult situation for me to be in.
 
Yesterday, a lot of this stuff was sorted out. First of all,
I talked with a lawyer on the phone and explained everything about the accident and the arrest. He actually knows the guy who hit me so it was kind of a conflict of interest. He gave me the number of another lawyer out in Lynchburg who could help me since that is where we were going to be going to court anyways.
 
I called the lawyer that he recommended and I told him I may possibly need him to represent us for two different cases, one for the arrest and one for the accident if I can't get a hold of the man who hit us. I told him the whole story and we set up an appointment to meet him at 2pm on Monday after our court appearance. He said that Monday when we go to court nothing is really going to happen. It is just for them to tell us that we have the right to representation and that we can  hire a lawyer or get a court appointed lawyer of we were to qualify. He said for the both of us we are probably looking at around $3500 in lawyer fees. Lovely......... As for the man who hit us he said that if I couldn't get ahold of him today then to let him know and we would go from there.
 
One thing checked off of my to-do list for the day. It didn't really help me calm down at all, but at least it was checked off, right?!?
 
The next thing I had to deal with was the suspended license issue. I had a friend come over and hang out with my kids and another friend come and pick me up to take me over to the DMV. She dropped me off at the DMV and went to the store. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot and it looked like I would be there for awhile. I went into the DMV and a wonderful lady from my church actually works there :) She pulled all of my info at the information desk and told me why it was suspended.
 
I guess the DMV sent me a letter requesting proof of insurance that had to be returned by Nov 14, 2012. Well, we never changed our address with the DMV after we moved and we never got this letter. (Note to self....... ALWAYS change your address with the DMV.....check)
So our licences were suspended for that reason. Then she told me the wonderful news that it was going to cost us $1300 to get them un-suspended, $500 per car that we had and $150 reinstatement fee. Yay, more money we don't have. (Note the sarcasm)
 
She also said that before they can reinstate it I have to get a SR22 form from the insurance company to have on file. She said I could go home and call the insurance company we had before to see if I can get it through them, but as I said earlier finding people to drive me around all day is not what I want to do. I asked her if she knew of a place around I could go and get it from so I could physically bring it back to her that day. She said that there was an insurance agent right next door that I could go check with that she knew did tham. I walked over there and they close at 1pm on Wed..... it was 2pm, so there goes that plan.
 
I pulled out my phone and googled, car insurance Lexington Va. It pulled up every car insurance agency in our town. I called the first one on the list and it went to a voice recording so I hung up. I scrolled down through my different options and called one. (I honestly wasn't even sure that they were an insurance company because they were the only one that didn't have the word insurance in their name.) I talked to a guy and asked him if I could get a SR22 policy from them. He said yes, and told me to come down and meet with a lady named Alice when I came in......so off we went to see Alice.
 
I walked in the office and Alice was sitting at one of the desks in the front. She told me to come have a seat and took all of our information. I told her that I had been in an accident and found out that my license was suspended and I needed this SR22 filing whatever it was. She was very sweet and soft spoken. While I was sitting there and she was entering all of our info I felt in my spirit that I should ask her if she knew the man that hit me. (He told me at the accident that he used to sell insurance) I asked her do you know John Smith? (I changed his name to protect his privacy) She smiled and said, yes. I said, "That is the man who hit me Friday night." Her eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open a little. I figured that she was shocked to hear that he was in an accident. I went on to say that I didn't have his insurance info and she just started pointing to herself........ She said, "We are his insurance company."
 
OMG!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!! OMG!!!! I was ecstatic!!!
 
She told me that he had come in earlier that day and he had very little memory of the accident. I asked her if he filed a claim and she said she didn't think so because he couldn't remember who he had hit. (I told you this guy should NOT be on the road!!) Anyways, she said that she would get me his policy number and everything that I would need to call and file a claim!!! I was in so much shock!! I said something to the effect of I am so glad I google picked this company! She then said without hesitation, "God sent you here," You know what Alice?? You are 100% right!!
 
I can not even begin to describe how I felt sitting in that chair. I was shaking and I was just overcome with emotion. In the midst of all of this stress and freaking out all day of how are we going to be able to do this???? It was like God was trying to tell me, "Leslie, I am still in control. Trust me."
 
Psalm 91:2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
 
I know that there are some of you who read my blog who don't believe in God and will say this was just coincidence, but it wasn't. It was God. There is a peace and an overwhelming feeling that can't be described when God moves in your life. God sent me Alice, and I told her that she was my angel. She was so good to me. She called the police station to find out about the police report (this was something else that I was worrying about because I never received one). She gave me all of the info I needed on the man and told me exactly what to tell the claims adjuster so I can get a rental car so I could stop freaking about not having transportation. She also gave me the name and address of an auto body shop that can help with the insurance quote.
 
I thank God for bringing Alice into my life! Out of all of the insurance companies and all of the people I could have talked to He brought me to the only one that mattered!! Before I left Alice gave me a huge hug and told me if there was anything that I needed to please let her know. Again, I can't express the peace and emotions that came over me. Even as I write this, I want to cry. Not out of sadness, but out of awe for the God who is always holding me in the palm of His hand and taking care of me even when I feel like my world is falling apart all around me!
 
I honestly don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't know how in the world we are going to get through all of this financially, but what I DO know is that my God never fails! He will be right there beside me and I will make it through this.
 
 
Psalm 36:5 -7
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.