The small gray bus is no more.......

Wednesday, on the way home from Garden City, 12 miles from home after a 7 hour drive, travelling on a road that I've been on many a times, I ran a stop sign on a major highway and collided with a pickup. I'm still not sure why I didn't see the sign, it has been there for the 13 years I've been here, it is a sneeky one at the top of a hill, but yet still, I knew it was coming up and just have nooooooo idea how I missed it. Everyone keeps saying, "You were probably getting tired", but honestly, I wasn't. I remember thinking that the stop sign should be coming up soon, then I was at the highway, I remember thinking well maybe I'll make it through without meeting anyone, then BAM!!
But let me first say, we are BLESSED!!!! I talked to the kiddos again today, telling them that I'm so sorry and asked for their forgiveness. I shared with them that with God, there is no 'luck', but pure blessings and grace. Everybody keeps saying how lucky we were and I say we are truly blessed!!A tenth of a second sooner or later would have been severely a different outcome. We pretty much met front corner to front corner. The tenth of a second would have made us hit either on their driver's side or my passenger side. OOOOOOh! I don't even want to think about it. I have to keep telling myself to be grateful, not to worry about what coulda been.
Here are the photos of the van. It is amazing that noone was hurt worse than they were. The couple in the pickup were treated with moderate injuries and released. Man, did that take a load off of my guilt. They were not wearing seatbelts, which just proves once again that we were blessed.
Adi sprained her right ankle, has a sore waist from the lap belt, a sore neck from the seatbelt....and a seltblet burn on her neck, and a bruised knee. AMAZING GRACE!!! She has a softball tournament in Branson this weekend, she rode along with another team member but will be unable to play. There was no way I could make it, I'm so sad to miss it.

Audra was taken by ambulance out of concern for her back and stomach. She took the full force on her lapbelt and has a seatbelt burn across her belly. They did sonograms, xrays, and a catscan to make sure there was no damage to the upper part of her stomach. She's just sore. AMAZING GRACE!!! She played a little bit in a ballgame thursday night and is supposed to play in a tourney tomorrow, but hopefully it will get rained out. (i've never imagined myself saying that i hope it'd rain)

Austin was sleeping so didn't have the time to tense up, and all that he got was a gooseegg on his right forehead. AMAZING GRACE!!! He practiced tball thursday night and it's just another day to him.

I'm sore, really sore, really really really sore, but just sprains and bruises. I sprained my right ankle, knocked my right inside knee on something, I'm sore from my right hip up and across my chest to my left shoulder/neck, and I sprained my left wrist. My ribs and sternum are what I'm fighting the most. Without your core, you're pretty much immobilized.
Just wanted to let you all know that we are getting by, day by day. Not much more than getting out of bed, getting to the chair, doing some picking up, laying down for naps, getting back up to the chair, going to bed. SOOOOOOOOO much stacking up to do, I'll just get the list started.

Thank you for your prayers and calls and notes and meals and offers of vehicles, and....and...and...............Love! You'll never know how much it means to us! We are humbled to have such beautiful family and true friends in our lives.

Ok, it's getting sappy and weepy around here, I better quit before I ruin the keyboard.

LOTS OF LOVE,
The Etcheson's