Mute and broken

So last week I was in serious need of some tabs as the end of the month was creeping up. The DOT sent me a rude note stating that I was in need of an emissions test before they would let me give them money to fix the highway. So off to the boonies the kids and I went for the emissions test, which I was quite sure that we would pass, as it just appeared to be an irritating tangent that I needed to accomplish in order to legally hit the road. WRONG. They wouldn't pass me because the light bulb for my 'check engine' thingy was burnt out. Wha!?! So I trudged on home and started calling mechanics to price changing a $1.50 bulb. They wanted $250!! Apparently they charge by the hour and it takes a couple hours to dismantle the dash board in order to replace the silly bulb. I called Husband and he was up for the challenge.

(isn't he hot?) I then took the van in for emissions once again and with a sigh of relief they passed me this time. Ten seconds later we went and got tabs for 2007. Van dilemma overcome. This was Friday, the 31st of August... just in time!

Later that day before Miss Brasil and I were out on our momma/joint birthday night (consisting of school supply shopping at Walmart without children, some appetizers and drinks at Red Robin, and spending $9.75 per ticket on seeing Becoming Jane), I noticed that the check engine light was on in Husband's car. After Husband checked oil, water, and other essentials we drove the car anyway because he assured me that it would be fine. I panicked the whole time and even worried about the dang car while watching the $9.75 movie (isn't that a bit much for a movie?). But it drove fine and I made it home safely, parking the car on the street near our driveway since the van was blocking all entry and I was too lazy to engage in a game of musical cars.

At 6am the next morning, I woke up suddenly and knew that it was God. I rudely asked what on earth he wanted, as I had been peacefully sleeping just a moment before. He distinctly told me to "listen." I took this as 2 possible things.
1. Stop the constant whir of thoughts in my brain and listen to God for a minute.
2. Stop talking all together for a little while and hear what's around you.

So I prayed and attempted to hear God until I dozed back off to sleep. At 8am the doorbell rang. This is never good. Anyone who knows us just goes to the back door. Husband answered it and neighbor gave him some bad news: around 6:15 that same morning, neighbor heard a large crash and saw three teenage kids running away shortly thereafter. Neighbor went to see what the crash was and it turns out that it was some large rocks that had made contact with Husbands' windshield.

(notice the OTHER broken car in the background ~ we fit in here in our neighborhood)

Now Husbands' car has broken windshield, check engine light is on, and it's Memorial Day weekend (which means that every possible mechanic and window guy are all laying on the beach somewhere, far away from where I need them to be). Oh, and did I mention that I had decided not to talk until noon? It was an all around bizarre morning. However, as soon as the neighbor came and announced the news, I already new that God had wanted me to listen to the sounds of braking glass outside rather than the wrong assumptions that I had made. But I went ahead with not talking until eleven because the kids and I got a real kick out of the whole thing. I made signs in the air, finger spelled on their hands, and wrote notes to them about how they needed to put their clothes away. It was pretty funny... And it was SO much easier to be nice as I wasn't able to snap at anyone when they didn't do as I had asked. Rather, I would tap them on the shoulder and we would both giggle at the absurdity of me not talking by choice.
Anyhoo! Without having money to spend, we spent it and husband fixed all of the cars' fixable issues. It's somewhat irritating how God provides just enough - not too little and not too much. I guess He knows that it's the only way that I'll depend more fully on Him. Kinda like those people who wandered around in the dessert, I could learn a bit from what Moses had to say:

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today." -Deuteronomy 8:10-18

Hmf.