Tuesday's adventures

So I didn't expect to have anything worth writing about for a little while, but we had a very eventful Tuesday- and I am trying to make this short! First we went to Ladies Bible Class which was great and I got to visit with several friends who I haven't been able to chat with in some time. I have been meaning to go to the Strausburg outlet in San Marcos for sometime now to get Ashlyn an outfit for a her 2 year portrait, and since we got out of class a little early I thought we'd make a quick trip and have lunch when we got there and Ashlyn could get some rest in her car seat. A great package deal... Well in New Braunfels, we got a FLAT TIRE! There was a huge nail that had made a huge gash in the tire wall. I managed to pull off I-35 into the Olive Garden parking lot and was praying- just thanking God that we didn't have a blow out and/or a major accident due to the tire! It looked rough when I finally got a chance to look at it. Not really knowing what I was going to do, but of course ever aware that I am hungry- I took a sleeping Ashlyn out of her seat and into the Olive Garden for a late lunch. Paul was unavailable to come rescue me- the one day this happens is the same day that Paul's boss is in town and he is having to drive him and another coworker all over town. I was really hoping that Paul might be in New Braunfels or San Marcos, which he sometimes is, and that he could come and take over and get me back on the road. Initially I couldn't think clearly and so I reverted back to my teenage years... called my dad who is sometimes in the area, called my mom who was at work in Austin, my mother-in-law (who sweetly offered to come get us with all her other grandchildren in tow) before I realized that I could handle this myself. Being obviously pregnant and therefore unable to put on the spare tire, I had to call and pay someone to come put on my spare for me so that I could get to a tire place. Over the phone, a kind man at Firestone gave me the number for just such a person, who charged less than what I expected. The timing was perfect- we finished up our lunch (Ashlyn actually ate a lot which is uncharacteristic for her) and walked back over to the car as this man, Tony, pulled up. He was so kind and Ashlyn really took well to him, so it put my mind at ease a little. After he put on the spare, he had me follow him to Discount Tires where they put on a new tire and got me back in my car in an astounding 20 minutes! I really thought this would wreck my whole day, but it only took up about an hour and a half of my time- including a wonderful leisurely lunch! Oh, I forgot that there was this nice older gentleman at Discount Tires who had his little dog with him. Ashlyn asked if she could pet him and his face just lit up! It was sweet- he said the dog's name was Maggie and that she was 15 years old... Ashlyn just talked to him like she had known him forever! When they called him to his car, we watched him slowly make his way out to his lovely red Corvette! That made me smile. When we were back in our car, we were praying, thanking God for how smoothly everything had gone and Ashlyn kept chiming in "thank youn (that's how she says it) for Tony!" "thank youn for Maggie!" it made me a little misty-eyed. Since we were only miles away from the outlets, we went on ahead and finished what our initial errand had been. All in all it was an enjoyable day with my daughter and by far the most pleasant flat tire experience ever!