A Penny Saved...

Okay, so here is how I've been doing on my quest to save more money. I waited until today so I could report on January and February. I'll give you the total amount saved for the month, and then give some highlights of my best deals. I'm pretty stinkin' pleased with myself, but I know I have a LOT yet to learn, particularly the whole coupon stacking thing. You old pros out there may not be so impressed.

January Savings: $731.50
The best score was probably our new entertainment center. We went to World Market, because we like their stuff and they were having a 50% off sale on furniture. We found one we really liked, but the only one they had left was the floor model. They offered that one to us at an additional discount. So, the entertainment center that was $249 ended up costing us $90, a savings of $159! My other big money saving deals came from winter clearance sales at several different stores. For $200, I bought a winter wardrobe for both of my kids for next year! That wasn't shopping at Walmart, either. These deals came from Target, Gap, Old Navy, and The Children's Place. Heck, I even found a couple of things at Justice! My favorite find was a girl's fleece top marked down to 91 cents at Target. It had been part of a pajama set, and the pants were missing. I didn't even know it was pjs until I looked at the tag. It can definitely be worn as a cute Christmas shirt! The original retail cost of all of these clothes was over $514! I hadn't quite figured out how to get a lot of free stuff yet, but I did get some shampoo and conditioner free; 3 bottles, and I only paid the 20 cents tax! I'll explain this more in February.

February Savings: $816.27
This is the month that I started to figure out the drugstore game. At CVS and Rite Aid, they have deals every week that earn you cash back; sort of. I like to call it "Monopoly money". You get these vouchers printed off at the bottom of your receipt that you can use like cash towards your next purchase in the store. They can't be used on gift cards (learned that the hard way!), prescriptions, beer, tobacco, lottery tickets or stamps. Once you get a few of these vouchers, you can use them on deals in the store that will earn you MORE vouchers. So, you're getting free stuff with play money! I've become quite addicted to this game. The best tool I've found to help me find these deals and to help me with my coupons is a website called Southern Savers (southernsavers.com). Every week, they post the sales flier for the most common stores in the south, and then within that add, they tell you where to find the coupons you can use on the sale items. It saves me a ton of work! You can even print out a shopping list of the deals you want to purchase to take to the store with you. They give workshops all over the south, and I'd love to go to one the next time there's one in Nashville. Another website I like is Faithful Provisions (faithfulprovisions.com). Since it's based here in Nashville, their sales fliers are a little more accurate for the stores in my area.

I've gotten a number of items free this month. I usually get things that will work out to be free in the end even if it's things that my family won't use for two reasons. One reason is that these items usually earn you more vouchers to use next time, and the other is that I know a few organizations that I can donate them to. For instance, February was the month for free Colgate toothpaste. Tim and I use Crest, while the kids use the kid varieties of Colgate (those weren't on sale). So, I donated it to our Room In The Inn program. Some other items I got free this month from drugstores, grocery stores and other retail stores: candy bars, dish liquid, newspapers, tissues, feminine products, cake mix, deodorant, frozen veggies, 2-liter sodas, ibuprofen, 2 movies, a ladies top, Yankee Candle, and more!

So, friends, let me know your tricks of the trade! Maybe I can post monthly on things I'm learning and my successes and failures. I have other ramblings on life that I'd like to get back to posting as well, so expect a different subject in my next post. Later!

The Year Of Living Frugally

Before I get to the topic of my post, let me say, "Happy New Year"! I've obviously been slow to get back into the swing of things. Today marks the end of our first five-day school week since mid-December. To say I am sick of snow (heck; winter in general) is a ridiculous under-statement. So now, back to my original train of thought.

When it comes to shopping and saving money, I am a bit of an enigma. I hate to shop, but I love to save money. I am a bargain hunter, but I have my limits. Walmart can be a great place to find deals, but there are times I'd rather have my fingernails removed than suffer through the experience of shopping there just to save a few bucks. Case in point: One Saturday night, my husband and I had just finished a movie at 11:30, when it occured to me that we didn't have enough milk for breakfast. We have a Super Walmart that recently opened across the street, so I figured I'd just zip in there and pick up a gallon. Yeah. I stood in a line of about 10 people (all with buggies heaping with groceries, not a single one offering to let me go ahead with my ONE item) until after midnight. I vowed to never go there again that late at night. A couple of months later when I was in the same predicament, I went to the corner store and paid five dollars for a gallon of milk just to avoid the frustration that is Walmart.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I have to work too hard to save money, it just doesn't seem worth the effort to me. I have tried couponing over the years, but it's never really clicked for me until recently. I do most of my shopping at Aldi. It's a chain of small grocery stores that sell generic brands really cheap. I couldn't see how using coupons on name brand items would save me more money than shopping at Aldi. It certainly seemed less time consuming to just shop there than taking the time to cut and sort coupons. One day, I ran across a website called Southern Savers. I learned that I've been going about this coupon thing all wrong. It wasn't enough to just cut coupons and take them to the store with me. I had to combine the coupons with the weekly sales! Most of you experienced couponers out there are probably smacking your foreheads and shouting a big ol' "DUH!!", but this was quite the revelation for me. It's becoming a fun game for me to see just how much money I can cut off of my grocery bill.

In January, I decided to start keeping a Savings Journal. I know I've missed a receipt or two, but I've done a pretty good job tracking my savings so far. In my next post, I'll let you take a peak. I'll tell you what has worked for me so far, and maybe you more experienced shoppers out there can give me a few pointers. I definitely have much to learn (I'd love to go to one of those Couponing 101 type classes that I've heard about). Maybe this can become a semi-regular topic for the blog.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I've had this blog for nearly a year now. When I started, I was full of motivation and ready to make some changes. I've had some personal setbacks throughout the year, as did most of Nashville. Let me tell you, the Noah's Ark jokes got old reeeeeeally quickly. With each speed bump, I managed to recover and try to keep a positive attitude. However, the last few months have been quite a challenge for me. The hits just seem to keep on coming, and I'm ending the year shell-shocked and limping across the 2010 finish line.

In late August/early September, my sister had a health crisis. She's been battling illness for many years since a Lupus diagnosis at the age of 15. I could go into all of the other diagnoses that have stemmed from that, but I'd need several blog posts to accomplish this. Anyway, she developed some internal bleeding that kept her in one hospital or another for a couple of weeks. It was obviously stressful for the whole family. The bleeding stopped somehow, and we never got answers as to why or how it all began. We thought she was on the road to recovery, but just a couple of days ago, she began experiencing numbness and memory loss, which made us suspect some sort of stroke. She is hospitalized once again; I pray she doesn't have to spend her Christmas there.

A couple of weeks after my sister's initial crisis, we experienced the nightmare of Pierce's disappearance (If you haven't read it already, details are in the post "Every Parents Worst Nightmare"). This set us on a journey we weren't ready to take. Realizing he was oblivious to the dangers around him and faced with very low test scores, we came to the realization that Pierce would not be attending college one day; instead, we needed to place him in Life Skills classes that would prepare him to, hopefully, live on his own one day. Just when we thought he understood how dangerous his wandering had been, we had another scary incident in October. He was upset about something at church, and ran out of his Sunday School classroom. After searching for some time, a member of our church pulled up in the parking lot with Pierce in her car. She had seen him in the Chic-Fil-A parking lot down the road from the church, and she coaxed him into her car with candy and toys. Within a couple of days, I got Pierce in to see a Pediatric Neurologist. She started him on anti-anxiety medication. We're still working on getting him on the right dosage. I can't even begin to convey how emotional this has been for our whole family.

Tim's job has been both a blessing and a curse. We're so very thankful that he has found work in our still struggling economy. Construction is an industry that has yet to fully recover here in Nashville. That being said, we've had almost too much work lately. In the meantime, the remodeling we've done on this very old house has begun to fail, and we've been faced with some home repairs of our own. When Tim comes home exhausted from working all day with some very needy clients on the problems with their homes, what do you think is the LAST thing he wants to think about? I'm sure you can imagine what a strain this has been on our home life.

Last week, I went on a field trip with Reagan's chorus. I was gone for all of two hours. When I came home and walked into our living room, I noticed our TV was gone. I walked back into the kitchen and could see into our bonus room. The glass in our back door had been smashed. We'd been robbed. They took computers, wii, xbox, nearly all of the games for both, cable motem and routers, an old video camera, and two pieces of jewelry: a broach belonging to my great-grandmother and Tim's wedding ring. This wasn't our first break-in. Almost five years ago, Reagan and I came home to find a man and his girlfriend ransacking our house. They were never caught. We've made an insurance claim, but there's a $1000 deductible. I wasn't through with our Christmas shopping, and now I have to spend money on replacing stuff these crooks stole. They didn't just take our stuff, though. They dealt me a final, crippling blow to my emotional state so that I'm ready to climb into a hole and hibernate for the remainder of winter. To add insult to injury, we celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this past Sunday with a fender-bender due to snowy/icy roads. UNCLE!!!

I'm really sorry that the final blog post of the year is so very negative. Quite the contrast to my last post, huh? I figure I'm among friends, though, and if you can't be honest with those you love, then just what kind of friends are they? If I had a message, I guess it would be this: Be kind to everyone you encounter this Christmas season. You have no idea what kind of burdens they are carrying. In the immortal words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, everyone!" I'm praying for a kinder, gentler 2011. How about you?

My Cup Runneth Over

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought it only fitting that I list just a few of the things I'm thankful for. Nearly two years ago (can't believe it's been that long!), Tim lost his job, and I wrote a series of notes on Facebook listing some of my blessings. It was such a comforting exercise; I encourage everyone to do it sometime when you're feeling pessimistic or that life just isn't treating you fairly. Maybe I should make this a regular feature...

1. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and one day, he will take me away from all of the pain in this world and home to his Father.

2. I have a wonderful husband who loves God, me and his children. He loves me more than I deserve, even when I am completely unlovable.

3. I have two great kids. Yes, Pierce's autism is a challenge for us daily, but this kid loves like no other kid I know. Reagan is the happiest, nicest, most compliant child you can imagine. I am so blessed to be their mom.

4. Every day, the four of us are able to get out of bed healthy and happy.

5. We have very little debt. Our mortgage is paid off! My car is too, but now we're looking at a new car, so that's about to change. Oh well, on with the positive stuff!

6. I have parents that love me and punished me when I needed it. They taught me about the love of Jesus. They pray for me, Tim and the kids every day. And, even though they are far away, they are some pretty great grandparents to my two kids!

7. I have a sister that has defied the odds, and continues to fight a critical illness every single day. She enjoys encouraging others, even when she feels she doesn't have anything to give. I love her bunches!

8. I have a fabulous mother-in-law. She lavishes me with praise to the point that I have a hard time believing I'm as great as she thinks I am. She's the reason Tim is as awesome as he is!

9. I have a sister-in-law that is a great inspiration to me. She has overcome adversity and continues to grow into a wonderful person. She's a fantastic mom to my niece, Elise!

10. I have my "hens"; my Steel Magnolias bestest of best friends who would do anything for me and I for them.

11. We are part of a great church. Even more important, we are part of a small group/life group that I love.

12. I have finally found an outlet for my love of singing; a place where I feel somewhat talented and have something to contribute. I love the Metro Nashville Chorus (and my quartet, Simplicity)!

13. I have a roof over my head. Though I have my complaints about the constant projects and repairs that come along with a fixer-upper, my family has a place to call "home". There's air in the summer, heat in the winter, electricity and indoor plumbing. There are so many people that would love to have it as good as my family does.

14. I have never known hunger.

15. All four of us have closets full of clothes.

16. I live in America. We are free to worship whatever god we choose.

17. We have men and women that fight for that and many other freedoms every single day. I don't think we can thank them enough.

18. Pierce has been in school since he was three-years-old, and every year, we've had awesome teachers and educational aides. They genuinely care about my son, and do all that they can to help him. Reagan's had great teachers, too!

19. I'm actually pretty good at growing things.

20. I would not have chosen to be a mom of a special needs child. However, I now have knowledge and insight that I can use to help other families that are walking the same path.

I know I can go on and on, but I want to get this posted, so I'm going to stop here for now. Positivity is not a quality I exude; it takes some work for me. I need to work harder to be thankful all year round and not just because a date on the calendar inspires the country to do so. I hope you will join me. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

The Bucket List

I haven't really had anything thought-provoking to say lately, so I thought I'd write something a little more fun. I have not seen the movie, but it seems "The Bucket List" has inspired a lot of people to make up their own list of things they want to accomplish before they die. I am no exception. The items on my list are in no particular order. I'm just writing them down as I think of them. Some are serious, some silly and frivolous. Maybe one or two of them are pipe dreams. Lots of places I want to see. Here goes!

1. Hear my children accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and watch their father baptize them

2. Watch my daughter get married

3. Hold a grandbaby

4. Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary

5. Set Pierce up in his own place and help him cash a paycheck

6. See my sister completely healed

7. Have every project in this house DONE

8. Have every square inch of our 4-acres look beautiful and worthy of a garden tour (or wedding)

9. Relearn the piano (I took for 8 years, and can't remember a thing! Tragic, really.)

10. Become a professional photographer

11. Become a Master Gardener

12. Use my love of gardening and photography to start my own business

13. Have all of my pictures in albums, complete with stories and historical family events documented

14. See the Grand Canyon

15. Help decorate a Rose Bowl Parade float

16. Go to Italy

17. See Europe's oldest, most beautiful gardens (like Monet's)

18. Go to Hawaii

19. Have a screened-in porch

20. Have a greenhouse

21. Read all of the literary classics

22. Watch every movie on the American Film Institute Top 100 list

23. Go to Paris in the spring

24. Go to the tulip festival in Amsterdam

25. Go to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC

26. Take a Mediterranean cruise

27. Learn how to ballroom dance

28. Hybridize a plant (probably a sunflower, iris or daylily)

29. Have a house-cleaning robot like Rosie from The Jetsons

30. Know that cancer, diabetes, autism, alzheimer's, lupus and heart disease have been cured

31. Help families with special needs children either by being an Educational Aide in the school system or by being a parent advocate that attends IEP meetings

32. Research my ancestry; find out if there are any long-lost relatives out there

33. Write a barbershop arrangement of a popular song

34. Go to a DCI (Drum Corp International) World Championship Finals competition

35. Take The Sound Of Music tour in Salzburg. I want to spin on the mountain and belt out, "The hills are alive..."

36. See the National Holocaust Museum

37. See the 9/11 memorial in NYC

38. See The Nutcracker in NYC

39. Grow gladiolas as beautiful as my grandmother's

40. Find the fat kid that I teased at the Fast Fare on Reidville Road when I was 12 and beg him to forgive me

41. Attend an opera at the Sydney Opera House

42. Have a painting done of one of my gardens, or learn to do it myself

43. Have my very own waterfall or other similar water feature

44. Make it through my entire life without a cavity. I'd really love to avoid any kind of dental work.

45. Be able to use floo powder or be "beamed up". I hate to fly, and I'm not fond of long car trips, either. That's going to be an obstacle with all of the places I want to see on my list. Hmmm.

46. Go to a showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at the Belcourt Theater

47. Tour Pixar studios

48. Visit all 50 states

49. See the bright lights of Las Vegas

50. Tour a real castle

When I do "kick the bucket", I don't want my pale, worn-out, VERY DEAD body to be displayed for people to walk past and politely admire saying, "She sure does look good, doesn't she?". I want to be cremated, and I want my memorial service to be joyful. I want pictures of me with my family and friends, doing the things I loved. I've been told I have a memorable laugh, so if you can find video or audio of me laughing, that would be lovely. If MNC is still singing "Goodbye, World, Goodbye", I want them there to sing it. Otherwise, use the track on our upcoming CD (shameless plug).

POST SCRIPT: I didn't want to publish this post until I got 50 items on my list, but I've somehow managed to surpass my goal. I'm up to 62 now, so I'm going to see if I can get up to 100! I'll bring you the rest of my list in a future post.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically their own. If you know me pretty well, you know that I have issues with personal space. Let's just say my "bubble" is bigger than the average person's. Friends have quite a bit of fun teasing me about this quirk of mine. While some think it's funny and just a part of who I am, others are filled with questions. How did I get this way? Was I never hugged as a child? How can I be married (and have produced 2 children) when my need for personal space is so great? Do I have a problem being intimate with my husband? Do I hug my children? Truthfully, I can't answer the "why". For the most part, my parents and sister enjoy hugging. I just remember myself feeling a little prickly and not really wanting to hug a lot. My mom says it started in my teens. I think I began to feel it more when I started having kids. I began to feel like my body wasn't my own any more, and I started to become more protective of it.

An anthropologist by the name of Edward T. Hall coined the term Proxemics in 1966. This is the study of set measurable distances between people as they interact. There are 4 different distances in which to interact: intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. I will try to explain these and the way they directly relate to me. Intimate distance is for embracing, touching or whispering. Hall says this circle can be between less than 6in.-18 inches around a person. There are 3 people that I allow into this space on a regular basis: Tim, Pierce and Reagan. I hug and kiss my kids daily. And Tim and I, well, you know... Even with my family though, I have limits. I can't stand when the kids hover around me while I'm sitting on the couch. I can't sleep at night if Tim is touching me. We have a queen-sized bed; I don't think we could fit a king-sized bed into the room or we'd have one. I so love those vacation nights in giant hotel beds; so roomy! When Tim is away from home, I sleep GREAT. One thing I can't quite figure out is my love of massage. A masseuse definitely violates my personal space, but I enjoy that deep pressure that works out all of my neck and shoulder kinks. It does creep me out to feel their hair brush up against me or their breath on my neck. I also enjoy pedicures. Since the nail tech is working on my feet and is nowhere close to my face I'm okay. I don't care for facials or makeovers much. Those people get all up in my grill and make me very uncomfortable.

Personal distance is between 1.5-4 feet around a person. This space is for good friends or family members. I am definitely at the far end of the spectrum. I don't hug my best friends or family members unless I haven't seen them in months. That's just an understanding among us. When my "hens" gather together, I can't stand cramming 3 or 4 of us on a couch. I usually take the big recliner so there are no violations. Same goes for the rest of my family. I feel claustrophobic squished between two people; no matter if you're my mom or some casual acquaintance.

Social Distance is between 4-12 feet. This space is for interaction with acquaintances. Again, my "invisibubble" is a large one. It was pretty well known at the church we attended for several years that I'm not a hugger. So, I didn't have to worry about that much every Sunday. Even in the Sunday School class full of people that I loved, I usually spaced the chairs out a little further so I wouldn't be touching the person next to me. Most times, I put my purse and bible on the empty seat beside me as a buffer. Now, we're at a new church home. Fortunately, I haven't encountered many people that consider hugging an appropriate greeting. The 3-year-olds that I work with lack personal space boundaries, but I think I've handled the stress pretty well so far. The group that has challenged me the most, though, is chorus. These girls LOVE to hug. On the night I was initiated, I was hugged by about 30 women. Lord have mercy! The word has slowly trickled out about my anti-hugging policy, so accommodations have been made. Some give me the fist-bump, some give me the hand-hug that I learned recently. Sometimes, though, I just have to grin and bear it!

Public Distance is between 12-25 feet or more. This space is for interactions with strangers in public places. I can not STAND line-crowders. I should not have to feel your buggy in my back while I'm waiting in line at the register. I tend to avoid crowded places in general. I know I'll save more money at the packed Walmart, but I'd prefer to go to the less-populated Target. I hate full elevators. Thank God I don't live in a huge city where I'd regularly have to use public transportation like a subway. I could see how one would become agoraphobic in New York City. I read recently about Cuddle Parties. Complete strangers getting together to hug and touch each other (non-sexually). Just reading about it gave me the heebie-jeebies! It sounds like my version of Hell, if you ask me.

I know I'm weird. There are others like me. In fact, in my circle of friends and acquaintances, I can think of 3. At the same time, I know there are lots of people out there that crave physical touch. If you REALLY need a hug from me, I will suck it up and oblige. But, will you extend the same courtesy and refrain from touching me unless absolutely necessary? Thanks.

Every Parent's Worst Nightmare

Taken 2 days after the incident. 

You can see the band-aid on his knee due to being tackled to the ground.

By now, most of you that read this blog have heard about the horrifying events of this past weekend. Since it is still dominating my thoughts, of course it is the subject of this week's post. I'm going to retell the story and add in a few of the details I left out when I wrote a note about the incident on Facebook. This is a pretty lengthy post.

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 18th, my son, Pierce, wanted to ride his bike. As you all know, our son is autistic. He normally rides in the driveway or makes laps around the house and yard. We thought he understood that he was not to leave the house. At 4:45pm, my husband, Tim, and I were in the living room while Pierce rode outside. Twenty minutes later, it was time for me to pick up my daughter, Reagan, at a play date. I went outside and didn't see Pierce or his bike. I only felt a very slight panic, because I assumed he was in the yard somewhere playing (we have about 4 acres of property). I ran over to a couple of spots in the yard (swing set, trampoline), but didn't see him. The panic increased slightly. I ran back into the house and told Tim that Pierce wasn't in the driveway or playing in the yard. He figured Pierce was in the yard somewhere, so he told me to go pick Reagan up and he would look for Pierce. On the way, I had my cell phone in my hand. I knew Tim would call me the minute he found Pierce, so I could stop panicking. The phone wasn't ringing. I called his cell; no answer. I got to Kaylee's (Reagan's friend) house. I chatted with her mom, April, while Reagan got her stuff together. I was there about five minutes, when my cell phone finally rang. Relieved, I answered, just sure that Tim had found Pierce and all was well. "Did you find him?", I asked. "NO", was Tim's answer. Tim had gotten in his car and driven around some areas close by, and was coming up empty. Now, I was pretty panicked. I hung up and told Reagan to get in the car: We had to go NOW. I told April that Pierce was missing. She wanted me to keep her posted. We flew home. Reagan was very worried and scared. I told her that we needed to go home to make sure Daddy and Pierce weren't there and to lock up the dog that I was certain Tim had not had time to deal with. Then we would go look for Pierce. I got the dog put in her crate and was running back to the car when Tim drove up without Pierce. It was about 5:35pm. It was time to call 911. Tim left again while I talked to the operator. She asked his age, at which time I told her that Pierce was 12 and autistic. She asked what color shirt he was wearing: orange. She asked what color pants and I started to cry: "I don't know!". When I started crying, Reagan did, too. I knew I had to try to keep it together so that I didn't freak her out even more. I was told the police were on the way. I began calling family and friends and begging them for prayers. My family was frantic. They began posting urgent prayer requests on Facebook. One of my hens said she and her husband were on the way over to help. Tim got back home before the cops arrived...and he still hadn't found Pierce. That's when I really lost it. It took the police about 10 minutes to get here. By that time, it had been one hour since we saw Pierce last. When an officer finally arrived, I gave information while Tim left again. He asked me for a description of Pierce. Reagan had the presence of mind to remember the school ID with Pierce's picture on it hanging by the front door. She gave it to the officer. Another officer arrived. He began searching the property; Reagan looked, too. I could hear information about Pierce being passed along over the police radio. I called April (the mom of Reagan's friend) and told her that Pierce was still missing. She offered to help look, and I asked if I could send Reagan back with her. April arrived, and she asked for a picture of Pierce. I couldn't believe I hadn't been passing those out! I found the stack of pictures from summer camp. I don't know April very well, but I started sobbing and she hugged me and assured me that Pierce would be found. She took Reagan and Kaylee to her mother's house so that she and Kaylee's dad could go out and search. Tim came home again. We needed to call someone from our church, but there was a retreat for our church families going on out at Henry Horton State Park. We didn't know who was there and who was home. A couple from our life group was at the retreat, but we didn't know if they'd have a cell phone signal at the park. Tim looked up some numbers, and I had just entered the number of the couple from life group into my cell phone and pushed send, when the police sergeant called me over, so I hung up. "This is what you've got to do", he says. "We've found your son. He's on the interstate." I began to freak out, but he said, "There's no time to freak out! The police are trying to get traffic stopped, but he's scared and frantic, and we need you out there NOW to calm him down. Get in you car NOW and follow the officer out there!". I went inside and yelled for Tim. We jumped in the car and took off. It was 6:30pm. I don't know why they couldn't just take us out there in a police car. My theory is that they needed Pierce to see my car as a way to help calm him. We very quickly realized that this officer was clueless as to which direction on the interstate he needed to go. We had to make a U-turn. I gagged quite a few times, I really thought I was going to throw up or hyperventilate. My friends called to tell us they had arrived at the house, and we told them what was going on. As we went further down the interstate, Tim and I couldn't believe this was right. Pierce couldn't possibly have gotten this far away from home. We topped a hill and saw a police barricade and a TDOT truck redirecting traffic. There were 2 lanes closed. I could see Pierce's bike propped up against the concrete barrier. Tim told me I needed to calm down before running over there, but the car had barely stopped moving before I jumped out. Pierce was in the back of a squad car, crying. I squatted down beside him and tried to comfort him. I could see a few scrapes, and there were indentations around his wrists where the officers had restrained him. An officer explained to Tim what happened. He was driving northbound on interstate 65 when he spotted Pierce driving his bike in the inside emergency lane (beside the concrete barrier) heading southbound. He stopped to talk to Pierce, but Pierce panicked. He then drove his bike across ALL 3 LANES OF 70 MILE AN HOUR TRAFFIC to the emergency lane on the other side. The cop followed him and tackled him, bike and all. When I heard this, my knees turned to jello, and I had to sit down. After a few minutes, the police decided he was calm enough to walk over to our car. They had a few more questions for us, then we were free to go. Our friends were waiting for us back at the house. Two of my hens had dropped everything to be there for me. They walked over and we had a big group hug. One of my hens had brought her husband to help look, and her 9-year-old daughter, Olivia, to keep Reagan company. Olivia said she really wanted to be there, though, to pray with us.

We are so very thankful to everyone that lifted us up in prayer during that time, and continue to pray for us today. We praise God for a happy ending, when it so very easily could have ended in tragedy. I sobbed through all of the praise music at church the next morning, especially the song "Mighty To Save". We were so freaked out at the idea of Pierce on the interstate, but Tim had a different perspective the next day. At least on the interstate, he was visible. If he had been riding in some random neighborhood, who knows how long it would have taken to find him? He was found one hour before dark. I still have a lot of questions. All I know is how this started and how it ended. I don't know how Pierce got from point A to point B, and he can't tell us. We hope to get the police report soon, but I don't know if any questions will be answered. Pierce is okay today. We've asked him a couple of times where he was trying to go, and he says he doesn't know. Reagan was pretty shaken up, so I asked if she wanted to talk to the school counselor. She did that on Monday. Tim and I are okay most of the time. I think we're still processing. This is a game changer. We have new issues to think about now. I thought the days of Pierce wandering off were behind us. These cases are all too common, but we never thought it would happen to us. I hope and pray none of you ever have to experience the fear that we did.

*UPDATE (9/17/11)--It is one year later. We still have never seen the police report, but I have gotten a little more information about what happened that day. There is an officer assigned to Pierce's school, "Officer Fowler". He's taken quite a liking to Pierce. He told me a few months after this happened that he had been listening to the police radio that day. He heard the description of the missing child, and thought it was awful, then he heard Pierce's name and couldn't believe it! I told him that I'd been wondering if people on the interstate that day had seen him, thought it was strange and called 911. Officer Fowler said that's exactly how the police were able to find him; there were drivers calling 911. Praise God! I wish I knew who these people were so I could thank them in person!!

I'm a bit shaky reading over this again, even though I've told this story numerous times over the last year. The listeners are always shocked, and they usually comment that they can't believe how calm I am telling it. I've had some time to process it, I guess. I never, ever want to feel that panic again.