My favorite Christmas gift!

So my favorite Christmas gift this year was a safe family after a near tragic accident on our way home from an Illinois visit with family. We were only going about 35 mph because of bad snow when we entered a white out and suddenly we saw a load of tailights in front of us.  There was no choice for us but to go into the ditch. We missed several other cars in the ditch and almost flipped the van. Fortunately the van went up on two wheels and then hit and embankment and went back right side up. The entire time we were sliding Patsy and I were both asking Jesus for protection (out loud). This made an impression on Blake and Tanner!

The driver's side took the brunt of the damage. This photo was taken before we were towed out.

Here is the newspaper report of the day (the policeman who helped us told us there were 40 cars in the slide-off)

20 vehicle crash cleared at I-94 near Van Buren/Berrien county line
By Kathy Jessup | Kalamazoo Gazette -
January 01, 2010, 6:20PM
UPDATE — The vehicles involved in a chain-reaction accident that may have involved up to 20 vehicles has been cleared from eastbound Interstate-94 near the Van Buren/Berrien county line before 6 p.m. Friday, police officials reported.


VAN BUREN COUNTY — As many as 20 vehicles may be involved in a chain-reaction, slide-and-crash snarl on eastbound Interstate-94 near the Van Buren/Berrien county line Friay afternoon.

Early reports from officials at the Michigan State Police post in Paw Paw said they know of no fatalities or serious injuries. Traffic, however, is slow as police and tow trucks untangle vehicles.

State police patrolling southwest Michigan roads are reporting varying visibility across the area as lake-effect snow bands create near white-out conditions in some locations, while other areas are reported clear.

Streets and highways are reported to be snow-covered and slippery throughout the area today and law enforcement is encouraging drivers to slow down and leave adequate stopping distance between vehicles.



After we came to a stop, firs thing we did was turn around and see if the boys were OK. They were, and all had their seatbelts on. Brendan was the first to comment of the event by saying "I didn't like that."