Hey Everyone,

Things have been a little difficult lately. My dad was driving home from Austin last Friday, (he was there for my brother's biospy) and his car broke down in a little town called Garwood(about 20 minutes or so from El Campo). We had someone painting at our house that day(friend of the family), and he and his wife along with my mom and I went to pick up dad. He was sitting on the side of the road at an old church(luckily it was a safe location and not the side of HWY 71). Our family friend looked at the car, and dad tried starting it well it wouldn't start. So the friend then towed my dad's car back to El Campo, using a borrowed chain from my neighbors. When we got to Buccee's(Convience store/gas station), we had to stop because the chain broke. Well we all came back to our house in the friend's truck, and dad and the friend picked up a few tools to go back to the car with.



Well they went back to Buccees where the car was, and couldn't get it to start for nothing. We thought it was just a loose battery cable(the reason why they picked up the tools), but it wasn't. So then my dad returned to the house, and called a wrecker service. The wrecker service towed it to a local mechanic shop, and he told my dad it would cost $1,400 or more to fix the car!! He said it was bent valve in the engine. The engine would have to be taken apart, the valve would be sent to a machine shop and fixed, then they would bring the valve back and put the engine back together, for that large price. My dad was like I don't have that kind of money right now, so he got a ride back home. He then called the wrecker and asked him to bring the car back to our house. Well finally the car was brought back to our house that Sunday, and we pushed it into the garage. My dad then called another mechanic (whom he previously called, but didn't get a call back), and he came out and looked at the car here at the house. This guy said it would be about $850.00 or more to fix it(less than the first guy), but their was no gurantees it would run and if it did run he didn't know how long it would run.



So then dad tried to get a used SUV from a local dealership, but the bank he was attempting to get financed with wanted $4,000 dollars down!! My dad can't do that, so he got a ride to Rosenberg to look into a used car over there at place recommended by some friends and my co worker, to see what they have. I just hope it works out ok. He has had to miss work and I had to get a ride from my co worker all week to get to work. Our boss will not allow her to pick me up anymore, due to the fact that she comes in before me, and is on company time when she was coming to get me on her way to the grocery store(she shops for our day care daily, so she was picking me up and dropping me off at work on her way to the store), so today was the last she was allowed to do that. So on Monday I have to have my own transporation to work, hopefully it will be a car, because my only other alternative is my bicycle. It's way too hot to be riding that thing to work!



Well guess that is it for now. I just hope things get better for us soon! We have to keep the faith!

Kimberly