Miracles

My point of view:
I called my sister, Emily, on Saturday to wish my nephew a Happy Birthday!  As she picks up the phone I can tell she is upset.  Before I can even ask for Zach she is telling me that my mom and my dad were in car accident with Zach, Josh, and their friend Dominique in the car.    My heart is my throat and I can feel the tears starting to come.   She then went on to tell me the story and that they were okay but I just felt so scared and helpless.   But I am so grateful that they were okay that they were protected!

From My Sister Emily:
The Miracles
Saturday morning, February 11th, at about 8:00 a.m. I spoke to my mom on the phone. My kids had a 9:00 a.m. basketball game and had spent the night with my parents the night before. My dad and husband are the team coaches and we planned to meet at the gym around 8:30. It was really snowing and my car temperature said it was 17 degrees. The roads were looking bad, but we've driven on much worse. I told my parents, who travel a longer distance and over some worse roads, to take their time and be careful. I texted my mom once we arrived at the gym that the roads were not great and asked if they were making it okay. I never got a response. I sent several more text messages, and a few phone calls. I was worried, but then started thinking maybe they'd left their cell phones at home. It was after 9:00 when I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. It was my mom. She was sobbing and struggling to talk. She said they'd had an accident. She said: "We've been in an accident. The car went off the road and landed in the creek. We're all okay. Just cold." She told me they'd call me later when they got warmed back up. People were taking them all back to her house. She asked us not to come because the roads were so bad.
My stomach was in knots. I knew my mom would watch out for my kids and she said they were okay, but I couldn't talk to them. They were in a different vehicle when she called me. I couldn't get to them. And all I knew is that they were okay.
I allowed enough time for them to get back home, and then called their house. A woman answered and told me that my kids were okay and that everyone was very cold. She said she was a neighbor and that they were helping them all get warmed. She told me that an ambulance was coming for my mother because she was in a lot of pain. A few hours later, we were able to get to my parents home and pick up my kids. They looked great. We learned they'd been in water and gotten wet, and they'd been very cold. We had another basketball game Saturday afternoon that my younger son played in, and decided that since he was up to it, he could play. My older son's 11th Birthday was Saturday and we had a party planned for that evening. We decided to proceed with that as well. We felt blessed that they were not hurt from this accident. We got word from the hospital that my mother has compression fractures of her L3 and L5 and a broken bone in her shoulder. She was told that it would all heal in time. My father had some lacerations on his head and a black eye. Both were sent home.
Sunday, we decided to visit my parents to check on them and let my kids see their grandparents. As details had unfolded about the accident, we were finding out how lucky they all were to have survived. During the visit with my parents on Sunday, what I found out was that it was more than luck, it was miraculous.

Here’s the story from my father’s perspective:

They were very close to home. The road they travel is a one lane paved road. They had gotten up the first big hill and was starting down the other side. He was not accelerating because the road conditions were bad, and he estimates they were going 10-15 mph. He said that the car started spinning. He’s not sure how many rotations but spinning~ and then they were in the air. They broke thru some brush and rhododendron, and then landed upside down in the creek. He felt the sensation of the cold water as it rose up in the car, and over his head. He said it
took a few seconds to get oriented and realize he needed to unbuckle. He got himself loose and pushed against the driver’s door, which thankfully opened. He looked back. There were three kids in the backseat (two were mine) and they all had gotten their heads up before he did. My youngest, Josh, “slithered” out of his seatbelt. My older son, Zach, found his buckle and released it and got his head up. They yelled for my mother. She said she could hear them screaming “grandma”, and my father yelling “Violet, pull your head up”. She said she couldn’t pull her head up no matter how she tried and she was out of air when my dad pulled her out. My dad said the creek was up to his chest, probably 4 feet deep, and the cliff they’d gone over was about 40 feet. It was a sheer drop and there was no way to climb back up from where they’d landed. He swam each kid and my mother to some rocks on the side of the creek. They were all completely wet, it was still snowing, and he knew they were going to freeze to death without help.
My mother then tells me that my youngest son, when realizing that they can’t climb out, starts to cry that he thinks they will die and he’ll never see his mommy again. (this breaks my heart) My mom says she’s hurting, but she makes the kids stomp their feet and jump up and down to keep their blood circulating.
Dad swam across the creek and walked up the side of the creek and attempted to cross back at one point but the current was too strong, so he went down a little further. He found a place he could cross, and he again had to swim. He had walked almost to the road when he heard some voices and then heard the kids screaming for help.
A man who lives in the area had left his driveway that morning and noticed their tracks. He drove in their tracks and saw the point at which they disappeared. He felt that something wasn’t right and decided to stop. When he got out of his vehicle, he looked over the side of the road where the tracks disappeared, but he couldn’t see anything. Another truck stopped. They discussed how these tracks were strange and then one of them shouted “anyone down there?”. The children started screaming for help! The men said they felt their hearts stop. They couldn’t see anyone and didn’t know what had happened. My dad made his way back to the family. They were able to communicate the situation. One of the men had a 25 foot heavy duty extension cord that he tied to his truck and lowered over the cliff. The kids were able to climb high enough to get to the cord. Then the men pulled each person up the cliff, the kids used

their hands/feet to help climb as they were pulled. My mother was hurt and unable to climb. They had to drag her up the embankment to the road. These strangers helped my family get home and get warmed and get help. (These are my living angels) 
I estimate they were out in the cold, wet, snow about 45 minutes. They are all gloriously fine. My children are completely whole and beautiful. My youngest may need a bit more emotional reassurance, but they are alive, and well, and so resilient to have survived this horrible accident and go on with their lives without missing a beat. 

Once again, I thank Heavenly Father for sparing my parents and nephews and their friend.