Last night, we had dinner with our good friends, Carissa and Photius (Jenny’s sister and brother-in-law). They, along with their three beautiful children (ages 5,3, 1/2 year) are up in New York at St. Vladmir’s Theological Seminary, where we plan on going someday (soon?). So we had plenty to talk about!
I stole these pics from Carissa's Facebook page. Look how big Genevieve is now!
And Isaac! Not a baby anymore! 🙁
For dinner, I made pea soup from scratch, using some of the leftover ham we had from our Christmas dinner. I also put together my fav type of salad– gorgonzola, granny smith apples with walnuts and almonds! Carissa brought home-made Beer Bread since she has special dietary restrictions due to breastfeeding Ian (their youngest).
They got here at around 6pm and we talked forever! At around 11:30, we all realized how late it was, despite the fact that the oldest kiddos were quite content with all the Veggie Tales dvds we have (hand-me-down gift from piano students!). The kids put on their coats and boots and hats, seeing as it was 35 degrees and raining last night. We thanked them for coming, wished them well in their last semester at Seminary, and watched all 5 of them file out into the rainy night.
A few seconds later, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door. Isaac, their 5 year old, was wailing dramatically, “Our van is goooonnnneee!!! It’s LOOOSSSTT!!!” He was sobbing and absolutely distraught.
Carissa explained the situation– apparently, Photius had parked in a covered spot. During their 5.5 hours visiting with us, the van had been towed.
They called the number listed for the towing company. Fortunately, they were open 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, the impound lot was in the middle of a BAD part of Arlington. And it was going to be $240 to get the van out.
Carissa and I went upstairs with the kids while Jesse drove Photius down to where the impound lot was. We put on Beauty and the Beast for the kids and gave them pillows and blankets (as it was close to 12:00am…very late for young kiddos!).
Half an hour later, we got a call from the boys. The impound lot would not release the car, seeing as it is registered to Jenny’s DAD.
We brainstormed for a minute. There was no way we could lend them a car to get back to where they were staying at Jenny’s parents in Rockwall (50 minutes away) because I only have 2 carseats. All three of hers are still in carseats, seeing as the whole family is quite petite (Jonathan Unruh is bigger than their 6 month old baby).
There was no choice but to call Jenny’s dad and have him drive on out from Rockwall. Again, that’s a 50 minute drive. In the middle of the night, no less.
At around 1:30 am, the boys made it back with the van. Mr. Conley had not only driven out in the middle of the night, he had also paid for the van to get picked up, which was funny, considering Carissa had just joked that they should’ve asked for a impound lot gift certificate for Christmas. The boys were pretty good humored about the whole thing– describing the sketchy part of town (complete with hookers and loan sharks) and how the whole incident had occurred because Photius had been honest and upfront about the fact that it wasn’t their vehicle (otherwise, they never would’ve checked!!).
But alls well that ends well. We had a great night with friends that we haven’t seen in a year and gained valuable insight as to what seminary-life entails. Hopefully, Isaac won’t be afraid to visit us again!
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*chuckle* brings back memories of when you guys and the unruh’s got towed at the Speckman’s place…glad it all worked out. =)