Timing

Timing is everything.

Sunday night we were headed home from Chapel Hill. We had gone to Chapel Hill to watch my mom’s ballet company perform and to have dinner with my family before making our way back to the boro.

When we got out of the performance, it was sleeting. Even though it was nasty out, against better judgment we stayed for dinner thinking things on the roads wouldn’t get bad until later at night.  The sleet quickly turned back to rain and we were no longer in a hurry to get home.

On our way home from dinner we were driving into the storm. At first it was just raining, then, a wintry mix of rain and snow, and all of the sudden there was snow and lots of it. Not just falling, but on the road. It seems like the snow on the roads appeared out of nowhere.

David was driving and we were in the far left hand lane in a pack of cars. I was just starting to nod off in the back seat when I heard him say ‘Oh, no!’

I opened my eyes and could feel the car fish tailing. The tires couldn’t grip the road because they are worn and need replacing. We quickly started spinning.

I braced myself for impact thinking at any minute a car was going to slam into us. We were all going too fast for the conditions of the roads. And people were just starting to try to slow down as the roads were getting worse causing cars to lose control and slide in every direction.

Our car did a complete 360 across the entire three lanes of highway. At one point we were literally facing another car that was only a couple of feet away from ours. David says he can remember the man’s face that was driving the truck that we were nose to nose with. We kept spinning back around and found ourselves stopped on the shoulder of the highway.

I immediately burst into tears. I couldn’t believe we weren’t hit. I couldn’t believe we didn’t get into an accident. I couldn’t believe Finley had slept through the entire thing. It seems like a dream thinking back on it. It doesn’t feel like it really happened. But it did.

Grateful.

I am so incredibly grateful that nothing happened. That we didn’t get hit, that no one was hurt, and that David was driving. If I had been driving I just know I would have panicked and done all the wrong things causing us to get in an accident.

I recognize that this wasn’t just about timing.

Yes, a second here or there could have caused a huge accident, but it wasn’t our timing that saved us. It was our Heavenly Father. He was watching over us. He was protecting us. He loves us. In a world filled with so many people, with so many problems, I am humbled that He took the time to watch over me and my family during our time of need.

The next morning we awoke to see everything covered snow. Finley and I played in it while we could hear the snow quickly melting all around us.

I know Heavenly Father lives. I know he watches over us. I am humbled and grateful for His love. 

Chopped: Redemption!

The wait is over! 

The highly anticipated sequel to our first competition of chopped has taken place. 

Instead of our usual write up of our competition, we decided to take things to the next 'level' and produce our own version of the TV show. Enjoy!

85 years young

This past weekend we celebrated my grandma's 85th birthday!

My Nani is my only living 'grand'  relative and also the only grandparent that I have had the privilege to know.

She is an amazing woman, born and raised in China, who then lived and raised her children overseas moving every three years with her husband who was in the oil refinery business before settling back down in the States.  

We are so blessed to have a relative in the restaurant business. 

My uncle Pete and my mom helped host a brunch for my Nani, her family and friends at one of my Uncle's restaurants in Chapel Hill. 

We decorated a private room, where the brunch was held, with flowers and sweets.  

For brunch we served fruit, salad, shrimp carbonara, beef tenderloin, roasted veggies, and crepes! 

The food was to die for! I think I ate two huge plates full.  

Finley was very excited to greet Nani when she arrived. 

I was a little afraid he was going to knock her over he was so excited. 

We were lucky enough to be able to fly in Auntie Michelle for the occasion. 

We had many of my Nani's friends, neighbors, and relatives there to help us celebrate!

This is Nani's first cousin Sally. She recently retired from marathon running and has taken up biking. And yes I said recently! Her most recent bike adventure was biking the entire length of England in 9 days! This woman inspires me, and unfortunately I did not inherit her athletic endurance. 

Of course she rode her bike to the party, so Finley enjoyed trying on her helmet. 

And here are some fun facts about my Grandma that I would like to share: 

She is the mother to five amazing children including a soccer coach, a restaurateur, an interior designer, a PA, and a nurse. She gave birth to my dad in Bombay, India in the middle of an earthquake. The nurse told her to 'cross her legs' and wait until the doctor arrived to deliver the baby. She is also the grandmother of three lively children, and great grandmother to the adorable Finley.

 While my grandmother and her young family were living in Ethiopia a coup erupted to overthrow Emperor Haile Selassie. Shots would often ring out nearby and the family would roll down iron shutters to protect themselves and their home. One evening my grandpa was reading in his favorite armchair and stood up to get a drink, a few moments later a bullet penetrated the iron shutters and pierced the back of the armchair before ricocheting around the living room. My Nani saved the bullet and wears it on her charm bracelet calling it "Pete's Bullet". 

At one point during the coup my grandpa called home and told my grandma to get in the car and get to the Embassy. She piled her children in the car, yelled at them to keep their heads down, and drove right down through the battle line where a crossfire was occurring and the soldiers had no idea they were shooting at Americans. Once she got to the embassy, they found themselves in danger of scatter shot mortars landing on the grounds all around them. She decided it would be safer for her family at home and drove back through the gunfire to their home. And yes everyone made it home safely. 

The Dorrance's all got their athletic abilities from my Nani. She grew up playing all sorts of sports. She was captain of the tennis and swimming teams at American University. While swimming there she set records for the number of events won in a single meet. She also regularly beat my grandpa in golf and enjoyed teasing him about it. 

She is an amazing artist! She studied Chinese water color in China and all of our homes are decorated with her beautiful paintings. She also use to knit up a storm! I am lucky enough to have some sweaters that she knitted for Donovan when he was little. My mom saved them and passed them down to Finley. 

In Chapel Hill she use to work at a knitting shop and would often help friends fix their projects after dropping many stitches while watching intense UNC basketball games. 

She is a fabulous cook! 

I still crave many of her recipes including her nasi goreng, stewed tomatoes, peanut sauce, and cheese dip.

I think I also inherited her sweet tooth as she loves all things chocolate. She loved hosting elaborate parties for her American friends overseas and would go all out making costumes and painting sets for their themed parties. She was the ultimate hostess in her heyday. 

Happy 85th Birthday Nani! 

We love you and are so glad we live so close and get to see you all the time!