Dear Santa...

All I want for Christmas is a new transmission. How sad is that statement? The last couple of weeks the Explorers (less than 5 years old) transmission has been acting up. I noticed it. Chris noticed it. Well, I have been driving Chris' truck and he has been driving my Explorer. It is more comfortable and he drives an hour and a half everyday and I drive 10 minutes, so I didn't mind trading. Well, I got back in my car yesterday for the first time in weeks because Chris was off and was shocked at how bad it was running. I called Chris and told him there was no way that we could drive it to Houston to see my Mom next week. So, I got online and rented a....MINIVAN to drive to Houston. There are six of us going. My whole family and my brother, so we needed the room. I was thinking we could get the Explorer in the shop after the first of the year and go on with life. WRONG!! I was leaving a shopping center last night to go pick up Macy from Youth Group and it was gone. No transmission at all. Would barely go forward. Would NOT back up. Gone!! So, now it is parked in front of my house until we can decide how in the whole wide world we can afford a transmission. Now, keep in mind Chris goes to work at 3:30 in the morning...to Love Field and I work 10 minutes away. So, my lovely church bus driver will be picking me up in the bus today. Hey, at least I have a bus to pick up me and the kids, right? Wonder if she'll drive me through Starbucks? Ha! I am so sad. I don't know what we are going to do or how we are going to do it. But, I am going to pray. Pray, pray for a solution to my transmission problem. Is that silly? Am I silly? Anyone have any ideas? Know a great mechanic that will let us pay it out???