Our Toyota Safety Video

I don't know if you remember that we did a safety video for Toyota last summer, but they have it on their website right now.  There are actually two that they have on there that are smaller versions of the one they sent to us. So, just in case you wanted to see our Toyota debut, here it is:
Toyota Safety video

And here is the one that is specifically our family(they only problem is they spelled our name wrong!):
Jagodzinske Toyota video

Check it out and let me know what you think....if you are ever at our house, the full version is better I think.  Daron thinks I say that because I was showcased more, could be! ;)

The Shoot

sidenote: for those that need history as to why Toyota sent a crew to our house, it is mostly because of making it out alive from our accident back in February(click here). I also wrote something little about it on the 'adoptionmama' blog I do for the stores Hot Mama-( see here). Then, the kids wrote thank you notes to them and the President of Toyota responded to Greta's(click here and here) ...and that should bring you up to speed.

Today was super fun but exhausting. The crew showed up at 8am and they were ready to roll-literally! I think there were at least 4-5 cars that came, including the truck below, so it looked pretty exciting on our street. Everyone was so friendly and the kids had a great time with their new 'friends.' The girls especially had fun getting their hair and make-up done! If you see them, I am sure they will love to tell you all about it. Justus and Daron weren't too excited about this part, but they obliged and looked great. Actually, Justus was lucky enough to get away without make up and I am sure he will tell you that too.



After the hair and make-up, they took turns interviewing most of us about ourselves and the accident. The kids did a great job, even though it could have been hard to relive everything, and they seemed to focus on the positive so it was neat to see. Greta, of course, was in her element, so it was no surprise there that she had the longest interview of the kids.


Justus had fun checking out all the cameras and the gear. They had fun learning about everything and really just enjoyed the experience.

Ella and Fia also did a great job and they had fun looking at the footage after the fact and seeing themselves on camera.

Throughout the day, they also got footage of us doing everyday stuff in the kitchen, at the table, playing outside and then going for a walk downtown. At lunch, we took a break and they treated the whole crew and our family to take-out from a favorite restaurant in town-that was a nice bonus.

They ended up calling it a wrap around dinner and heading out. The footage will most likely just be used at some in-house gatherings for the company, but they plan to send us the footage and the final project. We really had a great time and what was most important was that we got to thank the company that made a car that really did help to save our lives. And for that, we are grateful!

3..2..1...Toyota is in the House!

So, you thought I was being mean by not telling you more about who was coming to our house, but honestly, I didn't really know much about what it was about until today, as I got minimal details from my husband. So, most of you guessed it either here or from the link on my facebook page, but yes, Toyota sent a group here to do a small video for one of their company meetings. A group of four came to our home today to scout out where to do the shoot and meet us. They probably needed to make sure that we weren't crazy or something and we must have fooled them because they are still coming back in the morning with the rest of the crew. The group that came today was really cool, ya know, from New York cool. Very laid back and I think we will have a lot of fun tomorrow. I will have to let you know how it goes. I guess they just want us to act normal (easier said than done) and they are going to film around us. They asked what kind of food they could buy us to have us BBQ when they are here. Between you and me, I am in the dog house for this. I just said hamburgers or something.....oops, I guess my family thinks I should have said salmon-that is our favorite to grill, but I just didn't want to push it. I felt bad already saying bacon, blue cheese burgers. The rest of the day I think they are just going to interview us about our accident and our experience with Toyota. Then, I think they are using it for a segment later in the year when some of the car dealerships get together at some convention or something. They obviously have needed some better press now and we are definitely big fans of them, so I guess our family fit the bill-we are excited to do this for them, as we really are thankful that they built such a good car that helped save our lives. We did have to break it to them that we didn't buy a Toyota and they were bummed about that. Of course, if money grew on trees, I would get another Sienna or Sequoia possibly; Daron would even love a Tundra, but it is what it is, and for now Big Red is working well for Daron and the Suburban fits us well(I just miss the difference of filling up our van vs. the burb)!

Gotta Get My Swagger Back!

Guess who's coming to visit the Jag family next week??!! Hmmm...what should I wear? Do I need an agent? Maybe I will finally be discovered as a mom of 5 and rounding my 30's. Haha! Just kidding...I mean really, I don't want the fame anymore. Got enough paparazzi in our town already! Have you seen how many pictures Grandma takes?? ;) Stay tuned. We are having some visitors on Wed/Thursday that I will have to write about.


P.S. Should I get my haircut first? Color? I want to look cute and all. Nevermind the rest of the family, they look cute already (this is one of the most recent pics of me with some of my bestows on our girls trip last month).

P.P.S-If you need a hint, check out the label below...

What Is In This??

Hmmm....what is in this box??














To give you a little background, after we were in our car accident, the kids decided to write letters to Toyota thanking them for making such safe cars. A few weeks ago, Greta ended up getting a personalized letter from the USA President of Toyota replying to her letter. It was awesome!! It definitely wasn't a form letter as he addressed many of the things she wrote about in his letter to her, and he signed it. I was so amazed that he actually took the time (with everything else that is going on with Toyota right now), to respond to the kids. We were, however, a bit perplexed by part of it. It was just regular letter head in a regular envelope and he mentioned that he included some toys in the 'cubbies' for Greta to share with her siblings ??!!! Huh??? (Greta had mentioned in her letter that she loved the cubbies in the van to put her toys into) Ha!! What was he talking about though? We didn't have a van anymore! Honestly, for the next couple days, I kept looking outside to see if a new minivan was pulling up...uh...Kristin, YOU HAVE WATCHED TOO MUCH REALITY TV!!!! Btw, no minivan came. Then, I just laughed it off that they wrote the letter, but forgot to put in the little toys he mentioned, but that was no biggie, as it was already cool enough that they wrote the letter to Greta in the first place.



But---much to my surprise, I came home today from my women's Bible study group, to this box!! I can hardly contain myself with excitement to see what is inside it, but we are waiting for the kids to get home. Ughh..Definitely Daron's idea. I thought we could open it and tape it back up! What kind of toys do you think are inside? Little minivans? Toyota stickers? It really doesn't matter. I just think it is super cool of them to follow up on our letter with this-THANKS AGAIN TOYOTA!!! YOU HELPED SAVE OUR LIFE!

Who Wants a Ride to School?

So, ever since our Toyota 'Swagger Wagon' Sienna was totaled, we have been looking for a new car. First, we were waiting for our insurance check to come, now we are just trying to find the perfect fit for us with miles, color, etc....Today, Daron said that he found the perfect one(foolishly, I believed him)!
The kids think it's the coolest and are seriously trying to talk me into it. Especially Justus. Imagine driving up to school and letting the kids out at drop-off?!! Hilarious!

Spring Break Almost Broke Me!

Spring break almost broke me, but I will start with the positive, because we did have SOME fun over the week. We started it off by having lunch with friends that have adopted from Ghana. The next day we went on a hike with some great buddies and we all had a blast.
We also got to enjoy lounging around a little more than usual and the kids ate some Easter themed pancakes...

we joined in on an annual town Easter egg hunt...

...as well as our own Easter Basket Hunt at our home.

Oh, and Fia lost her second tooth for an even bigger adorable toothless grin!

But...it did almost break me!

Spring break is now over and I am hoping we are going back to life as usual! What is that again? Gosh, I don't want to complain, but it has been aWHILE since life seemed usual or normal. Ever since our accident on February 20th (that date is etched in my brain from signing it on numerous forms now), our life has been busier than normal.

Why? Well, each person has been to the regular doctor at least once, plus a couple extra appts. for ear infections and a new one that I will have to post about later: photosensitivity??!! Then, for many weeks we were all going to the chiropractor at least three times a week and now just last week it has dwindled a bit. Daron and I are still there three times each week, along with massage twice/week, and physical therapy 1-2times a week! In between those appts., we have both been trying to work, keep the house up inside and out, entertain, hang with the Chapman's (ha!),plan out an Easter service, and walk ALOT (we still haven't found a vehicle to replace the van, so I have been walking or borrowing cars as I refuse to drive 'Big Red'-the beast-plus it only fits 6).

Oh, and just in case we weren't about to go crazy already, a new curve ball was thrown at us a week ago when I was getting the kids ready for bed. I moved a beanbag around in the boys room and found MOLD!! Yep, nothing small of course, but a 2-3 foot area that was covered in black, fuzzy mold. I literally thought about how to best give the news to Daron for fear he may run out of the house. The next 5 nights after we put the kids to bed, Daron worked late in the room, and we moved EVERYTHING out; then he took two walls out to check for more mold and moisture. He eventually found the problem outside that made the water come up through the cement floor and the padding and carpet was really wet, so that had to go too. Luckily, there was no mold in the walls, so after everything is dry, we can get the dry wall back up and get some new carpet-ugh! Too bad the carpet wasn't even 5 years old. Oh well. Then, two nights ago, we realized the carpet in the girls closet was wet too, but we waited until after Easter(today) to do anything more. Luckily, I think it won't be a big deal in there and we just need to dry some of it out.

So, I haven't been quiet because life has been dull over here. I just haven't posted for fear of having a nervous breakdown when thinking about it anymore. Honestly, the little things are definitely adding up and bringing me down. I hate that 'things' have an effect on me, so I have really been trying to look at the positives and not dwell in all of this, but it doesn't always work. I have to say that I did form a smile when Daron came inside with the door handle from his truck. Yep. It broke off, so you might just find him climbing in and out of his window like the good 'ole Duke boys! ;)

When it all comes down to everything, I am blessed with our lives, our family, our home. I just want to add onto that our CAR!! I think it will really help when I have a car again. Just kidding. Not really. Maybe? Either way, prayer would be appreciated!

Big Red needs a Friend

Thank you so much for all the messages, calls, emails, etc.... We are actually all doing so much better today. Of course, we are aching and a little slow moving, but all in all, we are actually thankful for the aches and pains, as they are SO minor. I am SO glad that aches and pains are our biggest worries physically.

Now that the weekend is almost over, will finally be able to talk to our insurance tomorrow and get an idea of how much they will give us for the car. It is a complete bummer. Our van was new when we bought it five years ago and we didn't have payments anymore. My prayer is that we get a good insurance package for the van that will allow us to get another car that is just as good or in better condition than ours was!

Oh, and while we are praying....let's pray to take care of this quickly-at least faster than the last time we had to look for a car. I think that is a fair request right? It took us almost two years to replace the Jetta(click here to read about that demise). Then, a few months after that, we had more bad luck with our cars. While we were camping at Yosemite, our van got broken into by a bear-seriously!!! You can read about that here, if you are bored. Now, almost two years later, this week, we finally bought a second car-yep- and it is actually a truck,'Big Red', as the kids named it. It is older than my marriage(my new favorite line), but it seats six and we paid cash(and looks pretty good too)! We were very excited about it!...for a couple of days. Wow. The timing of it, huh? We actually had two cars for 4 days! Now we are down to one again, and unfortunately it doesn't fit our whole family-ha!! Oh well, I don't mind walking.

Even if we get another car, there is no story that can beat the last ones, right? I bet ALL cars for sale are actually getting scared we are going to pick them! Honestly though, I hope we live a very dull, boring CAR life for the REST of MY LIFE! I never want to write another blog post about a car! Except happy ones.

No More Swagger Wagon

Wow. Today was not what we were expecting. Most importantly, we are ALL fine and SO THANKFUL to be alive-all SEVEN of us walked away from a very scary crash. Thank you LORD!

Today we got up early to drive up to Vancouver for the day to check out all the Olympic hubbub. On our way to the ferry, while still in town, we were hit by a car that was coming at us from the other direction. We were both going probably 40-50mph(I actually have no idea-just guessing). The car in front of us tried to swerve first, but got nicked and spun into the ditch(thankfully he is going to be okay, too). Then we realized that the car was coming straight at us still when only a few feet away and there was no where to go with a guardrail on our passenger side. The impact all went into the front of the car and the driver's door. The dash and door got pushed in and down and it is amazing that Daron was able move his legs and crawl out the back. That moment before the hit was the worst feeling and during it I pleaded for us to be okay. As soon as the airbags went out and deflated(so fast that I don't even remember it), I turned to Daron and then to the kids after I heard him talk. Honestly, the turn back to the kids was the scariest thing I have ever done-but, they were ALL okay! Wow-tears of joy, fear, shock were unstoppable.

I am so thankful for our safety. I am so thankful for all the people who were there right away to help get the kids out and help 'think' for me. I am so thankful that we were still close to town and the rescue teams were quick. I am so thankful that we could all shiver outside and WALK to a warm car. I am so thankful for all my family and friends that have offered to help(and to those that already have)!

I am NOT thankful for now losing our Swagger Wagon(Toyota Sienna)! Man, it was nice to have two cars for two days! Oh well, maybe we are meant to be a one car family. Either way, we will now wait to see about our insurance on Monday and HOPE that Toyota's really do hold their value so we can get close to what a new one costs. One thing is for sure, the airbags, seat belts, and body of the car really did do wonders to keep us safe (of course I am SO thankful for God's provision in it all too), so I definitely do not want to skimp on safety with our next car. Another Sienna is sounding good-and with the kids being so scared of this happening again, I think I TRUST them

But all in all, our car, my homemade mug, my favorite sunglasses, are NOT important. Sure, it's a bummer, but NOTHING compared to losing a family member or being critically injured! We are so grateful.

We did all go to the hospital to get checked out. Four of us needed x-rays, but they all turned out great. That was another miracle. For the next few days I know we will all be sore and our bruises will become even more colorful and beautiful. Hopefully, we will be back to normal real quick!

Lastly, sorry to close friends and family reading about this for the first time on here(or on facebook). I just didn't feel like calling everyone and talking too much about it. It will get easier, it was just so overwhelming today.

Below are some pics to see of the van if you are interested in stuff like that. Kwame was sitting directly behind Daron and he is actually feeling the best of anyone....except for his tongue, which he bit. ;)