Prayers Please!!

Tragedy struck on Tuesday night, and shook my family to our core.  My little brother and I, upon moving to Georgia in the 90s, immediately met Natalie Baine (who was more Colton's age than mine, but I was at the awkward age where meeting new friends was difficult, and I was more into sports than boys anyway) and became fast friends with her.  We spent day after day at her house, which was a quick 2 minute walk from ours.  She had two twin sisters (well, step-sisters, but since they were babies) her age, and an old brother about my age.  So she always had a house full of kids. Some of my fondest memories growing up involve Natalie.

 Needless to say, after becoming so close with Natalie and her family, our parents grew close as well.  To this day, my dad is extremely close with her parents - he and Heather often travel with them and have regular gatherings with them.

Natalie and her sisters, Lauren and Lexi, are all students at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  As many of you know, 'Bama and Notre Dame played each other in the BCS bowl game in Miami on Monday, January 7, 2013.  Bama won!! Natalie was fortunate enough to get to go down to Miami for the game.

 On their way back to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday is when the awful happened.  Natalie was a passenger in a pick-up truck when they collided with the chartered bus carrying the Alabama Cheerleaders at 10:20 pm in Montgomery, Alabama.  There was a third vehicle also involved in the wreck.  Of the ~40 people involved in this three-car accident, our Natalie was the only one injured.

Please, please add Natalie to your prayers, your small group, your prayer lists, whatever it may be. If you don't believe in praying, send your healing thoughts and positive vibes her way.  We so badly want out Natster back, for her to keep fighting and pull through.  I am praying that through everyone's prayers and modern medicine, coupled with Natalie's competitive spirit and hate of failure, will get her through this.

Here is a news article on the accident - there are several more out there: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20130109/NEWS/130109782?Title=Bus-carrying-Alabama-cheerleaders-involved-in-wreck-

So again...please send your prayers to Natalie!!