I've seen the hand of God today

2009-11-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Mike has had a temporary job working mowing lawns for the school district. This has helped us cover expenses since our unemployment ran out, and has been a blessing for us. Though we knew this would end eventually, we thought Mike would have a job before it did.

Well we thought wrong. Mikes job ended Friday and here we are with no job and no income. A little scary, yet I feel oddly comforted. Then Mike got the mail today and there was a letter stating that if he still hasn't found employment he qualifies for an extension to his unemployment that ran out in the spring.

I don't think it is a coincidence that Mike had a temporary job for the time he didn't qualify for unemployment and that unemployment started back up again the Monday after his temporary job was done.

It has been nearly 21 months and I can't wait for this trial to be over but I can defiantly see the Lords hand in our lives.

Blessings

2009-05-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

No job yet. Which makes me sad. It has been 15 long months. As I think about it though, we are being blessed. In little ways that are easy to take for granted or forget about. Here is where I will list a few of the many ways we have been blessed in the last few weeks.

*Time for Harrisen to start school which means applying for a variance so he can go to school with his sisters. Not usually a problem but this year our school got a new principal in January. (Variances are due in February) She didn't know me at all and when I went in I was basically told she would consider the request but it was NOT likely to happen. She strongly encouraged me to consider moving my other kids to their boundary school. I was crushed. I have spent sooo much time and effort into helping with things at that school only to have my last child not be able to go there. What the heck?!?!?! After I left the principals office unknown to me the Secretary (whom I thought wasn't too fond of me) went in to talk to the new Principal. Because of the secretary's kind words about me, Later that week the principal came up to me and apologised for the way she spoke to me. She signed the variance and He is all set for school next year. I never would have guessed that that particular Secretary would got to bat in my behalf but she did, and I am glad.

*I wanted to put up a fence to keep the dog (and the boy) out of my garden. It would also give us more "growing" room for the plants since we could have some of them grow up the fence and not take up as much ground space. Without money this wasn't even an option. Yet The Lord found a way to provide. A friend gave us enough chain link and poles to fence in the whole garden plus have two rows inside for the squash to grow up. Over 60 feet of fence. This has enabled us to grow peas, beans, and some tomato's (up the outside of the fence) and have at least a dozen squash ( in the rows inside) in the same amount of space we only had four squash last year. Huge blessing if you ask me.

*We have not had insurance for over a year yet with all the sickness that has been going through our area. . .our kids have remained healthy. Aside form a few sniffles that were not major we have all been well. No trips to the doctor.

*Income tax returns that came just in time since our un-employment has now run out. . .we will still be able to pay the bills for a few more months at least.

*As much as I would rather not have to go to work. I am truly grateful for the two jobs that literally fell into my lap that allow me to be at home most of the time yet still bring in enough to cover at least half of our bills.

*Clothes and shoes for the kids are lasting longer than ever before.

Ah Ha Moments and answered prayers

2009-03-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

If there were some way to hide some posts and not others this would be one that I would hide. Not because I don't want people to know, but more because the times when prayers are answered this directly for me are rare and sacred.But my reason for having this blog is to record the times when I have felt the Lord's hand in my life and this is one of those times. I want my children to be able to look back on this blog and see the Lord's hand in the life we as a family share. Maybe this will help another who will read it as much as it has helped me.

Sitting in sacrament meeting (at ward conference for another ward) I was having my usual "why me" thoughts you know the kind where you are thinking "what have we done to deserve this?" and I decide, I am not going to be able to do what I need to do in YW if I keep these thoughts up so I decide to open my scriptures and read from where I left off the night before.

I was reading in Mosiah starting at chapter 23 (if you want to read it too). Verse 21 hit me hard... I had to read it a few times because I was thinking "This is for me what do I need to gain from this?" I am being chastened, my patience and my Faith is being tried. That much I knew. Yet I could sense there was more that the Lord wanted me to know right now. so I went on...22 " nevertheless-- whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be saved at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people." Okay so now I know this part is for me. It was almost like it said " and thus it is with you" . then in the next verse; "They were brought into bondage" ( that is sure what this feels like) " and none could deliver them but the Lord their God" I know that it true with this... I KNOW that the only one who can deliver us from this is a loving Father in Heaven.. So at this point I'm thinking "I know, I know, so why is it not happening?" and then I read the next verse. " And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings." That was it! That was what the Lord wanted me to know. We will be delivered.

So then on later as I was reading the next chapter, in the end of verse 16 it says "Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage" WOW! I know that our time is not the Lord's time yet what a comfort it was to read that. "On the morrow" That is what I needed to hear right now. I know that it won't literally be tomorrow ( though I would be happy if it was;) The Lord is aware of what we are going through and he will help us in his own due time.

Long year

2009-03-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

This month brings us to the one year mark since Mike was laid off. I won't deny that it has been a LONG hard year. But as I look back I can't deny that we have been blessed.

*A year without insurance and we have all been healthy.
*A year without normal income and we have a warm home,Clothes to wear and food on the table.
* A year with absolutely no extra money and the problems we have had with the car have not gotten any worse.
*Being able to make a Baptism dress out of a $10 table cloth instead of having to spend over$50 on a pre-made.
*A Christmas without employment and we had the best one yet.
*Pay $30 to get two kids into dinner theater and they each came home with $50 gift cards for JCPenny which they choose to use to buy Christmas gifts with.
*15 years of un-successful gardening and this year we had plenty.
Yes, it has been a hard year, but The Lord is watching out for us and eventually, everything will be okay. after all, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"!

The best Orthodontist ever!!!

2009-01-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

We have the best orthodontist in the whole world!

Alex got her braces put on in the end of October 2007. Mid January 2008 we found out that Mike was being laid-off. The braces was my biggest concern. They are expensive and if it wasn't for our great insurance they would have waited until we could pay cash. When we talked to the Orthodontist he was very understanding and told us not to worry about payments until Mike found another Job. "If we felt like we could pay something then great if not , no big deal, we'll work it out." Big relief for me.

So last August we were at our regular appointment when we notice a sign for a contest they are having at the office. The family who has the most referrals between June and the end of September wins a Wii. Awesome! Alex and I talked about it and decided that even though we found out about it a little late we were going to try for it. This could be what Santa brings for us this year.

We talked to everyone we knew and gave out 20+ referral cards. Thanks to everyone who went in we did it! We won the Wii! We were so excited. This was going to be a great Christmas.

When Mike and Alex went in to pick it up much to our surprise, this wonderful man, Knowing that we had been out of work and that we were saving it for Christmas, bought extra games and controllers to go along with the Wii. Between the stuff he bought and using the gift cards at just the right time, and with the help of a dear friend. Come Christmas we had a game for each member of our family.

How could I not see the "Hand of God" in this blessing? On a year when Christmas may not have come at all we were blessed with the best Christmas we have ever had. Thank you to the best orthodontist ever. Thanks Dr. Peck.

p.s. if any one needs a referral card for the best Orthodontist ever give me a call. I'll be sure to get one to you.

Car blessings

2008-09-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

It's time to have our car registered (well actually pats time) and when I took it in for the emissions and inspection they said it didn't pass emissions. I've never actually had that happen before so I asked the guy what we needed to do. He said it was our mass air flow sensor (okay whatever that is?) He showed me where to find it in the engine and said we could try cleaning it and that if we were lucky that might take care of it but that we should start praying, because id that didn't work, it was not a cheap thing to replace. Oh great just what we need when Mike has been looking for work for the last seven months.

So today I went to get the cleaner and Mike spent quite a bit of time trying to clean the part good enough that it would pass. Then I headed back to get the emissions re-done. The car was sputtering something terrible, and I was praying real hard that it would pass.

Our prayers were answered. The car passed and the sputtering stopped and we were able to get it registered. Which was a great relief since our other car won't fit our whole family.

I'm Thankful For . . .

2008-08-28T22:43:00.001-07:00

Harrisen has been so cute with his prayers lately. A few months ago I had to bribe him with bedtime stories to get him to even say his prayers but not anymore.

Every night when he goes to bed he makes sure we don't forget to let him say his prayer. Even when he has fallen sound asleep during family scriptures I go to lay him down and as soon as his head hits the pillow it pops back up and he says " I have to say prayer mom". This makes me so proud, but not half as proud as when I get to listen to what he says in his prayer.

"Thank you for the day, Thank you for the church, Thank you for Jesus, Thank you for my family,( then he names everyone), Thank you for my friends, (naming again), Thank you for me to go on a mission when I get bigger, Thank you for gramma and grampa to go on a mission, Thank you for my home" this goes on for several minutes and not once does he ask for anything. What a sweet little boy.

So following the example of my little boy:
Thank you for my Husband,
Thank you for my kids,
Thank you for my extended family,
Thank you for the comfortable home I have to live in,
Thank you that our family is healthy and happy,
Thank you for my friends,
Thank you for the freedoms which I enjoy,
Thank you for the cars we have to travel in,
Thank you for the trials I get to learn from,
Thank you for my callings, which help me to grow spiritually,
Thank you for good food to eat,
Thank you for the Gospel, and the way it blesses my life,
Thank you for the Temple and how close we live to it,
Thank you for looking out for me and my family
and right now most of all
Thank you for a son who teaches me by his example the way to pray.
"I HAVE BEEN BLESSED"

The back to school bandit

2008-08-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

Since Mike has been out of work to snack kinds of food are scarce at our house. which is okay but sometimes missed by the kids. Well not anymore. Some wonderful person dropped off a HUGE bag of all kinds of treats for our kids. They are in heaven 9and Mike is really enjoying it too).

Thank you who ever you are.

Help with home improvement

2008-08-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

After Christmas nearly two years ago we bought the supplies to repair and re-tile both of our bathrooms. But after finishing the main one that was damaged from plumbing problems we decided that winter was the wrong season to be cutting tile with a wet saw outside. So we put off doing the downstairs bathroom until spring. Yeah well, that was the plan anyway.

So here we are 20 months after we purchased the tile finally finishing the project that we started. We got everything torn apart and then put back together to the point of actually laying the tile before we realized that we were short 7 bull nose tile (which gives you the finished look on the edge of the tile where it meets up to the sheet rock).

We have spent several frustrating weeks trying to find more of this tile so we could finish what we started only to find that you can't buy that kind anymore, they can't even special order it for us, and we couldn't find anything close enough to not be noticeable. (here is the point where I wanted to cry because we could not afford to put anything into this project right now and with a family our size you need more than one toilet in the house.)

Enter A great Friend at the home depot and voila'. We were able to return all of our tile (that we bought 20 months ago) without a receipt and get enough store credit to buy new, better, prettier tile, the grout we needed to match the new tile, and still have some store credit leftover to put towards a cabinet (which will have to wait until Mike has a job so we can have enough to pay for it).

To me this is a huge blessing! The tile will look great, it won't cost us anything extra, and I'm happier with the new style than I was with what we had. (I did like what we had, I just like this better.)

So THANK YOU John, THANK YOU Home Depot, and most importantly,
THANK YOU Heavenly Father for blessing me this way.

A Miracle Happened in Africa

2008-07-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is a journal entry that my parents sent us from their Mission in Africa:
Monday June 30th 2008

Today is the day we are to check back with the lady who owns the house in Lilongwe. When we called her she said that she had got back from Tanzania on Wednesday and had already rented the house to someone else. You can imagine how crushed we were. When we had prayed about the house with the branch presidency we had had such a positive witness that that was where the branch should meet. How could it slip away like that? About 20 minutes later Sister Bouwhuis called her back thinking that maybe we were the people that she was thinking about when she said that it was already rented. We told her that we had told her daughter last Monday that we defiantly wanted it and to have her mother call us as soon as she got home. She again said that she was sorry but she hadn’t spoken to her daughter since she returned and that she had taken a deposit and she was to meet with him this afternoon to finalize the deal. We decided to fast that the Lords will would be done. Sister Bouwhuis and I went to our room to have a prayer to start our fast. We asked the Lord that if this was the place for the Branch to meet that we would see a miracle and that peoples hearts would be changed and we would still be able to rent it, but if we were to meet somewhere else that He would give us another miracle and we would be guided to be able to find the right place. Sister Bouwhuis was despondent all day, some times to the point of tears. She felt that we must have not done enough and it had slipped away. I tried to reassure her that we had done all that we could do, at that point, and that now it was in the hands of the Lord. At that point if the Lord wants that house he will work a miracle. If He wants another place he will work a different miracle. It is now up to Him. She finally felt at peace around 2:45, that it was in the Lord’s hands and would be as He wanted it to be though she didn’t know if that meant that we would get the house or not. Just knew that it was O.K. with the Lord.
About 3:30 Sister Bouwhuis called her back to see what the outcome was with her meeting with the other gentleman. Miracles still do happen. She had decided to NOT rent it to the other man even though he had offered her 10,000 more a month. Sister Bouwhuis told her that she was so thrilled and grateful to the Lord as we has been fasting and praying all day and that when she saw her she would give her a great big hug. It is certainly a testimony or a witness to the fact that the Lord takes a personal hand in His work. HE IS IN CONTROL! Godfrey had called in the morning asking how things were progressing with us getting the house in Lilongwe. We had told him what had happened and that we were fasting and praying that we could get it. He called back about 4 and asked if there had been a change. We told him of how the Lord had changed her heart and we would have the place to meet in. He told us to meet with her and pay 90,000 Kwacha for the first months rent and he would be up most likely on Friday to sign the lease agreement. It wasn’t long after that Mrs. Manda called back and said that she had the keys and we could come and get them at any time. We arranged with her that we would meet her at the house at half 10 (that’s how they say 10:30 here) the next day and that we would pay her the first month’s rent and that Godfrey would be up on the Friday or soon after to make the lease agreement as we didn’t have the authority to do that, he did. Sister Bouwhuis had purposely left it questionable as to when he came because he has a habit of not coming when he first says he will come. We were on cloud nine!!! We had the house!!! Now the work will progress in Lilongwe!!! Now we can have missionaries there as they will have a place to stay and we will have a church to meet in!!!

My Parents are currently serving in the Zimbabwe Africa mission and we are so proud of them for the work that they are doing there!

Bargin buys!!

2008-07-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Things are a little tight right now, and it just so happens to be time to start thinking about school clothes. Scary thought right?

I need to run to Walmart to put the pictures from our Sim card onto a disk because it was too full to take any more pictures. Well Because Alex needed a new tooth brush from her orthodontist, I ended up not going to the Walmart I usually would go to, and went to the one closest to the orthodontist to save gas. so the whole way there I'm thinking to myself that this is ridiculous that I have to waste the gas just to get a special toothbrush. Why didn't they give us a spare so I didn't have to make a special trip? (yeah, I was having a pity party for myself and need to repent now).

Well I'm pretty sure now that the Lord has a hand in even the little things in our life! As I was heading towards the photo lab at Walmart, right there in the middle of the isle there were several racks of clothing on sale for $1, $2, and $3. I can't believe it! I was able to get at least 6 items for each child for school clothes, for under $3 each! Awesome! I love these kind of deals!
I even got some toys for Harrisen's Birthday (that is coming up soon) that were on sale 50% off.
Needless to say I was not complaining any more on the way home.

The Lord really is looking out for me and my little family!(well, we are actually kind of big)

Our Garden

2008-06-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Over the years since we have owned a home we have tried (and failed) many times to grow a successful garden. This year has been different. Our garden is growing more than I ever thought it would.
I believe the reason things are different this year that they have in the past has allot more to do with the fact that Heavenly Father knows we need it this year than to do with the any change in the efforts we have put into the garden. I feel very blessed that Heavenly Father is looking out for me and my little (well we're not really that little) family. The plants are plentiful, and the weeds are few.

We have the beginnings of broccoli,

and even some tiny squash beginning to form (actually we have a lot of tiny squash)

And we have already harvested more lettuce and peas than we ever have before.

We are so blessed. The Lord is looking out for all of our needs.