God's Blessings

I just HAD to write a blog post about what the Lord has been doing in our lives the past couple of months. It is just so cool! As some of you (but not all of you) know we have been having a really hard time financially recently. Before this pregnancy we were doing okay. But when we became pregnant the medical bills started piling up and our insurance company shrugged their shoulders at us and said that because we had not yet been on their insurance for a year, they would not cover ANY of my maternity care, labor or delivery. Frustrated, we ditched the company and applied for state health aid for me. If we could just get this pregnancy covered we figured we could go back on the insurance afterward. No one seemed to think getting me covered would be a problem. But it was. It seems that we make $300 above the qualifying cutoff line. And of course, it has taken us about 8 months to get answers from the state about this, and to finally get a denial letter. It has been probably the most discouraging 8 months we've had in a long time. We have struggled to make ends meet and keep up with our doctor bills for this pregnancy. At the same time we have struggled to live by faith. We have lost faith at times, lost sight of the fact that God does indeed care for us and will provide all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. We have forgotten that He is Jehovah Jireh. We have had to recommit ourselves to trusting that He is truly faithful and good. And as we have done that we have seen His faithfulness in amazing ways. It started when I was told I would not be able to have my level 2 ultrasound without paying $300 to the hospital up front. There was NO way I was going to be able to get that kind of money together before the U/S was scheduled. In tears, I confessed to my parents our situation and told them I was going to have to cancel the procedure. Their response was beyond what I could have imagined. They gave me the $300 I needed to pay the hospital. Over the next few weeks we experienced a series of what is commonly known as "mailbox experiences". We received money from Nathan's parents, some dear dear friends from church, and even more money from my parents all to go toward my prenatal care. (In addition, my parents gave us some money to take a date night!!!!) It seemed like we were finally getting our heads above water. And then, we started looking at baby gear for two kids. Oy! Double strollers are EXPENSIVE! I knew we were going to need one, but I just didn't see how we were going to be able to afford one. And I knew that needs come before wants, but I really wanted a double jogging stroller so that I could go for walks with the boys this summer. (Regular strollers are difficult to use for real exercise.) After checking out all my options, I finally settled on a tandem stroller that was on the cheaper end, but still going to cost almost $200. I gave up on the double jogger. Then came a bigger blow. No double stroller on the market was going to fit into the trunk of our Mazda 6. The only one that was a remote possibility was an almost $400 stroller. Yikes. There was no way this was going to work. We couldn't afford a $400 stroller, and there NO WAY we could afford a new car. So, I prayed. I prayed for weeks that the Lord would make a way. On Maundy Thursday I was approached by a family at our church wanting to give us their minivan. They had no use for it anymore, and wanted a family who needed it to have it. They said the Lord immediately laid us on their hearts. I couldn't speak, only nod dumbly (speechlessly) as I tried to drag my jaw off the floor. We got a new car in a matter of days. I couldn't even begin to believe that the bright blue happy looking minivan sitting in my driveway was mine!! I've never been so happy to drive a mom-mobile (and I call it that affectionately!) We were still faced with the problem of being able to afford a stroller, but after the way the Lord took care of us with the car, I decided He would take care of the stroller problem too. And boy did He!!! We were given not one, but TWO double tandem strollers!!! So, we have one to keep at my parents' house in MN, and one to use here at home!! On top of everything, because we were given two tandem strollers, I was able to use all our gift cards given to us at our shower to nearly completely pay for a double jogging stroller!!!!!! Ohhhhh it gets better people! I met with a lady at our local health department who runs a program that will pay for ALL of my care for the last trimester of my pregnancy!!!!! (This program could have paid for all my prenatal care, but I wasn't informed of the program's existence until last week. The best she could do was cover my last trimester. It is much much better than nothing, that's for sure.) After all this, God wasn't done. Last week I went to Pampered Chef party. I needed to get a gift for our next door neighbor's wedding, so I ordered them something. There was a promotion going on, spend $60 and get this adorable coupon holder in a pink zebra stripe fabric. SO cute!! But, $60 was completely out of the question. So, I put the coupon holder out of my mind, and went on with life. Two days ago I got an email from another lady who was at the party wanting to know if I got the coupon holder. She did get one, and doesn't coupon, so she wanted to know if I wanted it. WHAT???? God wasn't finished when He gave us what we needed, He went an extra step and handed me something I wanted too. How great is our God? If ever anyone needed proof of His goodness, it was me. And He showed me in a BIG way that when we walk in faith, He is faithful and can give us more than all we could ever ask or imagine! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in my life recently!!!!

Baby Stuff

Well, it's almost time folks! In less than 3 weeks we will be a family of four!!!! How exciting and scary and exciting and scary and did I mention exciting and scary? So, I've been working on my baby checklist for a week and a half now, and I think I might be almost done! Let's see...

New Car: Check! Ok, this wasn't originally on my baby checklist, because there's NO WAY we could have afforded to buy a new car. We were planning on cramming what we could into our Mazda 6. But, God had a cool plan! A family at church was giving away their Dodge Caravan and asked if we could use it, to which we dumbly nodded. SPEECHLESS! So, we got a new car that will FIT everything in it!!!!! Praise the Lord!

Carseat: Check! Of course, this was leftover from when Derek was an infant so we already had it, but it is in the car and ready to go!

Double stroller: Check times 3!!!! We had two Graco Duogliders given to us for free! (Praise the Lord again!) So, we will keep one at my parents' house for use when we are in MN, and the other we will use here at home! Because people were so generous to us by giving us those tandem strollers, I was able to use baby shower gift cards to purchase a double jogging stroller! I am totally excited about this because during the summer I walk up to 5 miles a day and a jogging stroller is a must when you're doing those kinds of distances. It's just all around easier to push and handle, so I wanted one really badly. The one I got even has all the features I wanted! (Individual sunshades for each kid and a snack tray for each kid! Plus the infant seat snaps into it! Score!)

Derek switched to a toddler bed: Check (finally)! It took a couple months, but Derek is now comfy in his toddler bed at night, and we have a solid routine reestablished in our house. More praise for that because it was rough for a couple months there.

Crib ready: Check! Mattress is raised and clean sheets are on it, and it is ready to go!

Baby Laundry done: Check! After a full week of doing nothing but laundry (nesting!) it is finally done and put away and ready to go!

Extras bought: Check! We did a Babies R Us shopping trip yesterday! We got newborn pacifiers, another diaper pod for Owen (because Derek is still using his), new bottle nipples just in case we need them, and a few other odds and ends that we were lacking.

Hospital bag packed: Check (mostly)! I don't have any of the things I use everyday in there yet (like deodorant and stuff like that), but I have sweatpants, and a couple thin sweatshirts, a t-shirt, my nursing camis, and a few things for Owen all ready to go in the bag!

I feel accomplished! Do any of my mommy readers out there have anything that they think I've missed???