The Rest of the Story (or Now I Know Why - Part 5)

WOW!!!! God just keeps blessing the socks off of us!!!!!

It has been one roller-coaster of a ride

But GOD is faithful! 



(Prologue:  If you don't know what this is all about,

check out the blog links on the left: Our Journey - Parts 1 through 4)

After our paperwork got kicked back from the lockbox a second time, I called our USCIS Officer.  I told him what happened and he said not to worry, that he would see what he could do.  Well, he was able to work some magic on his end and got approval to process our paperwork anyway.  (Miracle #1)

He said that he would approve us as soon as he got the necessary papers on his desk, but that it could take a day or two.  That was Tue 1/25. 

I began to realize just how tight the timing was going to be.  You see, the CCAA closes for Chinese New Year from 2/2 through 2/8.  GWs birthday is 2/9.  We have to sign the adoption papers BEFORE 2/9 or it is too late.  As a result, we need our TA issued on or before 2/1. 

Assuming the worst case, our USCIS officer would not be able to approve us until Thur, our papers wouldn't make it to the National Visa Center until Friday and they wouldn't be able to cable our information until Monday.    The Consulate would have to process our Article 5 that day so our agency representative could pick it up and hand carry it to Beijing on 2/1.  Then, CCAA has to sign the TA then. 

WHEW!!!!  I was concerned that any other delays might create a huge problem for us.

So, I sent an e-mail to the Consulate and to NVC to make them aware of the upcoming paperwork and deadline.  They responded to me and assured me that everything would be expedited due to the nature of the case. 

God then reminded me of a distant relative who "happens" to be a retired US State Department employee.  So I called him and explained our predicament and asked if there was anything he could do.  He said it had been two years since he retired and that since the State Department moves people around regularly, he wasn't sure that he would be of any help.

Late Tue afternoon, our USCIS officer e-mailed me that he would have the needed papers on Wed morning!!!!!   (Miracle #2)

Later that evening, I received a call from my relative.  He explained that he had been able to make contact with a former colleague and ask if he knew anyone at the Guangzhou Consulate that could help us if needed. 

As God had pre-ordained many years ago, this former colleague was now himself stationed at the Guangzhou consulate!  (Miracle #3)

I knew right then and there that GOD was in FULL Control of this adoption and NOTHING would stop it.  (Yes, I had doubted before, but this sealed the deal for me)

But Satan was STILL trying his darndest to keep his hands on our son.  I got a phone call Wed morning from a different USCIS officer.  He told me that our officer was out sick that day.  While I had a moment of panic, the confirmation from God the night before kept me calm.  Our substitute officer asked me a few questions, needed one more piece of paper from our agency and was able to e-mail me our I-800 Pre Approvals by 1:00pm and overnight our package to the NVC.  He was even gracious enough to send me the tracking number so I would know exactly when it got to NVC.  (Miracle #4)

Thursday morning at 10:30, I saw that our package had been delivered to NVC. I called them and got through rather easily (Miracle #5)  I spoke with a wonderful lady there who asked for the tracking number and said she would get right on it.  She said it would most likely be later that evening or Friday morning before we were cabled.  I asked if I could call around 4pm and see how things were going and she said that was a good idea.

So, at 3:30 I started calling and got through right about 4pm.  I spoke to another very helpful lady who told me that we had just been cabled!!! (Miracle #6)  I profusely thanked her and hung up giddy with excitement. 

Friday morning, I was up early and checked my e-mail.  I had an e-mail timestamped 11:02pm Thursday night from my agency (who by the way has been ABSOLUTELY AWESOME throughout this whole process).  The first line in the e-mail was

We have your consulate appointment!



I nearly fell off of my chair! This meant that
1) the wonderful folks at the consulate processed our Article 5, (Miracle #7)
2) our agency was able to get that to the CCAA in Beijing (Miracle #8)
3) the CCAA issued our Travel Approvals, and (Miracle #9)
4) the consulate gave us our Consulate appointment (Miracle #10)


all in SEVEN HOURS!!!!!

I called our Senator's aide who had been helping us on Friday morning to tell her the good news.  Her words to me:

"You realize this is a miracle don't you!" 

I said, "Yes, I do!"

She then proceeded to tell me that she had been e-mailing people and leaving messages but had so far received NO REPLIES to any of them.  So, in my mind, there is no doubt who the "Higher Power" was that was expediting this adoption (and he doesn't live in Washington, DC) 

Oh, and on a side note - our paperwork did NOT get kicked back a second time. It turned out that the person our Senator's aide had talked to at the lockbox was talking about the FIRST (and only) time it got kicked back. They apparently didn't realize that we had already corrected it and sent it back and had been in their hands for four days when our Senator's aide called. But I believe that God used that misinformation to start the process that got all of this moving. Our papers did eventually make it out of the lockbox, but not until Thursday 1/27.

So, if there was ever any doubt that God is still in the Miracle business, I think this should be MORE than enough to put that doubt to rest.

This is my Memorial Box Monday post for this week. 

More Answered Prayers

emI don't know why I am surprised, but God just continues to amaze me.  Today, we visited a different church that is closer to our home.  While there we met a lady and she asked if we had any children.  We responded "Yes, we have four and two on the way."  We then proceeded to tell her about the adoption of TJ and GW.  She then prayed for us and at the end asked if we needed anything else.  I told her that we needed a bicycle for GW.  She said she had just bought a boys bicycle at a garage sale and she would be happy to give it to us!  All we have to do is just go pick it up. 

Then, when we went to Chinese class, the friend who helped me find TJ (she was the one who went to Xian last summer) brought me her AM-BBK101 translator to use! I told her I had already bought the ipod touch, but her response was "You'll need 2!"

Praise God!!!

Memorial Box Monday - The Television

My dad lives with us and has his own "suite" in our house.  He has his bed, desk, La-Z-Boy recliner and TV all in his room.  The TV he has is pretty old and doesn't have inputs for a DVD player.  On Saturday, CP said to me "Why don't we look for a TV for your Dad for Christmas?  One that he can hook up a DVD player to?"  I told him I thought that was a great idea and I would look for one on Craigslist later that day.

Time got away from me and I didn't look up a TV.  That afternoon, SG asked to go for a bike ride.  So, she and I hopped on our bikes for a ride around our neighborhood.  After about 15 min into our ride, what did I see on the side of the street?

A TV

With a big sign that said "Works, on/off button broken"

I knew immediately how to fix that problem, so I got on the phone and called CP.  I told him what we had found and he came right over and picked it up.

So, a picture of a TV goes in our Memorial Box for the fantastic way God provided.

While you are here, why don't you scroll down and read about families that are fundraising for adoption and consider whether you are to be a part of a Memorial Box Monday for them?

Memorial Box Monday - A Trip to China

This really isn't my story - but it's too good not to share. 

We are in process of adopting a 9 yr old boy from China.  We decided that it would make his transition easier by taking our oldest (JA) son along with us.  However, we didn't feel that it was appropriate to just "give" him the trip.  We want our kids to learn the value of a dollar and learn about hard work.  So, we told JA that he had to earn half of the airfare for his trip.  At the time I was checking, airfare was close to $2000 per person (I know, I nearly fainted) so we gave him a goal of $1000.  We told him that whatever was leftover from half of the airfare was his to keep and use however he saw fit. 

After a month or two of working hard, we also told him that he needed to tithe from his earnings.  He was a little bummed at this, thinking of all the effort/work that would be required to earn this much money.  When I asked him if he trusted God to provide the $1000 he said "Yes."  I then asked him if he trusted God to provide him $1100, he thought about it and said "Yes".  He then willingly took 10% of what he had already and gave it to church.  I was very proud of him. 

He has continued to work diligently to earn his money and so far he has earned $750 towards his trip.  Today, I had someone who knows our family talk to me and ask about how JA's China fund was going.  I told them how much he has and what his goal is. 

They then offered to give JA the remaining $250!!! I was shocked and dumbfounded.  God has certainly chosen to bless our family in amazing ways.  (Even when He is trying to teach me a lesson about patience!)

So, to remember this wonderful gift I will place a dollar bill in our memorial box.

Thank you God - and thank you dear benefactor!

Memorial Box Monday - The House

I know it's Tuesday, but here goes...
When we moved to FL in 2003, the real estate market was just starting to boom.  Our house in NC hadn't sold, so we were waiting to buy until then.  Fortunately, about a month after we moved, our house in NC sold and we could start looking in earnest. 

What we discovered is that homes were flying off the market.  We looked at one house that we really liked.  They got an offer for above asking price.  We looked at another and before we could put an offer on it - it sold.  Things continued to go this way for a couple of weeks. We intentionally would wait until the next day to put an offer on a house, but most times, it had gone under contract by then.

So, one Friday, I had picked out three houses for our realtor to show us.  When we met, she told me that one had gone under contract and we couldn't see it.  So, I looked down my list and picked another one that I thought would end up costing more than we really wanted to pay.  I figured since we would be near it, it wouldn't hurt. 

The first two houses just really didn't fit us.  Not the right layout, didn't have the features we needed, etc.  So we went to see the third house.  While we were in the house, another family drove up and was waiting outside for us to finish looking at it.  When we left, we told our agent that we would have to sleep on it and we would let her know on Sat. 

After much conversation and prayer, we decided on Sat to put in an offer.  Our realtor told us that since the house was owned by a relocation company, we wouldn't know until Monday whether or not the offer was accepted.  Fast forward to Monday.  Our realtor called us back and told us that the company had THREE offers on the house.  One of them was submitted on Friday and two on Saturday.  The only reason the Friday offer wasn't immediately accepted was the relo company was closed.  You see, the company was located in the Northeast and this was the weekend of the HUGE blackout - so noone was at the office to accept that offer on Friday! 

The company asked all three parties to submit their highest and best offer for the home.  We looked at our agent and said, "We did.  If this isn't the house God wants us to have, then so be it."  She went back to the other agent and gave them our response.  Two days later, we got our answer - the house was ours!  It turned out that we didn't even have the highest offer.  We still don't know why this company chose our offer over the others (already pre-approved!?!?), but they did.  There are times when I feel like we bought the wrong house, but God reminds me of this story and I remember that HE gave us this house and I am comforted.

So in my memorial box goes a picture of our house.

To find out more about Memorial Boxes, click below

Memorial Box Monday - Google

The other week, I was having a particularly hard time with one of our kiddos.  The issue we were dealing with was one that we have been facing off and on for a number of years.  This issue is one that will only grow worse with time and I knew I needed to find a way to stop this problem NOW. 

Before when we have faced this issue, I had tried, without success, to find some concrete steps to deal with it (cause I'm a concrete type of person).  Unfortunately, all I had found was vague generalities.  This particular night, I called out to God to PLEASE show me how to deal with this issue.  The first thought that came to mind was to call Focus on the Family.  However, when I did, their office was closed.  I felt that I really needed an answer to this issue right then, so I once again turned to my favorite research tool - G**gle!

I typed in a few key words and hit enter.  The first link or two didn't look very promising, but then I clicked on the third one.  Praise God!!! He answered my prayer!  Right there on that website were three concrete steps to take to address this particular problem (sorry I'm being so vague, but my child deserves some privacy).  I was SO thankful.  I went right to my child and walked through these steps.  It took us some time, but the results were positive.  I know that we are not through with this issue, but now I have the tools I need to address it - thanks to God and Google!

So in my Memorial Box goes a picture of the Google logo!

Memorial Box Monday - Dad's Decision

When we were considering adopting another child, we weren't sure we would be approved because we don't meet all of the criteria for China. As a result, we were tight-lipped with our family (kids and my Dad who lives with us) until we had our Pre-Approval (PA).
About a week before we received our PA, my sister asked my Dad to come spend some time at her house.  I had told her of our plans, but had specifically asked her NOT to tell my Dad.  Well, on the drive to her house, she spilled the beans. 

I was annoyed at her because I had specifically asked her not to tell.  A few days later when we got PA, I called my Dad to tell him.  He was the one that told me my sister had told him about the adoption.  He went on to say that he was not happy with the idea when my sister mentioned it and he wasn't going to go along with the idea.  Now, given that he lives with us and would be required to be fingerprinted and have background checks done, this was going to be a real problem. 

He then went on to tell me that as he was laying awake one morning, God spoke to him.  God said, "Who are you to stop my plans to give a boy a family?"  Dad realized that he couldn't stand in God's way and he needed to be willing to give a fingerprint for this boy.  So, despite my concerns and pleas for my sister to not tell Dad, God knew what was best and my Dad had time to hear from God before I told him of our plans.  So, in my Memorial Box goes a picture of a fingerprint.

If you don't know what a Memorial Box is all about, click on the Memorial Box badge to the right.

Memorial Box Monday - Time Off

Back in 2003, the telecomm industry was beginning to suffer.  Shortly after the Dot Com bust, the telecom companies began their precipitous decline.  I watched in February as some of my colleagues were laid off.  I was somewhat nervous at the time because we were trying to get pregnant again after a miscarriage.  Then in May, I watched even more of my colleagues get laid off - including a friend who was pregnant.  It turned out I was pregnant in Feb (found out shortly after the layoff), so I quickly went to talk to my friend to find out how my company handled things.  She reassured me that she was being taken care of and that things would work out.

The first week of August, CP got a phone call from a lady he had worked with four years earlier.  He had quit his paying job to become a full-time dad when JA was born.   She told him that their old company was opening a new store about 20 min from our house and asked him if he was interested in working again.   He told her he might be interested and that he would call  her back in two weeks.  We had seen enough layoffs at work that we knew there was a pattern.  The layoff always happened on the 2nd Monday of the 2nd month of the quarter.  Sure enough, on Aug 12, I got "laid off".  CP called  his friend and eventually started work the Tue after Labor Day. 

I actually didn't get laid off at the time since I was pregnant.  They actually put me on short-term disability until I delivered SG in Oct.  Then I got the 8 wks of disability for a C-section delivery and then I was officially laid off on what would have been the first day back at work.  I eventually got a job in Florida and started work in July. 

So, I actually got to spend 11 months at home with JA and AT, and the first 9 months at home with SG.  So, in my Memorial Box goes a calendar page.

Memorial Box Monday - Red Paint

I blogged a few weeks ago about our trip to Ukraine to build beds for an orphanage.  When it came time to begin painting the beds, we discovered that there were only 5 (I think) gallons of paint.  We all thought "There is no way we will finish painting all of these beds with only 5 gallons of paint.  We started painting and some of the kids even chipped in to help us.  Sure enough, as we worked through the lineup of beds, we got to the last bucket of paint and still had a LOT of beds left to paint.  We began to pray that the paint would  S-T-R-E-T-C-H so that we could finish the job we started.  We painted and painted and painted.  Everytime we dipped our brush into the bucket, there was paint.  We were all amazed!  We got down to the last three beds and still had nearly 1/4 bucket of paint left!! We finished painting those three beds and had paint left over. 

Praise God! so in my Memorial Box goes a picture of paint buckets.

Memorial Box Monday - 103 Beds

Three years ago, I went to Ukraine with our church on a mission trip. The main purpose of this mission trip was to build 103 beds for kids at an orphanage. We had a missionary in country who had been working with this orphanage for quite some time and had seen the desparate need for new beds for these kids.

Eight of us flew to Ukraine for this purpose, however, one of our group members fell to Traveller's Sickness, leaving only seven of us plus our in country missionary to build 103 beds. Now, what I didn't know before going over there is in Ukraine, you don't just go down to the lumber yard and purchase 2 x 4s and 2 x 6s like we do here. Everything is rough-cut and must be trimmed/sanded down to the needed size. I thought to myself, "How on God's green earth are eight of us (4 women, 4 men) going to do ALL the work needed to build and paint 103 beds in the 3 days we have allotted?" Little did I know what God had in mind.

When the lumber yard owner heard about these Americans coming to Ukraine to build beds for the orphans, he was amazed. He didn't understand why the Ukrainians weren't taking care of their own children. God touched his heart in a mighty way. Not only did he deliver the lumber as ordered, he had trimmed/sanded it all to finished size. Praise God! Even more, he had pre-assembled the foot-boards and headboards and already mounted the L-brackets to the side rails for us!!! WOW!!!

In my Memorial Box will go a picture of the finished beds.

This was only the first of numerous Memorial Box stories from this trip, but you'll have to wait to hear the rest.

Memorial Box Monday - Changes

I have been at my current job for almost three years. It has been a challenging three years with lots of learning accomplished. Recently, I was moved to a different position within my company - one I wasn't totally happy with. About a month prior to this move, I had lunch with a former colleague who had recently left to work for another company in our town. She was really excited about her new position and encouraged me to look into applying. At the time, I wasn't that interested. However, when I was moved to my new position at work (one which just didn't fit well in my long term career plan), I thought I'd look.


I know - I must be crazy to be looking for a new job in the middle of a recession in a state that has a 12% unemployment rate and a county with an 11% unemployment rate and facing severe layoffs in the coming months. However, I had a job so I had nothing to lose.


I went to the new company's website and poked around their Careers page. I saw a job posting that looked like it had been written just for me!!! I e-mailed my friend and asked her if she could submit my resume for me since she was an insider - she gladly agreed.


A few weeks later, I got a call about a phone screen. The first interviewer didn't seem to go very well, but the second interviewer seemed much better. I waited.....


It was a few more weeks before I finally got a call for an on-site interview. This went very well also. After a few days, I was made an offer.

Things seemed to be lining up perfectly - except for one little thing: we are in the early stages of an international adoption and I will need at least a month off early next year to travel to bring our son home. Would the new company be willing to work with me?


I woke up early one morning after I got the offer and lay in bed praying for God to show me whether he wanted me to take this new job or not. I got up shortly after that and headed outside for my God time (i.e devotionals). When I got to the sliding door, I saw a butterfly on our pool fence - I had never seen one there before. I wondered why there was a butterfly there. Then it struck me - butterflies are a symbol of metamorphosis - CHANGE.

I knew then I had my answer. I called the new company and asked if they would be willing to work with me for the time off and they agreed - and I accepted the job.


So in my Memorial Box goes a picture of the butterfly that I took that morning.

P.S. For those that remembered I would talk about our Costa Rica trip today - well, since I am leaving my job (working for an airline) we will lose our flight benefits. That's why we took the spontaneous trip to CR last weekend!

Memorial Box Monday - Blue Ladybugs

I didn't make the connection until Thursday. At AT's baseball game the other night, I had been talking to PaddyGirl while we watched our younger kids play a pickup game of baseball. During our conversation, I mentioned to her that with HJ's adoption, it just felt right the whole time. I KNEW it was the right thing to do. CP and I had talked about four kids for a long time and we both knew adoption was the method we wanted to grow our family.

This time, though, there are times when I question the "rightness" of DJ's adoption. You know, our family has a happy balance right now - will adding DJ upset our balance? Will DJ end up being a "third wheel" to JA and AT? What effect will DJ's arrival have on HJ? I also have the "normal" concerns with an older child adoption.

Yet, I know, from things that have already happened on this journey, that God is asking us to step out in faith and trust HIM. It wasn't too long (about 20 minutes) after PaddyGirl and I had this conversation that the BLUE ladybug landed on HJ's head. I now realize that God sent me a blue ladybug to remind me that this is HIS will for our life - and not to worry.

So in my Memorial Box will be a picture of a BLUE ladybug

Memorial Box Monday - I'd like to schedule a C-section

When I was pregnant with our second child and the time was nearing for his birth, I sat down with my OB/GYN to discuss our options. You see, with my oldest, after laboring for over 24 hours and pushing for four hours to no avail, it was decided that it was time for a C-section.

I told my OB/GYN that I was open to a VBAC as long as he felt that it was OK. As we sat there discussing it, he stopped, reached for the phone and dialed the Maternity floor of the hospital. "I'd like to schedule a C-section". I could tell from his response that the nurse on the other end must have said, "Did the mom chicken out?" His response was, "No, her Doctor chickened out!"

He told me after he hung up that he felt HORRIBLE for making me push for so long for my first delivery - especially when it was obvious after my son was born that he would never have delivered normally. You see, his head circumference was 15" (yes, that's right - 15"!!!! He weighed in at 11 lb 9 oz!!)

Well, the appointed day arrived and we checked in and waited to be taken to the OR. We got in the OR and the deed was done fairly quickly (15 min from start to finish!) So, you ask, WHY is this a Memorial Box post? Well, you see, my second son's head circumference was also 15" (but he ONLY weighed 9 lb 9 oz) so he wouldn't have delivered normally anyway. In addition, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. If we had tried to deliver normally, he might have strangled in the womb. God knew exactly what he was doing when my OB/GYN chickened out and scheduled the C-section. So in my Memorial Box is a picture of my son!

Memorial Box Monday - Senior Year

I am in the first generation of my family to go to college. My grandfather was a sharecropper with an 8th grade education and my dad was an office manager/postal worker with a high school diploma and some correspondence school work. Needless to say, my parents didn't have a whole lot of money to provide a college education for me.



In 9th grade, I knew I wanted to go to college and I knew that paying for it was going to be up to me. I worked hard in school, figuring that my grades were my best shot at paying for a college education. I was very fortunate to end up with solid grades and a good SAT score - enough to be awarded a 1/2 tuition scholarship plus an extra $2500 per year. This scholarship, some other scholarships, and the money I saved working my senior year and the summer after my senior year weren't quite enough to pay for the entire cost, so I ended up taking out the maximum student loan my freshman year.



I didn't work during the school year as I needed to focus on my studies. However, as soon as school let out for the summer I was once again working not one, but two jobs. Once again, my sophomore year, I had to take out another student loan. The same scenario played out the summer after sophomore year and my junior year - another loan.



During the summer before my senior year, I continued to work two jobs, but found out late in the summer that I no longer qualified for the student loan! I was heartbroken. I had no idea how I would pay for my senior year as my parents didn't have any more money to give me. I had been praying about the money ever since I found out I didn't qualify for the loans - but so far had no idea how I was going to finish out my schooling. My professor said, "Come see me in my office tomorrow." I had no idea what she was thinking.



The next day, I went by her office. She offered me a job, paid in cash, working for her department. I wasn't sure I could handle school (17 credit hours of engineering - including a senior project) AND a part time job of 20 hours per week. I told her I would go home and pray about it. It became very clear that this was God's answer to my prayers about paying for school!



As it turned out, my senior year was one of my easiest years in terms of study time so the 20 hours a week had no negative impact on my school work! In addition, when I mentioned that I wanted to apply to grad school, but didn't have the money for applications, my professor asked me what the costs were. I told her - and she wrote me a check for the full amount for the four schools I applied to!!!!!



I graduated from college with only $7200 in loans to repay - the truly amazing part - I did NOT attend a state school. I graduated from the University of Miami (a private school) - and lived on campus all four years!!! I learned then that God can provide the funds for anything that he has called us to.



So, in my Memorial Box there is a Diploma.

Memorial Box Monday - Milk is not a good thing

When SG was born, I was determined to nurse her as much as possible.  With JA, he ate SO much, that I just never had enough.  With AT, things went better, but I still struggled.  Fortunately, while I was pregnant with SG, I met a friend at church who was part of La Leche League (LLL).  She was a great encourager to me when things got difficult. 

SG while a good baby, definately had struggles and even ended up with the nickname Sour Grapes!  She would cry a LOT unless I carried her.  This was particularly difficult as I also had a 4 yr old and a 2.5 yr old at home as well.  We couldn't figure out what was causing her discomfort.  I knew to avoid cabbage (though I LOVE cole slaw) and other foods that cause gas in a nursing infant, but we just didn't know what the problem was.  After consulting with my pediatrician, we came to the conclusion that SG had colic. 

This "diagnosis" just didn't sit right with me as most all of the literature said that colic was EXTREMELY rare in bre*stfed babies.  When I was discussing this with my friend from LLL she mentioned that some kids don't tolerate milk proteins well.  I told her that I had already pulled milk products from my diet and it didn't make a difference.  She then explained that it can take from 7 - 14 days for all milk proteins to filter through the system.  Since I had only eliminated the milk products for 3 days, she suggested I try again but to make sure I avoided milk for at least two weeks before adding it back in. 

So, I started again - seven days later I had a NEW child!  I couldn't believe the difference.  Her personality was like night and day - we were thrilled.  Then just two days later, the "old" SG was back :-(  I called my friend again, very upset and frustrated.  I just couldn't figure out what had happened.  I was reviewing with her what I had eaten the past few days when it hit me.  At church on Sunday morning, I had a bagel with a small amount of cream cheese and a cup of coffee with creamer!!!! Praise God!! It IS MILK!!!!!! 

I was so grateful to KNOW for sure that milk was what was causing my precious little one such discomfort.  I was amazed at what such a small amount would do to her poor little stomach.  I would have never done this intentionally to confirm the milk problem, but I was thankful for the confirmation.  So, in my memorial box goes a picture of a bottle of milk - to remind me of God's faithfulness in solving SG's problem.

Memorial Box Monday - The Camping Trip

We love to go camping. We bought a 28' travel trailer almost 10 yrs ago and try to go camping about once a month. However, for various reasons, we haven't been camping in almost a year. This story is about the last time we went camping. It was quite the trip; in fact, I told CP that if it had been our first camping trip, I would never go camping again.

Last May, I left work early on Thursday and we headed out for our long weekend around 3pm. We were all loaded up and headed down the road and had been gone about 1.5 hrs. One of the warning lights on the dashboard came on, but it wasn't of great concern so we kept going. However, about 10 min later, CP mentioned that the power steering went out. Houston, we have a problem. Can you imagine driving a Suburban hauling a 28' travel trailer with OUT power steering? Fortunately, CP used to drive long-haul tracter trailers and his first cab did NOT have power steering, so this didn't bother him too much. However, about 10 more min later, the A/C went out. OK, something is really wrong, but where are we? TWO MILES from an exit (on I-95!!!!!). We kept plugging along and FINALLY got to the exit where we pulled off.

God showed up as there was a truck repair shop literally 500 feet from the exit and we pulled in about 4:55pm. The guys at the shop came out and checked under the hood. They discovered a belt had broken, but it is not one that they carries. Fortunately, they were able to drive into town (did I mention this is a rural part of FL on I-95?) and get the part they needed. We spent about an hour wandering around the truck shop trying to keep the kids occupied. They got the belt replaced and we were on our way a little after 6:00pm.

We finally arrived at our destination, Alexander Springs, but it was after 8:00pm and dark. Here, we got the second surprise of our trip - no hookups. You see, we camp, but we don't exactly rough it. We always make sure we have water and electricity at our campsites because cooking in a microwave is AWESOME when you have four grumpy kids who are tired and hungry. This was not to be the case this night - except for GOD. Fortunately, the campground host DOES have electricity and they were very gracious and let me nuke our dinner in their microwave.

The next day (Friday), we headed down to the springs. The main reason we came was for the snorkeling. We had heard that most all of the springs in FL have tons of fish and are great for snorkeling. While walking down to the spring, we heard a loud C-R-A-A-A-C-C-C-K-K-K!!!!!! followed by a large BOOM!!!! We turned around and saw that a huge tree had fallen not 30 feet behind where we were standing and across the path we had just walked down. Once again, ONLY GOD and his perfect timing kept us from being negatively impacted by this event.

We spent the day snorkeling but unfortunately, didn't see but about 20 fish - quite disappointing. So, we decided that on Sat, we would go to Blue Springs where we KNOW there are a lot of fish as we have been there many times. We were enjoying Blue Springs and were headed back up to the spring head for another leisurely float down the run when we were stopped by emergency personnel. Later, we found out that a gentleman had been free-diving (no O2 tank and weights to keep him from floating up) into the spring head and apparently passed out and drowned. This particular event didn't exactly directly impact us, but we were thankful that God kept us safe on this day.

Finally, on Sunday, we decided to leave Alexander Springs and go to DeLeon Springs. We had been told of the wonderful Pour Your Own Pancake Sugar Mill Restaurant there and decided to treat ourselves. We had a wonderful breakfast, but another disappointing swim at the springs as once again, there were few fish. As a result, we decided to take a walk down one of the nature trails there. We all headed out, including my 78 yr old dad who has vision problems, for the trail. I wasn't paying close enough attention and didn't think about the fact that we weren't on a clearly marked path as we were cutting through grass and parking lots to get to the trail head. Unfortunately, Dad tripped over a railroad tie that was used to mark a parking area and fell.

Panic swept through me as a 70-something lady from our small group Bible Study had fallen and broken her hip just weeks earlier and then died after her surgery. All sorts of worst case scenarios raced through my head as I ran the 15ft back to Dad. Once again, GOD was there to catch Dad. When he stood up, the only evidence that he had fallen was a small scratch on the palm of his hand where he had caught himself on the way down!

We took our hike and then packed up and headed for home. Once again, Satan decided he wanted to challenge our faith again. On our drive home, the transmission in the Suburban decided that it did not want to leave 2nd gear. GOD was there and provided a rest area just about a mile down the road. CP was able to unhook the trailer and test just the Suburban, but there were no problems with the transmission. We made many phone calls even to our auto mechanic who just happened (NOT!) to answer the phone that day. We ended up decided to limp home in 2nd gear and had no problems doing so.

So, to remember this GOD-ordained trip, I am putting a small travel Trailer in our Memorial Box.

Memorial Box Monday - God said, "No"

This is a bit unusual compared to many of the Memorial Box stories I've read, but it is the most powerful story in my life of "God".





When my oldest, JA, was 6, I was tucking him into bed one night and he said, "I want to ask Jesus in my heart." So, I led him in a simple prayer of acknowledging his disobedience to God, asking God to come into his heart, and committing to trying to follow God's commands. When he was done praying, I asked him what God said. My son replied, "He said, 'No.'"





I thought "WHAT!?!?!?!?!? How could God possibly have said NO!!!!"





JA then said, "God said, 'I'm already there.'" At that point, I was greatly relieved and told my son a story that I hadn't told him before.





You see, on Easter Sunday when JA was only 3 yrs old, he came up to us on our porch and said, "I want to ask Jesus in my heart." I was taken completely off guard as I never expected a child as young as 3 to understand/grasp/ask this question. After a quick prayer to God for help, I slowly led him through a simple prayer asking God into his heart.





So, God was already in his heart - and told him so! So in our Memorial Box is a heart.

Memorial Box Monday - Our Daughter

When we decided to adopt our daughter, we wanted a child that would be close in age to SG. Our boys are 19mo apart and do so well together, so we wanted our daughters to share that same friendship. At the time, SG was 3.5 yr old and we had BTDT with infants, so we were interested in a toddler. Initially, we asked our agency if we could adopt a child that was 19mo old. We were told no. At the time, it was very hard to take. However, we kept praying and looking at the available children. One little girl just kept looking at me and saying "What's taking you so long?" She was older than we were initially open to at 28 mo (just 12 mo younger than SG). However, I just felt God continue to tug at my heart. I prayed and prayed and finally asked DH about adopting her. He said Yes! So we asked our agency if we could be her parents - and they said Yes!!!


Fast forward through the adoption process to our travel time. We ended up traveling with the family that was matched with the little one that we originally asked to parent! When the other family received their daughter and as the days in China progressed, it became clearly obvious that HJ was OUR daughter and the other little one was their daughter. She wasn't walking yet and struggled with other issues. HJ, however, hit the ground running! In fact, there were times that our guide had to run to catch her as she would run when we put her down. So, in our Memorial Box, is a picture of HJ.

Memorial Box Monday - Rainbows

This is my first Memorial Box Monday post. I have been reading them for a long time over at http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/ but hadn't gotten around to posting my own until now. So here goes...
We live on a barrier island in Florida. In 2004, we were in the cross-hairs of 3 out of 4 hurricanes that hit Florida. The first one, Charlie, didn't get very near us and we stayed at home. The second one Frances, had her sights square on us. We decided to pack up and head for the opposite coast. When we left, Frances was expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. It was very hard packing up the kids, dog and important stuff like photos and paperwork and saying goodbye. I just knew that if Frances hit as a Cat 4 that there would be nothing left when we returned. As we were driving up I-95 on our way to Tampa, my 4 yr old son sitting in the back seat said, "Look, Mom. There's a rainbow." I thought, there can't be a rainbow, it hasn't been raining. But sure enough, as I looked to the east, there was a beautiful rainbow out our window. God spoke to me right then and said, "All will be well when you return."

We went to Tampa and waited as Frances dawdled out in the Atlantic. When she finally decided to come ashore, she was only a Category 2 hurricane. We returned to our home to find that only one screen panel of our screen porch had been lost.