Tuesday night Eliana said her first spontaneous prayer! I am so excited to see this side of her developing as she learns about God and a relationship with Him. I wasn't home when she said her first prayer, but Leif tells it like this:
During Ellie's bedtime routine Leif took her to the potty and she sat on it and peed. Then, when she was done, she started to get up, then stopped and sat back down. She closed her eyes really tight and said, "Thank you for food, and thank you for pee-pee in the potty!"
How sweet is that? I love to see her expressing thankfulness, especially thankfulness to God, in the little things. I love to see her making those connections. I love to see her growing up in both stature and wisdom, and I love stories like these!
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Monday, November 19, 2007
Take II
Well, after the car accident, it seemed to take a LONG time to hear back from the insurance company as to the state of our beloved Prius. We were given a quote from the collision center and told that the car was "borderline" totaled. An adjuster would have to come out and determine whether it was totaled since it was a close call. Still borderline. They did a little more tearing apart to see what else might have been damaged and eventually reached a conclusion:
TOTALED.
Poor Prius. That was a little over a week ago. We had been hoping the car wouldn't be totaled, as we thought we would get considerably less for it than we paid new a year and a half ago. And after paying off the loan we didn't think we could afford another car. With the Taurus on the fritz and just recently fixed to the tune of several hundred dollars, we really wanted them just to tell us that they could fix our Prius and we'd be done with it. But God knew better and decided to surprise us. Amazingly, we actually came out a little ahead on the deal (before paying off the loan, that is) and were given several thousand more than we expected from the insurance. But... it meant we were on a car search.
After owning a Prius, we were sort of spoiled. We had specific criteria we weren't really willing to let go of as we looked at other cars. It had to be a hatch back with ample cargo space. It had to have keyless entry, and keyless ignition was preferable. It had to be safe driving on MT roads. We looked. We test drove. And we found the perfect car:
Yes, it's another Prius! Prius II is a 2008, brand new. They just happened to have a red one on the lot, with the same package that Prius I had been equipped with. AND they could give it to us for a couple thousand less than we paid for the original Prius. The interior upholstery color is different (gray instead of tan) but other than that it is just like our old car! Now, on Friday at Bible Study I asked the ladies to pray that our car shopping experience would go smoothly and that we would know what to do about a new car. Then, right after Bible study we went car shopping and found Prius II. God is so good.
So here's the part that really got me about this whole thing. A couple months ago our bank got shut down by the FDIC. Everything is fine, and our accounts have been switched over to a new bank, so it wasn't a really big deal. BUT we had some money in CDs that we couldn't access until they matured. Since the bank shut down and all that, though, we have the option to access it now if we want to through the new bank. That means that not only did the dealership have basically our exact car brand new for a great price, but we have access to money now that we wouldn't have earlier and we could actually walk in and pay for it so we won't even have car payments!
Yes, God is good. Very, very good.
TOTALED.
Poor Prius. That was a little over a week ago. We had been hoping the car wouldn't be totaled, as we thought we would get considerably less for it than we paid new a year and a half ago. And after paying off the loan we didn't think we could afford another car. With the Taurus on the fritz and just recently fixed to the tune of several hundred dollars, we really wanted them just to tell us that they could fix our Prius and we'd be done with it. But God knew better and decided to surprise us. Amazingly, we actually came out a little ahead on the deal (before paying off the loan, that is) and were given several thousand more than we expected from the insurance. But... it meant we were on a car search.
After owning a Prius, we were sort of spoiled. We had specific criteria we weren't really willing to let go of as we looked at other cars. It had to be a hatch back with ample cargo space. It had to have keyless entry, and keyless ignition was preferable. It had to be safe driving on MT roads. We looked. We test drove. And we found the perfect car:
Yes, it's another Prius! Prius II is a 2008, brand new. They just happened to have a red one on the lot, with the same package that Prius I had been equipped with. AND they could give it to us for a couple thousand less than we paid for the original Prius. The interior upholstery color is different (gray instead of tan) but other than that it is just like our old car! Now, on Friday at Bible Study I asked the ladies to pray that our car shopping experience would go smoothly and that we would know what to do about a new car. Then, right after Bible study we went car shopping and found Prius II. God is so good.So here's the part that really got me about this whole thing. A couple months ago our bank got shut down by the FDIC. Everything is fine, and our accounts have been switched over to a new bank, so it wasn't a really big deal. BUT we had some money in CDs that we couldn't access until they matured. Since the bank shut down and all that, though, we have the option to access it now if we want to through the new bank. That means that not only did the dealership have basically our exact car brand new for a great price, but we have access to money now that we wouldn't have earlier and we could actually walk in and pay for it so we won't even have car payments!
Yes, God is good. Very, very good.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Too Much Excitement!
Eliana's birthday party is tomorrow and we've had some excitement leading up to. Too much, in fact! I've been working on making cookies and cupcakes for the big day. Today is the day to frost the cupcakes for tomorrow.
This morning Dad and Leif took Ellie hiking up to the top of Sacajawea, the highest point in the Bridger mountains. Along the way they saw a mountain goat hanging out up there and took a bunch of pictures of it, but I'll have to post those later.
While they were gone I went garage sale-ing with Taylor. I got some GREAT stuff for Ellie!!! I got a little Ellie-sized wooden rocking chair for $5, and a pop up playhouse/train with two rooms and a connecting tunnel for $9. I also got her some snow boots for this winter ($1) and an umbrella stroller with a sun shade and storage compartment ($3). It was a great outing!
After everyone got home and had lunch, I went out to the backyard to find Leif. He wasn't out there. But when I stepped out onto the deck I noticed that.... OUR BACK FENCE WAS ON FIRE!! So was the corner of the field behind it. I called 9-1-1 and they said they'd send a firetruck out. In the meantime, Dad, some neighbors, and a kind couple who was just driving by pulled out as many hoses as they could find and tried to keep the fire at bay. Eventually the firetrucks arrived, but not before the whole field was burned and the fire had reached the large metal shed on the property as well. Something inside the shed exploded with a hearty "BOOM!" shortly before the firemen extinguished the flames.
As it turns out, the fire was actually caused by something on the other side of the subdivision. A transformer over there blew and started a fire, then caused a chain reaction and triggered this transformer, which shot sparks when it blew and started our fire. Our back fence is burned and will have to be replaced. Thankfully, though, it is the boundary fence for the subdivision and is their responsibility, not ours.
I am so thankful that the wind was blowing away from our house. Otherwise the fire could very easily have burned up our yard and reached the house before the fire crew arrived. There wasn't any damage to anyone's homes, thankfully. I don't know who owns the metal shed or what was in it, but I've never seen any activity over there, so I think it's probably just storage. In any event, it could have been much worse, and I'm thankful that it wasn't.
And now we have a great conversation piece for the party tomorrow.
"What happened to your fence?"
This morning Dad and Leif took Ellie hiking up to the top of Sacajawea, the highest point in the Bridger mountains. Along the way they saw a mountain goat hanging out up there and took a bunch of pictures of it, but I'll have to post those later.
While they were gone I went garage sale-ing with Taylor. I got some GREAT stuff for Ellie!!! I got a little Ellie-sized wooden rocking chair for $5, and a pop up playhouse/train with two rooms and a connecting tunnel for $9. I also got her some snow boots for this winter ($1) and an umbrella stroller with a sun shade and storage compartment ($3). It was a great outing!
After everyone got home and had lunch, I went out to the backyard to find Leif. He wasn't out there. But when I stepped out onto the deck I noticed that.... OUR BACK FENCE WAS ON FIRE!! So was the corner of the field behind it. I called 9-1-1 and they said they'd send a firetruck out. In the meantime, Dad, some neighbors, and a kind couple who was just driving by pulled out as many hoses as they could find and tried to keep the fire at bay. Eventually the firetrucks arrived, but not before the whole field was burned and the fire had reached the large metal shed on the property as well. Something inside the shed exploded with a hearty "BOOM!" shortly before the firemen extinguished the flames.
As it turns out, the fire was actually caused by something on the other side of the subdivision. A transformer over there blew and started a fire, then caused a chain reaction and triggered this transformer, which shot sparks when it blew and started our fire. Our back fence is burned and will have to be replaced. Thankfully, though, it is the boundary fence for the subdivision and is their responsibility, not ours.
I am so thankful that the wind was blowing away from our house. Otherwise the fire could very easily have burned up our yard and reached the house before the fire crew arrived. There wasn't any damage to anyone's homes, thankfully. I don't know who owns the metal shed or what was in it, but I've never seen any activity over there, so I think it's probably just storage. In any event, it could have been much worse, and I'm thankful that it wasn't.
And now we have a great conversation piece for the party tomorrow.
"What happened to your fence?"
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Unexpected
11 days ago we found out we were pregnant. I was so happy. Our babies would be 18 months apart, just like we’d planned. I got to surprise Leif with the news and we were finally going to be a family of four.
Tuesday we found out the pregnancy was ectopic. We were going to lose our baby no matter what. Thankfully we found out before it ruptured. They gave me a couple shots of methotrexate to stop the pregnancy before it could rupture and I would need to go back for weekly blood tests over the next few weeks until my HCG levels are back to zero.
I know that our little baby was created by God for His glory. And I know that both the short life and the death of our baby will bring glory to God in His sovereignty. It’s not about me, and it’s not about Leif, and it’s not about our baby. It’s about God. We are here for His purpose and His glory. And I praise Him for that.
I am thankful that Eliana woke up with a 102.5 temperature that morning. I am thankful that I called the doctor on Monday to ask if I should be concerned about the little bit of spotting I’d had over the weekend. I am thankful for the cramping I had that convinced me to call, even though I was sure everything was okay. If Eliana hadn’t had a fever and been acting sick, I would have dropped her off at Taylor’s house and gone to the appointment alone. Instead, I made an appointment for her that afternoon and took her with me. If I hadn’t had her with me I wouldn’t have called Leif to see if I could drop her off at his office while I had blood drawn and a sonogram. She was whiny, so he didn’t think he would be able to get much work done, so he decided to come with me to the appointment, especially since we were having a sonogram and would get to see our little baby. I am thankful that she was whiny and fussy because it meant that Leif was with me when we found out about our baby. He was able to take Eliana to her appointment when I was still busy getting shots and meeting with the doctor. There was nothing wrong with Eliana. By the time she got in to see the doctor her fever was gone. Her throat was a little red, so they did a strep test, but it came back negative. There was nothing wrong with her, but I am so thankful she had a fever because I wasn’t alone that day.
On Wednesday morning I was in a lot of pain, so we went back to the doctor. They did another sonogram and discovered that the baby had grown a little, and that I was bleeding into my abdominal cavity. They ran some more blood tests and I went back home and waited for them to call with the results. When the doctor called with my results, she said she wasn't comfortable waiting to see if my body would reabsorb the pregnancy. She said that my body had a good chance of reabsorbtion if my HCG levels were below 5,000 and if the pregnancy were smaller than 3 cm. The pregnancy was bigger than that and my HCG levels were at 6,000, so they scheduled me for surgery for Wednesday night.
My surgery was delayed due to an emergency operation, but around midnight on Wednesday I finally got into the operating room. They were able to do the surgery laparascopically, which means that I have three tiny incisions instead of a large incision, and it means that I should be able to heal more quickly. They had to remove the tube containing the pregnancy, but said that everything went smoothly and that the other side looks good. My doctor said she didn't see any reason why we couldn't still have more children in the future, so that was good news. I am on bedrest recovering for the next two weeks, but thankfully we were able to fly my mom up on Thursday morning. She will be here for 12 days helping me take care of Eliana since I am not allowed to lift her. We are praying for a speedy recovery, but I am so thankful that my mom was able to come. It is another example of God's faithfulness is carrying us through hard times.
I believe that God is sovereign. And I believe that He does things for a reason – for His glory. I thank Him for the life of our little baby because it allowed me to see His hand at work yet again, and it is another reminder that He is in control. He knows the plans He has for us. For me, for Leif, for Eliana, and for the baby we will never get to meet. He has a purpose for each of us, and that purpose is to bring Him glory.
To God be the glory, great things He has done.
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