Miracles

Here we are, finally settled in Idaho, and my mind is reeling with things I have been wanting to write, but have not had the spare minute to jot down. Indeed, the task is almost overwhelming.

But our family has seen many miracles over the past weeks, and I feel very compelled to write them so I’ll always remember them.

So the long story:

We had been looking for a new job for nearly six months. We loved living in Texas and had made some awesome friends. But the bottom line was we were not making enough money, especially to adopt. We were really struggling. We had put adoption on hold because it’s rather difficult to start the adoption process and then move out of state right in the middle. So we were waiting to start the paperwork to wait to get approved to wait to be selected. Waiting to wait. Waiting to wait is the worst kind of waiting there is. It is excruciating. If you have ever had to do this, then you know exactly what I mean.

There were several opportunities that fell through. Spencer was even offered a few jobs that we had to turn down because we knew they weren’t the right fit. We wanted to say yes so badly, but we couldn’t. So we waited some more.

Finally, we got an interview with a station in Idaho. It was an anchor position. Spencer wouldn’t have to work Sundays. We would make enough money. We flew to Idaho for the interview. We met the news director, and got know the area a little bit. We did some house hunting. We found the perfect little home to rent quite close to Spencer’s work. We really hit it off with the landlords. They still had a bit of work to do on the house, but promised us that they would let us know first, before they posted it online, when it was finished. We hoped to get the job and move to Idaho about the time the house would be finished.

A couple of months later we still didn’t know if Spencer had gotten the job. We had been in touch with the news director, but no decision had been made.

The landlords who were holding the house for us told us that they would have to go ahead and rent it to someone else since we still didn’t even know if we were moving. We understood, but were disappointed. I felt like we had found the place we were supposed to be. I wanted it to work out.

About a week after that we got a call from the Idaho station… and a job offer! We could finally move forward. We could finally pursue adoption! That same day, we got a call from the landlord we had met on our first trip out. The house was still available, and they wanted to know if we wanted it. Miracle.

Up to this point in our marriage, every home we had lived in had a washer and drier or at least a community laundry room (at our apartment complex). The home we were moving into was not furnished with a washer and drier. We were just planning on finding a Laundromat to use for a few months until we saved up enough for a set of our own. Spencer mentioned this to his co-anchor, Lindsey, in passing. Lindsey had just gotten married a couple of weeks prior. Both she and her husband had owned their own washer and drier, and so they had an extra set that they wanted to get rid of. She asked if we wanted them, and even offered to haul them to our house in her husband’s truck. This all happened the day before we moved, so we were able to load the washer and drier right onto our U-Haul. Miracle.

The only other thing our new home was lacking was a lawn mower. We were planning on asking to borrow a neighbor’s mower until we could purchase our own. We met a nice family in the ward at church, who happened to live on our street. Spencer asked them if it would be possible for him to borrow their lawn mower for a couple of hours to take care of our lawn. As it turned out, they had recently acquired a second mower, and asked if we would like to have it. The refused pay, insisting they did not need two lawn mowers. Miracle.

We met with our caseworker and were FINALLY able to begin the paperwork to start the adoption process. I felt so strongly during our meeting that we are where we are supposed to be. We learned that the LDS services office we are working with has one of the highest placement rates in the country. Miracle.

We needed physicals as part of the adoption process, so we found a local doctor to meet with. He filled out some of the adoption paperwork and was very kind and helpful. When we went to pay the bill, the receptionist told us that the doctor only wanted to charge us a third of what a new-patient office visit normally costs. Miracle.

I couldn’t help but tear up, I was so grateful for our doctors kindness. It was a bit of a struggle not to lose it in front of the nice receptionist.

It might sound simple. It’s just a washer. It’s just a lawn mower. No big deal, right? But it’s a big deal to me. It’s a reminder that Heavenly Father hasn’t forgotten us. It’s a reminder that He has a plan for us. We have waited so long, and I know we have a while to wait still until our baby is finally in our arms. Heavenly Father is so merciful to send little reminders along the way that He’s right there with us. The more I look the more miracles I see. We are so grateful. We are so blessed.