Heaven is for Real...

So this week has been let's just say discouraging and it's only Wednesday
...A FLOOD, A FIRE, QUIT A JOB
I will get to all that in a second, first some background:

In early February Dustin and I decided it would be unsafe to have any more biological children despite hearing differently from many doctors. 3 babies lost is too much for us, especially since my type 1 diabetes was the listed as the cause of Claudie's death on the autopsy.
So we decided to started our journey to adoption a bit earlier than planned. We started by going to an adoption seminar. We left feeling defeated! Adoption would cost us somewhere from $30,000-45,000 from this agency!! We knew there were cheaper routes, but they were less reliable as well and after talking to many people and searching many agencies we found most people spend about that and have a couple mom's back out, unless a baby just falls in your lap (SOOO IF YOU HAVE A BABY YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUT IN OUR LAPS LET US KNOW!!!). We don't feel emotionally strong enough to have another baby "loss" so we are trying for the most OPTIMISTIC route. Don't worry, YES we are prepared that we might have another loss.

We asked many adoptive parents ways to raise money. All of them suggested a garage sale or the like. Anyone that knows me knows I CAN DO GARAGE SALE!! So I put the rummage sale into action and got IMMEDIATE great feedback. CLICK HERE IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT: RUMMAGE SALE FUNDRAISER

At the urging of a friend, we created a page for monetary donations too although the idea of people just handing us money makes Dustin and I both uncomfortable. Within 10 minutes of posting a FUNDRAZR PAGE we have a $5000...YES 3 ZEROS...donation! It was amazing and the ball started really rolling...FAST! A friend of my sister donated a $6000+ furniture set!! The sale was even starting to get local media attention!

We went out for Chinese that weekend and this was my fortune cookie:

I immediately placed in my coin section of my wallet as a reminder to not spend frivolously so we could as my 4 year old says, "buy a baby!"

So flash forward to this week. Sunday (Easter) my husband tells me the basement of the church has flood. All the donations so far are stored in the basement of our church. We couldn't get to the middle area to find out if the donations were destroyed or not at that point.

Monday am (April 1st) I wake up anxious about it. Phone rings. Sister starts with this isn't April Fools and tells me that the person who donated all $6000 furniture set house burned down. I feel horrible. The person donating items is already going thru so much! The family was luckily unharmed.

The furniture was not as lucky.

 

Tues am my husband gave his two weeks at the INCREDIBLE company he worked. Hard decision since they are basically family at this point.  Long story, but basically you have to go to the money if you plan on adopting right? Later that day, my sister went by to check on the donations in the basement of our church and wouldn't cha know it? Our God is bigger than any fire or flood; the donations were untouched!

 

Wednesday AM I show up to an appointment I had canceled (another long story but basically all you need to know is I have a dentist and a MD with the same name last name) and then didn't show up at all for another appointment. I was feeling super overwhelmed and depressed b/c I spent the evening before selling her car seat and all my maternity clothes.



As I was sitting at a stop light I see a sign in a the hands of rough and tumble guy that says, "2 kids, no job!" Sounded familiar, but I figured he was a bit worse off than myself, so I reached in my coin purse. I grab a few coins and said, "Sorry, it's all I have," as the light changed wondering to myself what was that little white paper I handed him. As I looked in my rear view window I noticed him reading the fortune. My first thought was to bawl...and I did. My second thought was probably a nice piece of encouragement for him and maybe a much needed ray of hope. I posted when I got home the pic of the fortune on FB and stated what happened.

 

Immediately, I start getting messages from my friend Mindy. She lost her son, Layton, several months before Claudette and we met from a mutual friend on FB. We have discovered a bizzion things in common. WE both lost our fourth pregnancy at the same age. Both have husbands we call D. We both have the same make and model of mini van. Claudette is buried in this little cemetery in the middle of nowhere really and she happens to drive by it every Saturday on the way to her in-laws. Lots of things...anyway the messages: "LOOK AT FB!" "LOOK AT THE PICTURE I POSTED!" So I did and this is what it said:

 

Mindy had got this same fortune at a different restaurant at a different time and had kept it too! We both are pursuing adoption now and we can't help think that maybe little Layton and Claudie are helping out Jesus' fulfill our DEAREST DREAMS...and perhaps, Jesus is teaching us to fulfill other's dreams along the way too! I am not sure what it all means, but I do know this it makes me feel like HEAVEN IS FOR REAL!

 

***If you would like to help the family whose house burned call Libery Bank of Urbandale, IA 515-254-9000 and ask that donations be given to Garwoods!