God Does Notice Us

One of my favorite quotes is "God does notice us and he watches over us, but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."  -Spencer W. Kimball

With Holly in Oregon, I have been praying for God to send angels to watch over her and also praying that she'll see God's hand in her life.  "Ask, and you shall receive." There is a woman named Deedee that has taken Holly under her angel wing and others who have shown her so much kindness!  

Holly's car broke down several weeks ago.  It had been in the shop previously, so she took it back to the guy who had worked on it before.  He said he would do the work for free in his spare time, but she would need to pay for parts and it would take several weeks.  During that time, Holly learned to use the bus system and did a lot of walking!  When Holly went to get the car and pay the bill, she was told that someone had already paid it.  She asked who it was, but was told that they wanted to remain anonymous. I believe God had a hand in this.  His fingerprints are all over it.  

Another cool thing happened a few weeks ago.  In March I had been thinking about replacing the drain in our kitchen sink because it had become corroded.  A couple weeks later we got a new load of Amazon overstocks to sell.  In the load was a small white box.  We never get anything small, so I figured it probably went with something else in the load.  I put it aside and started listing all the items.  None of the other items seemed to be missing anything.  I finally looked inside the box, and was stunned to see that it was a replacement drain.  Divinely orchestrated?  I believe so!

Ben lost his job two weeks ago.   It was immediate and not expected.  He was given no notice or severance, and  I went into panic mode.  We have a little money in savings, but only enough to last us a couple months.  Two days ago, we got an email from our attorney in Georgia.  He said that Exploro might be able to pay us back some of the money they owe us.  We hadn't heard anything from them in months so it was quite a surprise.  I'm not sure if we will actually get paid, but if we do, it's will be a miracle.

Mother's Day

This year we celebrated Mother's Day a day early because Ben and Qyntn were going out of town.  On Saturday morning, Q brought me a cinnamon roll for breakfast and gave me the best pokemon card ever!  It's a one of one that he designed with the two of us on the front.  Ben smoked some chicken and made me a delicious quesadilla before I took them to the airport.  They also gave me flowers and almond roca, my favorite!  It was all very thoughtful and sweet.  

On Sunday, it was just Tito and I. 
He has been my easiest to raise, by far.  

I loved talking on the phone with Alyssa and Qyntn and I got to facetime with Tiago!  He sent me a very sweet message after we got off the phone.  I may have shed a few tears.  

From Tiago:  

"The love of a true mother comes nearer to being like the love of God than any other kind of love

   -Joseph F Smith

Thanks for being a true mother even though I am your step son! With the love you've shown me throughout the years, makes me feel like I'm your son instead of a step son!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!"

I knew Holly probably wouldn't call, but I wanted her to know that I love being her mom, so I put together a little slide show to send to her and Alyssa.  It was so fun to look through all the pictures and remember all the good times we've had.  I know I haven't been perfect, but I've tried really hard to be a good mom.  

We Survived Home School!

Home school didn't go the way I had hoped,
but we got through it.