An Early Present

38 weeks!

I got a very sweet email from a young lady named Caroline this week.  She said:

Hi Stacy!

You're gonna have a big couple of weeks!  I know you have been preparing for baby E, and going to the hospital, and taking care of the kids... that's a  lot of work!  I think you deserve a break before the baby comes.  (This is Caroline by the way!)  So as a sort of birthday/just-because-you're-awesome gift, I have $43 for you and Matt to go out to dinner.  My mom and I are willing to babysit the kids while you are out. (I am CPR and First Aid certified plus I took a babysitting class.  And my mom has 2 kids, so I think we're highly qualified:) )  We are available on the nights of July 21-25.  And we won't charge you.  If the baby comes before you can go out, we'll take a rain check whenever you want.  So what do ya say?

Love, 

Caroline

p.s. I'm working on a pair of baby booties!

Now, this girl is just 12 years old....  she also has run in Rachel's Race - won the bid on a bag set that was personalized for Rachel with a "43" on one and "hope" on the other and then gave them to me!!  She also drew a picture of Rachel's hands in the heart shape that she entered into (and won) the contest at the local fair.  AND she sent me a letter a while back to encourage me and tell me how much Rachel has changed her life. 

I never would have guessed in a million years when I started this blog that a then 10 year old girl would hear about my daughter and be so inspired.  I'm guessing it has a lot to do with how awesome her Mama is and how she chose to share with her about Rachel too.  But what a blessing this has been to my heart!

So, on Sunday, Caroline and her mom came over...  she handed me an envelope with $43 in it.... she gave me a cute little pair of booties and a blanket she made for the baby.... and then they watched our kids while we went out for lunch.  I'm not going to lie, it felt completely wrong for someone to pay me to watch my kids.... but I knew she really wanted to do this.  And honestly, we desperately needed it!!  Her timing was unbelievable!

We tried a new place in town we probably wouldn't go to otherwise and then used coupons at Dunkin Donuts to get yummy coffees (mine had lots of chocolate in it) :)  And it came to $43, with just a few cents left over.  We sat at the park in the van and took silly pictures and just enjoyed time alone.....we headed back a little early cause this Mama needs a potty often.

He keeps himself amused while I am unaware...  There are more where these came from - it took about 10 pics to get one where he just smiled with me.  But we laughed like crazy doing it.  And I've laughed like crazy looking at them and showing the kids since then, too. :o)

 

It's pretty amazing all the people who love us because of our sweet little girl.  It seems every day I am reminded of another gift that we would not be blessed with if it wasn't for Rachel. 

 

After we got back, I looked outside and there was Matt.... reading "The 10 Boys Who Changed the World" to the kids....ceasing every opportunity to speak into their lives.  They are very blessed.  And you can't tell here, but "mini-Matt" (Isaiah) started making funny faces as soon as he saw me with the camera :)  Gotta love it! 

 

And this is completely off subject - but I'm going to brag about Matt a little more because do you see that patio?  I came up with this great idea that we could get rocks out of the woods and build our own patio for free a few years ago.  He pulled those all out of the woods - some of them are WAY bigger than they look (I'm talking HUGE boulders!)  - but that patio cost us $40 for the sand we put in the cracks between the rocks.  And it hasn't budged with the weather yet!  They are too heavy to go anywhere!  But my man lifted them all for me.  I'm sentimentally attached to so many things in my yard.... my flowers, my patio and the family who plays and sits there....  and the little bench off in the distance with the name of our little girl on it, whose life and death has drawn us closer to our Lord and to each other.