Some of the stories

There is no way we could truly share all that has been done for us in the last several weeks, but I want to share a few stories so all of you can enjoy the remarkable way God blesses His people.

Several years ago, I went with a close friend to Russia to help her bring home her new daughter. While we there, I remembered another gal back home that mentioned how much she loved the nesting dolls found there, and picked a set up for her. A few days ago, in the mail, a small package arrived from that friend.

In pondering the loss of our material things, she realized that any keepsakes I had from Russia would have been lost. She wrote that she wanted me to have something from that remarkable trip, so she was giving me the sweet little dolls I had given her so long ago.

One of the "side effects" of this kind of occurance in a family's life, is the realization that only your memories are left of your history. No physical reminders remain. So, when Gary and I looked, we felt so touched to have a tangible reminder of that time.

Another gift was sent that truly gave us a greater understanding of the "widow's mite." A very special friend of our's, who we have stayed in contact with over the last 18 years sent a rather sizable gift. There are many who have done this, and every gift is greatly appreciated and celebrated, however, this one was a little bit different.

Our friend married into a very famous Christian family, and then was later abandoned by her husband and cast out of the family. Although she had been in ministry for many years prior to getting married, when she lost her husband and her "name," she became an outcast in many Christian arenas. Now she lives near her parents as they are aging and she has a job that pays the bills but allows for little else. And yet, she was sharing with us abundantly. We were reminded how great God is that He calls all of us to share in each other's burdens. We have prayed and cried with her for a long time, and now she was giving back in our need. It was so humbling.

Today a bumpy envelope showed up in Gary's box at church. Inside were 6 tokens for free ice cream at one of the local ice cream shops. A woman from our church was thinking about our family when she was out on her daily walk, and decided that giving our family a gift of "good 'ol normal fun" would make our day brighter. It did!

There are so many more stories from so many of you who have sacrificed in order to help things not be so overwhelming. I wish we could tell them all...but I haven't even been able to get thank you's out to anyone yet. Yet the care and love you have shown us has been so joyful!

Our new little dog (from another family from church) is blending in as if he has always been with us, we signed some papers to get the ball rolling on the home we found, I am driving a lincoln towncar (pink) from two men we didn't even know, and we are almost done with our list (which is good, because some of that insurance money should help with our new home.

The girls are at volleyball camp (another gift from a friend), Caleb has taken our dog on as his
"younger brother", and Isaac is helping every chance he gets. The condo we are in is tiny, but fun, and Gary and I just pray for energy, wisdom, and joy as we go.

Love to you all!