But today...today is a day worth blogging about. I have a story to share.
About 8 1/2 years ago, while we still lived in Cali...I went to have my taxes done. My tax preparer worked out of her home and I had my 2 kids with me. She offered to let her babysitter (who looked about 14 but was actually 18) watch my kids while she prepared my taxes. This same girl often subbed at the preschool my children went to. I got to know her pretty well...her name was Janelle.When the time came for me to need a nanny....Janelle was my first choice. My kids adored her and we started to build a friendship. She also had a new boyfriend. Within weeks of meeting me, he agreed to dress up as Spiderman for my Mandy's (yes, you read that right....Mandy's) birthday. I knew he was an alright guy.
Fast forward about a year and they were engaged. Guess who the ringbearer & flower girl were? Yup...you guessed it...Mandy & Trent. And boy were they ever adorable. It was a beautiful wedding and so inspiring for John and I to see to young people so in love and so committed to Christ. I told their parents that I hoped one day my children would grow up to be just like them. Mandy looked up to Janelle so much that on her 6th birthday, she wanted to have her picture taken with her. ♥Fast forward about 8 months and God called us to Texas. We had such a special friendship with the Wallis' by this point and it was really hard to say good-bye. Just a few months later and they came to visit us in Texas. They loved it and prayed very hard about weather God would call them here.
One of Janelle's deepest hopes was that we would have children the same ages. Well...Janelle and I are like 14 years apart and I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo done having children. Or so I thought. God had something else planned. In June of 2006, I found out I was pregnant. I called Janelle and as excited as she was for me, she was deeply saddened that one...she was in Cali and I was in Texas...and two that there were absolutely no plans for her and Gary to have kids yet.
Well, guess what....God had other plans there too. As I type, I am just smiling. Not only did God move them to Texas but Janelle found out...much to her pleasant surprise...that she was expecting. Ok, now I'm crying.So here we were...her at 22 and me at 37 carrying babies...pregnant at the same time...just like she hoped for.
It really forged our families together. We have a wonderful friendship with the Wallis' but they are truly family to us as well. We have the kind of friendship that when my world is falling apart, I can go to her house, sob and fall asleep on her couch. When one of her kids becomes seriously ill at 3am, we'll be at the ER together.
So, when the phone rang this morning at 9:15 and I heard "we're having a baby girl", my heart rejoiced. I felt like someone was telling me I was having a baby girl. Well, ok, maybe not because if someone told me I was having a baby girl right now...I'd faint. But, you get it. :o)
We're family. And I am overjoyed that there will be a new baby girl in our family. Love you Wallis family.
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3
