God is SOOOO Amazing!

We've had a rough couple of years, some of it good, some of it really trying, and everything intense and exhausting.  In the last 2 years we've gone through our van breaking down and not having the funds to replace the engine, building a new home, painting that home, moving into that home, trying to sell the old mobile home, a difficult pregnancy, 4 weeks on bed rest, a life threatening birth, and new baby with a heart defect, adjusting to the idea of having a child with Trisomy 21 (she's really a wonderful, easy baby...but it was an adjustment to us mentally),   5 weeks with Esther in the hospital, 5 weeks at home with a seriously ill, fragile baby, 5 more weeks in the hospital, having our baby go through open heart surgery, my oldest son going to Iraq, our economy tanking and effecting our home business,  landscaping our front lawn, hosting our biggest birthday party ever, camping with bronchitis/sinus infection,  a business trip to Vegas, and homeschooling through it all.

Through it all, God has graciously met our needs or enabled to make due with what we have.  This process has been difficult but good for us all.  We have been learning so much through the process, especially about keeping priorities straight.  We have received so much from His hand this year and always just when we've needed it.  Here's a breif list of some of the many things that God orchestrated in our lives in the past 2 years:

*We decided to change banks for financing our new house with in days of the first bank going bankrupt, yet we were able to get the money back that we gave them for an appraisal that had not been completed

*Getting our station wagon running just a week before the van's engine dying

*We picked the first builder that was recommended to us and he was just what we needed

*Friends who came alongside to help paint our house when I had sprained my knee

*Having all the EMTs already here when Esther was born (they were called for me), so my midwife was able to get the help she needed to keep me and Esther alive and transport Esther so quickly!

*More people than I could ever count praying for Esther and our family last fall/winter, sending emails of encouragement, phone calls when I really needed them, meals for our family, child care just when needed most, money to cover traveling expenses from out of no-where,

*Finding a wonderful truck with exactly what we had left of our tax return - exactly what we needed!

*Our two vehicles continuing to run well in spite of both having over 200,000 miles on them!

There are so many things God has done for us, that I could spend all day doing this and still find more things to be thankful for.  I'm sure you can too!  So...you are probably wondering why I am blogging about this now - it's not Thanksgiving yet (and I'm not Canadian, hehe )!

Well, God has shocked my socks off once again!!!!  Our station wagon has been spewing water and oil the last few weeks, the heater fan stopped working a few months ago and with the weather turning cold, this is beginning to be a problem!  It also has over 240,000 miles on it,  so we were starting to wonder what in the world we would do if it completely broke down (our finances have been tight the last few months to put it mildly).  I tried not to worry about it, praying daily that God would meet our needs (knowing that it wasn't a "need" yet, so I kept reminding myself not to worry about it).

Then, seemingly out of the blue, we now have a 12 passenger van!  FREE!  Yes, FREE!  A family we've known through Bible Quizzing no longer needed theirs as their family is shrinking (children moving out of their home), and they couldn't seem to sell it, so they decided to give it to whomever they found that needed one.  They mentioned this and Jason heard about it, told me about it and now, just 5 days later, we have a white 1994 GMC 12 passenger van in our driveway, just waiting for tabs/licensing!  Completely a gift!!!  Is that amazing or what!!  It may have over 200,000 miles on it, but Daryl says it runs great, starts right away, and the exhaust looks clean!  The only stipulation is that we give it away when we no longer need it!  I'm still in shock!  As soon as I'm well enough to get up and out, I'll get the licensing done and we can all ride together to church on Sunday for the first time in 2 years!

[caption id="attachment_396" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Here's the new van!"][/caption]

I haven't looked at it closely, or inside (I'm sick with something, just not sure what yet, but going outside sounds like too much work), but Daryl says the inside is blue, in good  condition (well used, but clean) - amazing isn't it!

May the Lord richly bless the Forbes family for blessing us in this way!

Praise The Lord, His mercies are everlasting!