Three Under Three

God has a sense of humor, I believe.

I've mentioned that I have sensed that God is at work behind the scenes, that He's up to something big, bigger than I could imagine or dream up on my own.

For about a month now, I have had the strange desire to move Kellah into Coralyn's room, even though we didn't really need the extra bedroom at the time.  After I found out I have two little boys for daycare this fall, I decided that I would for sure have the girls share a room and use the other bedroom as a mini play room and nap room for the boys.  The plan was to do all the rearranging while my parents are visiting in July.  They're coming to help me get a bunch of projects done around the house in order to prep it for market, so changing the rooms around would be a perfect job for that week.

One thing I am looking forward to about our new house is that it will have a 4th bedroom that can be set up and ready for a foster kiddo at all times.  When I blogged that we wanted to put our house on the market and move to the Kellybrook area, I talked about how we could use the bigger house for various ministry opportunities, one of them being welcoming kids into our home and showing them the love of Jesus in a day in-day out type of way.  I mentioned how it would be nice to not have to rearrange bedrooms at 9 pm to get ready for a foster placement.

Stick with me for a second...it appears that I am changing gears all together, but I am just moving to another way that God has been working to get things ready for what is now happening in our family.  It will all make sense in a minute.  Trust me.

I am very excited about watching the two little boys, both of whom will be 15 months old come August.  Not only will I have a consistent income, but the girls will have some playmates every day.  However, I was thinking how Coralyn might have more fun with a little girl, who was closer to her age.  And so I began praying that God would send a little 2 to 3 year-old girl for me to watch this fall.

God has been extremely faithful to answer my prayers.  On Wednesday of last week, I woke up feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders as we had learned that our house was worth quite a bit less than we had hoped.  Not to mention we didn't have the money needed to do most of the projects our realtor friend suggested, let alone pay all our bills, fill the cars with gas, and put food on the table.  So, I took my fears and worries to God and cried out to Him to act on our behalf.  I specifically asked for Bradley childbirth students and kiddos for daycare.  Well, one week later, I have received 5 emails about childbirth classes and 4 confirmed students.  I have gotten a call about daycare and set up part-time (3 days a week) childcare for a second little boy.  God has certainly heard, and answered, my prayers!!!

He didn't forget about my prayer for a little girl playmate for Coralyn, though.  He answered that prayer last night, just in a very, very different way than I was expecting.  About 8:30 pm, Kellah woke up and I went in to check on her.  As I sat down to nurse her, my cell phone rang.  Lawrence answered the phone and then called out for me; I couldn't figure out why he didn't just talk to the person himself or tell the caller that I would get back with them in just a few minutes.  When I came out in the living room, he asked, "A 21 month old girl?"  I immediately thought he was talking to a potential daycare client, and so when I took the phone I was searching for pen and paper to write down all their information.  I was surprised when the lady on the line began, "I'm here at Children's Mercy with a little girl...."  I had to stop her and explain that I needed a second to get my brain on track, switching from daycare to foster parenting!  Once I was on the same page, the woman went on to describe the situation and tell me more about the little girl.  Lawrence and I both felt a peace about having this little girl join our family.  We let the woman know we would be glad to take in the child! 

I hung up the phone, and we immediately began the process of moving Kellah into Coralyn's room.  It was 9 pm on the dot!  Like I said,  God has a sense of humor. 

An hour or so later, the girls' "new" bedroom was set up and the extra bedroom was ready for the little girl.  Lawrence had moved the mattress to the lowest setting in the crib while I rearranged all the other furniture in the two rooms.  Thankfully (I guess), Coralyn hadn't fallen asleep yet, so she "helped" me get everything ready.  We even went downstairs and picked out two special stuffed animals for the little girl to have so that she felt more comfortable .  We explained to Coralyn that this little girl might be scared or shy and that we would need to be extra nice to her.  I reminded her that she would need to share her toys, and maybe even clothes, with this little girl.  Once everything was physically ready, we set down as a family and prayed for the little girl who would be joining our family any minute now.

Finally, around 10:30 the investigator pulled up to our curb and got out of her car, holding a precious little girl.  This beautiful child has the biggest blue eyes and cutest blonde curly hair.  She is just adorable.  Without any hesistation, she let me hold her as the investigator told us a bit more about the situation and what would take place the next few days in regards to paperwork, court hearings, DNA testing, and other such foster parenting related matters.  She handed us the little girl's belongings: a sippy cup, a little blanket, a small draw-string bag with a pair of socks, 6 diapers, and 2 onesies inside.  That was it!  Besides the pajamas she was wearing, that was all this little girl had!  The investigator was able to get a carseat for her, so at least we don't have to go out and buy one of those!  And as far as clothes, shoes, and other such things go...well, we have PLENTY of that!  I just have to make a trip downstairs, pull out the 18-24 month tub of clothes and she is set!  She's actually not that much smaller than Coralyn, so I may not even bother and just let her wear the clothes already in Coralyn's dresser and closet.

With the late night, both Coralyn and our newest little girl are still sleeping!  I haven't heard a peep from the little girl.  She didn't cry once last night!  Granted, I don't think she has many words in her vocabulary and is a little delayed in her speech, but seriously...no crying or even whimpering at all!  My heart melted when I put the little girl down and introduced her to Coralyn.  She immediately got a huge smile on her face and reached out to pull Coralyn towards her and give her a hug.  We then walked to her room to show her where she would sleep.  She was more interested in the toy box, and again, her face lit up when she noticed the bag of hair supplies.  She reached in and grabbed a bright yellow pony tail holder and laughed.  It was precious!  She may not have said a word, but this little girl has captured my heart.  I don't understand why anyone would hurt her or do anything to harm her!  How anyone could do such things to this precious, innocent little girl boggles my mind!

This morning I have enjoyed the quiet (as only Kellah is up) and was glad to have the chance to sit down with a cup of coffee and read my Bible.  Again, God has a sense of humor and one of the verses I read seems as if it was written just for me at just this moment in time.  Proverbs 20:24 reminded me, "How can we understand the road we travel?  It is the Lord who directs our steps."
So, so true.  And thus we begin our adventure of parenting three girls under the age of three!