Blessings with faith

   Blessings with Faith…

Colony Circle home

Colony Circle backyard

Colony Circle backyard. a little haven

 

Several years ago life seemed very full. I had three little boys, worked full time, we had a small vending business and my husband worked as a radio announcer.  Our little house didn’t have room for any more kids and our budget didn’t seem able to handle anything more either.  I felt very satisfied with life and felt we had all the children we were going to have.  

Holly and Bryce dancing and playing on the tramp

And then I had a dream.  

My dream was unlike any I’ve ever experienced.  I saw two little girls, one a small girl about 9 months old and the other a toddler, sitting on a blanket in an unfamiliar back yard.  I knew with certainty that they were my little girls.  I woke up and felt that I was supposed to have two more children.  

I was not immediately happy with that thought.  I couldn’t imagine how we could possibly afford any more children.  We were already struggling with what we had.  There was no room for little girls in our home.  I was also struggling with having enough energy to complete all that needed to be done with just three children.  How could I possibly take care of five children?  

Katie likes to do her own make-up!

I struggled for a long time with feelings of doubt and uncertainty.  My husband and I talked about it extensively.  I really didn’t think we could do it.

Family twister

At some point a close friend said the words I needed to hear.  She said, “Shelly, Heavenly Father has always taken care of you, right?”  And I said yes.  She said, “You just need to have faith.  Things will work out.”

And the decision was made.  I took a leap of faith.  Within a short period of time I became pregnant.  We didn’t share the news with anyone because I was still not sure how we could possibly work this out and I didn’t want other people to judge me.

The little miracles started happening about that time.  My husband was offered a part time job that he could do at odd hours that paid pretty well.  This allowed him to continue to be home during the day while I worked and I home in the evening while he worked.  

I put our house up for sale.  One of the only people that even looked at it bought it.  

Holly's favorite spaghettio's for lunch

The Monday after an offer was made on our house we decided to take my lunch hour and find another home.  We had limited funds and I really wanted to live close to my work so we only had three homes to look at that fit our budget.  We had an appointment with a realtor to see one of those homes. He called and said he would be 15 minutes late so we decided to drive around the neighborhood.  We turned into the circle we now call home and saw a house at the end of the street that looked nice.  The price tag had been reduced but was still about $10,000 more than we felt we could afford.  We called the number on the sign and asked if we could come in right then.  She let us in and it was a cute house.  

Katie cow! (Holly cow in 2 years!)

We went back to the other home with the realtor but decided almost immediately that we had found our home.  We called and offered the $10,000 less and the offer was accepted.  

There were a few bumps in the road as we tried to sell our home and purchase the new one.  For awhile we were afraid we were not going to have a buyer for our home and might have to make payments on both homes while we tried again to sell our house.  Slowly but surely it all worked out though.  Our buyers came through as planned the week we got into our new home.  

It was a happy time as we started showing friends and family our new house and showing the 3rd kids bedroom and announcing that it was for our baby.  Some were slow to catch on…Bryce?  It’s a girls room… won’t you have to do some redecorating?  No.  It was perfect for our new addition.  

Doing laundry, Katie's way

The miracles continued after we got into our new home.  It seems there was an overpayment on our last mortgage and we received a check in the mail.  There was an over payment on our mortgage insurance, with another check in the mail.  Moving closer to town saved us so much on gas and car repairs that the increased house payment didn’t even seem to affect our budget at all.

We had Katie on December 21, 2001 and Holly on December 12, 2003.  We have continued to be blessed in our lives and have found a sweeter spirit in our homes as these little girls bring happiness and joy to us all.  They have brought out the best in their brothers as they have helped to care for and love these little girls.  

Our rowdy boys have changed from always competing and “beating up” each other to each taking a girl and helping out each other.    

I know that my life has been blessed and improved because of my faith and I am grateful to Heavenly Father for being patient while I decided to have faith.

Doing dishes, Katie's way

   

D&C 90:24 Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good…