Winks from Heaven . . .

Have you ever been in the "unique" position of following God so closely that you almost forget who's leading whom? And you just want some confirmation that it's not your imagination, or wishful thinking, or human tinkering that leads you to believe you know where He wants to take you? Such is the boat in which we find ourselves.

For those of you who have been staying up-to-date with the "Great Adventure," you know that we are at a bit of a standstill. Although we've been accepted to the university, there isn't much that can be done until after the first of the year. So we sit . . . and we wait . . . and we pray . . . and we doubt . . . and we pray some more . . . and we look for a sign (where did I put that fleece?). And even though He doesn't have to, He realizes that we are just pitiful humans & He humors us. And here is how He humored us this morning . . .

We're in the market for a laptop. A necessary tool for Jason for school. We have $XXX to spend. So Jason starts surfing the net last night for Black Friday deals. And he comes across 2 great deals at Circuit City: one for a laptop & one for a 1 GB secure disk memory card. For those of you who have ever braved a store of any kind on Black Friday, you know that you need a plan. And sometimes that plan requires you to abandon the nice-but-not-necessary for the JACKPOT. And so, at 1:45 AM, Jason hopped into his car to stand in line with the other not-quite-sane individuals in quest of the desired laptop! Now, loving the hustle & bustle of the holidays as I do, I have been among the hordes lining up outside the stores on Black Friday, but I humbly acknowledge that the world of electronics is a whole new ballgame -- these people are no-holds-barred, hard-core fanatics. And at 2 AM, Jason was at least 85th in line. Not looking good.

At 6:30, I opened my bleary eyes, fully expecting my hubby to be home, elated or devasted. But much to my surprise, he was nowhere to be found. When I called his cell, I discovered the Lord had somehow led him to the correct line & he was 12th in line to get his laptop! Wink. As if that wasn't enough, the gentleman in front of him sent his wife to pick up a secure disk memory card. She came back with 2 -- 1 was 1 GB & the other was 2 GB. The husband wanted the 2 GB & told his wife to put the other one back. She proceeded to turn to Jason & said, "Do you want this?" Wink, wink.

And when all was said & done, Jason spent one penny less than $XXX. Wink, wink, wink.

Thank You. I need to go wring out my fleece.

Happy Birthday to me . . .

Okay . . . I'm ready to admit it. I'm turning thirty. I said I was ready to admit it, I'm just not ready to embrace it! I don't know why this is so difficult. I think that perhaps for the last 10 years, I've been able to say that I'm in my twenties -- but no one needed to know which end of the twenties I was in! But 30 is a whole new ballgame.

However, my dear sweet husband is doing everything he can to help soften the blow. On Saturday night, I was whisked away (in some brand new duds, might I add) to see Cirque du Soleil's Delirium show . . . something I have wanted to see for years!!! It was absolutely incredible! The only bad thing I can find to say about it is that it was too short!! I could have sat there, mesmerized, all night. When the performers took the stage for the grand finale I wasn't ready for it to end. Of course, the uncultured observers in the row behind us were disappointed before the show even began . . . they didn't realize that Cirque du Soleil wasn't your garden-variety circus with clowns & big top animals. {Someone please explain to me why you would spend all that money on tickets & not bother to google the show to see what you're in for?}

Anyway . . . I have a few more days to bask in my twenty-somethingness. The 3rd decade comes with Thanksgiving. Yes, that's right, I was born on Turkey Day . . . gobble, gobble.

And by the way, for those of you who are keeping in step with the "Great Adventure," Jason's officially been accepted to PBU!

Priceless Moments

Another very busy, but very enjoyable weekend. I spent my Friday & Saturday peddling my "Morgan Marie Designs" wares at a craft show . . . pretty productive! And our little family was treated to a "hotel" in the area so we could avoid the almost hour trip home. The only drawback was missing almost 2 full days with my beautiful girls :( I definitely enjoyed the break though. You always need a little space to help you gain perspective on those adorably priceless moments . . . like this morning. I was trying to "sneak" out of our hotel room this morning to pick up some java at Dunkin' Donuts, when Miss Caleigh woke up. With rumpled bed-head, she looked at me through those little slit eyes & said, "Mama, what you doing?" When I told her I was headed out for coffee, she replied, "I come." So off we went. Tousled hair, striped footy pajamas, & adorable half-awake grin. You gotta love it!

And thank you to those family members who have recently offered monthly financial support for our "Great Adventure." Another unforgettable example of God's miraculous provision in our journey.

Another Step of Faith

Well, I'm sure you're all waiting with bated breath to find out how our visit to PBU went yesterday. And I would have blogged about it last night, but we were stuck in the Mother Of All Traffic Jams! It took us 4 hours to go 5 miles . . . yes, you read this correctly . . . 4 hours!!!! And let me tell you, you learn a lot about yourself & the rest of your family when you're stuck in a car, not moving, for that length of time. And . . . I broke the law. I freely admit it. When 5 o'clock rolled around (an hour after Peyton was due to be fed) we just couldn't take the crying anymore! So we got her out of her carseat so she could eat. This, of course, was after I sought my dad's wise counsel on the matter & he assured me that we weren't moving fast enough to have an accident! And then what are you going to do when your 2-year-old (who has been an ANGEL all day long) looks at you with those big blue eyes & says, "My hiney hurts." So Caleigh took a little breather from her carseat as well. Forgive me.

Thursday night, as Jason & I sat down to have a prayer time for our visit to PBU, we both said that we needed to be prepared for Satan to be working overtime to thwart whatever God was planning to do on Friday. And we were right. But although he may be the prince of the power of the air, he is no match for the ALL-POWERFUL CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE!!!! We were able to get both girls out of bed, fed, dressed, & into the car at a reasonable hour. We stopped at Sheetz to gas up, grab a soda, & then headed for the highway. Not 4 miles from home, we got stuck in a traffic jam for an hour!!!! Bumper to bumper (which just makes last night's traffic jam even funnier). So we had to call the school & let them know we would be late . . . very late.

We got to the school & took the tour. We loved the campus ~ library, classrooms, student lounges, everything!! The university has a lot to offer in the way of cutting-edge technology. But it wasn't until our meeting with Financial Aid that things really started to take off. We sat down & crunched the numbers with a financial aid rep & discovered that non-loan money (grants, scholarships, merit awards, etc.) should cover all but $2000 of Jason's tuition!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! Then we had a delicious lunch at the university cafeteria, then headed off for a meeting with a woman from the Married Student Housing department. Things went well & we were even able to see 2 of the apartments. Granted, they're not the Ritz, but I see a lot of potential.

So what's next & more importantly, how can you pray? We do have a few specific requests: 1) pray that we will be able to pay the rest of Jason's tuition without having to take any loans ~ 2) pray that we will be able to secure an apartment through the university's housing (we are on a waiting list & should know by March if we can claim one of the apartments) ~ 3) pray that we will be able to afford the rent on the apartment (it is VERY expensive, but not as expensive as renting outside the university) ~ 4) pray that God will continue to give us wisdom as we take our next steps in the Great Adventure (filing paperwork, selling our home, finding a new job in the area, etc.).

Okay, so we didn't get home until 9 o'clock . . . our girls were angels & were in bed before 10 despite Satan's best efforts. He's such a sore loser.

Too Cute!!

Well over a month ago, Caleigh & I carved our first pumpkin together. We had a fabulous time!! She got to pick out the expression that our pumpkin would wear & true to her personality, she chose a gigantic smile for our pumpkin. Therefore, whenever we would venture onto the porch, she would exclaim, "Look ~ happy punkum!" As the weeks of this fall season have worn on, our "happy punkum" has rotted . . . & I mean rotted! At first it just looked like an old man who forgot to put in his dentures, but then it really got ugly . . . completely fallen over, moldy, rather frightening. But I just couldn't throw it out. Every time we'd walk out onto the porch, she would greet our "happy punkum."

And then the other day, we headed out onto the porch on our way to the car. I fully expected to hear my 2-year-old's gleeful little voice greeting our orange friend. But instead I heard, "Ohhh, poor punkum!" I guess it's time to throw our friend away.