litte miracles...

I definitely believe in miracles. They happen all the time! Sometimes we just have to open our eyes to them and acknowledge what's really happening. Anyway, our little family just got back from a week and a half long trip to Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia. Tom had a national (Boy Scouts of America) BSA conference in Nashville so we flew into Little Rock stayed with my mom for a couple days and then drove with her to Nashville. She stayed with us to babysit b/c there was a spouse program that I got to participate in at the conference and then my cousin Jenean drove up from Atlanta and we drove back with her to my Grandma's and we stayed there for a few days. Anyway, on our trip there were a few little experiences that I thought made neat little miracles.

My former professor from Missouri State (Dr. A) and his wife Bonnie were also at the conference (Dr. A now works for BSA as well). I hadn't seen them since before my mission almost 8 years ago and I was so excited to see them and Tom was excited to meet them. We had exchanged phone #s before so we could be sure to meet up. We kept running into other people we'd met over and over again but never Dr. A or Bonnie so two days into the conference I called Bonnie to see if they were at part of the conference celebrations. They weren't so we said we would have to meet up the next day. The next morning Bonnie called me to see if I was going to the spouse brunch. I was lying in bed with both of my kids at the time and poor Taylor was feeling sick and had a fever so I wasn't sure if I'd go or not. So, we just said we'd meet up later. Well, Taylor laid down in her crib to rest and I thought I should just get ready and hurry to the spouse brunch with Max so the room would be quiet for Taylor (my mom was there). I got to the brunch a few minutes late and started to walk in to this huge conference room (HUGE) full of people. There were some tables in the back that were empty so I started walking to them. One of the tables was half full of ladies so I asked a person with an empty seat beside her if it was taken and she said it wasn't....the cool thing is is that that lady was Bonnie! It was just too ironic! There were probably close to a thousand people sitting in this room! So, Bonnie and I got to sit there and talk and have breakfast together. It was so great! I love this lady! She is a great example to me and was such a positive influence back when I really needed one. Towards the end of our breakfast Dr. A came in to say hi. He too was such a positive influence to me when I really needed one. I remember conversations with both of these people that really opened my eyes to some important things. It was so great to see them! We met up later in the evening so Tom could meet them and we took some pics so I'll post them when I get a chance.

The next cool little miracle happened back here in Colorado while we were in Nashville. Our friend Amanda who is our friends Jared and Rochelle's sister stayed at our home and took care of our dog (Maddie) for us. Well, last Sunday night I got a call from a guy with an accent who said Maddie was at his apartment which is across from a pretty busy street from our apartment I told him I would call Amanda and give her his phone # so she could come get Maddie. So, I called Amanda and she said her and her nieces (Jared and Rochelle's girls) had taken Maddie out and when they got back inside the door didn't shut all the way and Maddie bolted out the door and took off. So, I gave her this guy's phone # and told her to call me back when she got back home (b/c I didn't know if this guy was a weirdo or not and wanted to make sure she was okay). She called me back after a few minutes and said that what just happened was such a miracle. She said that when Maddie bolted outside and took off that she and her nieces said a prayer and asked God to help them find Maddie. She said that as soon as they said Amen I called to tell her where Maddie was. It really is incredible b/c Maddie will take off when she gets loose and run away from people but she happened to run right to this guy. Also, Tom and I had been up at the conference and my mom had just called to tell me that Max was upset so we left to go back to our rooms. Had we still been at the loud conference I wouldn't have answered my phone when the guy that had her called. Anyway, thanks Amanda for taking such good care of Maddie and for that cool experience!

Lastly, and this one is much shorter but on our way home Saturday night from the Denver airport our battery light came on and our hood started steaming! Thankfully though we were only about 2 miles away from home and our car safely pulled into our parking lot for us. It could have been sooner and been a very hard, long night with car problems. Well, maybe that's more of a blessing than a miracle. I don't know but I sure am grateful for all of our blessings!