miracles happen today!

**long post!!**

I have been postponing this journal entry because I haven't been able to find words for the gratitude I feel, and sometimes I am not the best at writing my emotional side of things down. BUT I need to---to remember the hand of the Lord and the miracles that have taken place!

How do I start? Well it started back when we first decided to go ahead and try to get pregnant. It is no surprise that we don't have insurance. A lot of people our age can't afford it. Even with clint working at boeing for a contracting house, the insurance would have been $450 a MONTH! a MONTH! can you believe that? I was in awe, and knew that we couldn't afford that. We had both discussed about getting on AHCCCS. We didn't feel comfortable, I am not saying that the program is horrible for people who really really need it, it is just something neither one of us were really excited about getting on, and plus we make just enough $$ that we wouldn't have qualified anyway. So knowing all that and having NO idea how we would pay for a baby, we decided to leave it up to the Lord! I knew, I just knew that Clint and I needed to take the leap of faith and just show the Lord that we had complete trust in him.

Our prayers started consisting of ideas of ways we could pay for the baby--- was forking out $450 a month really necessary? Or just saving our penny's every month to pay cash? Or maybe a less expensive route for insurance would open up? Or could Clint get hard-badged?!? {hard-badge means becoming a PERMANENT employee at boeing... which insurance for a big company like that is fairly inexpensive}

the thought seemed so far fetched!

Well we ended up feeling the best about the possible hard-badge route, even though there were NO positions opened at the time. So we prayed, prayed, fasted, prayed, fasted, and prayed some more. Keep in mind this was back in august of 2011. So months went by, rumors around work were beginning to fly. People started saying at the beginning of the year {2012} hard-badge positions would open…I started to get antsy…wondering if it would ever happen?!?

Well one day clint came home with this school boy grin on his face and was trying to act all cool, calm and collected about whatever he wanted to tell me! {he actually thought he was going to keep the surprise from me! pfff…hello, I am like the queen of getting people to squeal! wink, wink} so he precedes to tell me that at the end of January the hard-badge position would be open to apply for! I remember a complete sense of happiness rushed all over me! I then thought really? is this really happening?

Well then he told me only 10 positions were up for hard-badge and who knows how many people were going to try and apply for them ...I am guessing somewhere in the 1,000's. SO more fasting and prayers were offered, we then asked for our families to start praying, knowing this would be nothing shy of a miracle!

**ADD moment, Kadee's sweet little kids were even praying for us-- they would say in their prayers every night for clint to be "hard-badged" even though they had NO idea what that meant! haha so cute and such faith***

SO more time passed---Clint was working hard to get his resume up to date and doing all he could to get ready for the opening. His managers, team leads and such were all so helpful, they offered to look at his resume and help him get it just the way it needed to be. WELL
then came January 29th 2012. THE POSITION OPENED, he submitted his resume and with in a couple of weeks he got a email notification telling him he was under consideration for the job! {which really means your resume passed the computer generated screening} but we remained hopeful.

the whole month of February passed with no word, a big fat nothing! Just little comments from his managers and team leads of, "you have nothing to worry about! you are fine! you got this!" things like that. The process of this all is quite extensive. Lots of "political correctness" has to happen since Boeing is such a high profile company. Which makes sense, it is just EXHAUSTING!

SO by early march we got word that they wanted him to be interviewed!! YAHOOOOOOO!!! it was a phone interview to keep everything fair for those that are out of state and applying for the job! From what he said it went well and he felt confident about what he had said…more time passed, NO WORD. Just more words of encouragement!

then FINALLY on March 26th, 2012 he received an email with a contingent offer to be a HARD BADGE for Boeing!! WE WERE THRILLED! Clint called me and told me while I was one my way home from work, I hung up the phone and cried the whole way home. My heart was so full of gratitude and love from my Heavenly Father. It seemed almost like a dream, I couldn't believe it!

Then all the paper work began, lots of things to read and sign. We then found out that it wouldn't be an immediate start! We would have to wait for his background check and drug screening to clear. They told us that it could take up to a minimum of FOUR WEEKS.

okay. lets do the math here. MY due date is the 26th of MAY. That would have put as May 2nd for a possible start date. Then we were told they only have official start dates on Friday which means that would have put us at May 4th or May 11th. THEN we found out that the benefits don't start till the 1st of the following month, which means we would have gotten insurance on June 1st...UH HELLO!?!? I started to freak! Well another tender mercy happened. The background check and drug screening cleared in 4 days! HOLY MOLY a sense of relief.

So all we were waiting for was his start date. He checked his email like every hour for a couple of days till FINALLY we got it! HE STARTS OFFICIALLY APRIL 20th, 2012! We will have insurance on May 1st, 2012 and the baby is due May 26th, 2012.

If that is not a series of tender mercies and overall just a MIRACLE I don't know what is. I am grateful for a hard working husband who had dedicated himself to providing for our family, lots of long work weeks and time has been sacrificed for this blessing. I wonder sometimes…why us? why out of all the people in this world who need help, why us? My aunt said something that stuck with me, she said, "sometimes it is just because you are loved" After she said that I still thought…why? what have I done to deserve this? I came to the conclusion that this experience will be something that I draw on for strength for the rest of my life. To experience something like this, changes a person. I know that my Heavenly Father had his hand in every step of the way. He knew the end from the beginning and let me grow in faith as I watched it unravel. I  am amazed at the grace and love Heavenly Father gives. We will forever be indebted not only to Him, but to Christ for their watchful care and love. I am so so SOOOoo so proud of Clint! I am so happy we will have insurance for myself and Elsie, and the peace of mind that comes with that! Grateful for my blessings and opportunities to grow.

-in the name of Jesus Christ…Amen!