So God...how are You going to handle this one?

WARNING: This blog entry will be long so prepare yourself for some heavy reading!

Today was one of those days when at the end of it all you say,"my family is safe and healthy and we can start over again tomorrow." Today was the last day of vacation for me. I am back to work on Monday. We made plans to drive 1 hr 10 min to visit the boys little sister Chloe. Now, some of you might say..."what? A little sister? Why isn't she living with you?" The short version of the story is that she was born after the boys were in foster care and since she was never physically abused/harmed then she couldn't be placed into foster care with her brothers. She is living with a very nice couple that have legal guardianship of her. The boys had not seen her since April and it was time for them to see her and for Sean and I to meet he guardians. We know that these people are going to be a part of our lives for a long time.

We left our house at 3:00. We were supposed to meet them at a McDonald's (or Old McDonald's as Zachary calls it!) at 4:00. In the car was my mom, the boys and Sean and I. We were about 10 minutes away when I heard a thump and squealing come from the engine. Suddenly the temperature gauge started to go up. I knew there was a problem. I pull off the highway (a MAJOR highway) and Sean looks under the hood. He walks around and says that every fan belt is busted. Wow...that's not good. Did I mention that we JUST spent $650 to get the brakes fixed AND had the car inspected. How did we miss the fan belts? Did I mention that's 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, in Texas, in August and it's HOT! The boys start fussing to get out of their carseats and the 3 adults are on cellphones trying to figure out what to do. My mom calls my dad and he said he'd come help. ( He's at least 1 hr away). Sean calls our mechanic and he'd send a tow truck (also 1 hr away) and I call Chloe's guardians and they said they come meet us on the side of the road. So now we sit and wait.

I know God was looking down and watching because I look back and a van pulled up. There were two hispanic men who motioned for Sean to come over. They said they had driven past us and saw that we were stuck with little kids in the car and turned around to help. They offered to take us wherever. They just happen to have carseats in the car. We told them thanks anyway, we had people coming. They also offered us some very cold water. They had an igloo full of ice cold water because they were construction workers. We gratefully accepted the water. Sean talked to them for awhile and they left. I commented to my mom later that maybe that was God's angel sent to help...

After about 20 minutes, Chloe showed up. This was the first time that Sean and I have seen her. Oh my goodness...she is beautiful! She is a perfect mix of her brothers. She has the biggest blue eyes and the sweetest smile. The boys were very excited to see her. The pictures are of them leaning into the truck to see her. Zachary kept kissing her and trying to hold her.

Isn't she adorable! We sat in their truck for about 30 minutes until my dad and the tow truck arrived. After moving everything from my car to my dad's car we were set. My parents rode back with the two truck driver and took my dad's car on to McDonald's so the kids could play.

We had a very nice time. Chloe's guardians are very nice people and they love her so much. We were able to talk to them about their bio-parents and we were able to get some information. We told stories about the kids and watched them eat and play. It was so amazing to see Chloe and to see her have some of the same mannerisms that the boys have or had and they have NEVER lived together. It was amazing. We took lots of pictures and exchange addresses and phone numbers. They said they would try to come to Daniel's birthday party in 3 weeks. We're going to try and see them about every 6-8 weeks. I could say so much more about the visit but I'll save it for another day.

On the drive home Sean and I "debriefed". There are so many emotions running through us right now. After getting it all out, the only thing we could think to say was...God is in control. Our future and the boys lives are in His hands and there is no better place for them to be. The best thing I can do is remember that He brought us to this point and we can continue to walk in faith or spend our days worrying about what we can't control. I think I'll take the faith road...I'm too tired to worry!