Yesterday was such an incredibly amazing day. I was once again reminded of the Power of God, and how important it is to have faith.

How it began.....
A couple of weeks ago, our 2 year old took it upon herself to take the key to our freezer from it's hiding spot (it was SUPPOSED to be hidden from HER, as she figured out how to open the freezer with the key and get freezies out when ever she wanted....). Anyway, she LOST the key. We tore the basement apart, but it's gone; probably down the floor drain. Hence, we have not been able to get into our freezer at all -not fun, considering it would be REALLY nice to be able to access the bread in there! I have ordered a new key, and am expecting it to arrive any day. It is only going to be $3.00, so it's not so bad.

This past weekend, I lost the fob to our van (thank God it was unlocked!). Totally my fault. I know for a fact that I'm the one who lost it, as I was the one who unlocked the van to take the kids to youth group on Saturday evening. Somehow between driving them there and running a brief errand before coming home, I lost the fob. Checked all the pockets, the van, the purse, and even the street... no luck. Unfortunately a key fob for a van costs ALOT more than a replacement key for a freezer.

Bill had been laid off from Motorcoach for 10 months last year. He found another job in the meantime, but it didn't pay as well (but WAY better than EI!), and he didn't like some of the people he had to work with - someone there was extremely racist and bigoted, and no one else seemed to care. Anyway, he got called back to his job at Motorcoach this past August.
Yesterday, he came home with the VERY bad news that more than likely, he'll be laid off AGAIN, December 12th.. 2 weeks before Christmas. (this is not 100 % for sure, but they wanted to give the employees enough warning that it 'might' be coming...)
Thanks, Motorcoach.

So these past couple of weeks have not been great, especially with trying VERY hard to get back on track financially after the lay off. It's been a real struggle, especially with 5 of our 6 children in school. September saw a large chunk of money going to backpacks, new runners for indoors AND out for at least 3 of the kids, dry cleaning for suits (Christian is at St. Paul's!), and of course, school supplies, student fees, not to mention tuition payments. And, we still need to eat, and pay utilities, and buy Christian and Stephanie new winter jackets and boots!

Yesterday's notice of a potential lay off for Bill did not leave me in the best of spirits. I didn't think it could get any worse. Apparently I was wrong. During our family prayers, my wedding ring was slipping to the side so I adjusted it, only to find that one of the small claws felt unusually sharp. I stopped dead in the middle of prayers to look under the light; sure enough, one of the smaller diamonds from the end of the setting was missing. That was it! I have to admit, I pretty much completely broke down.

I thought back to all I had done during the day; making 2 batches of soup; a batch of homemade bread; washing dishes, laundry (folding!); changing diapers; running up and down the stairs countless times; taking out garbage, gave 2 girls baths and washed their hair.. a usual busy stay-at-home mom kind of day. I knew the diamond was GONE, and that with our current financial situation, it wasn't likely to be replace any time soon. Now maybe some people might think it's not such a big deal; some people don't even wear their rings. Well I DO. My marriage means a lot to me, and the symbolism of the ring is so very important.
Anyway, it was my turn to say my intentions so I added a half-hearted prayer that St. Anthony would help me find the freezer key, the van fob, and my diamond. We finished up, the little ones went to bed, and I went in the kitchen. Rachel kindly offered to empty the dishwasher before sweeping the floor, as I was still pretty despondant.

As Rachel was emptying the cutlery tray, she stepped on something, very tiny and very sharp. If she had been wearing socks, there is no way she would have even felt it. She picked it up and brought it over to me. At first, it looked like a little piece of a rock or something, but as I turned it over the light reflected off, revealing MY DIAMOND!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

Between laughing and crying and thanking God, came the message loud and clear that God will ALWAYS look after us; and that everything WILL BE OKAY. Yes, it's still a little scary at times, and yes, we're still missing the key and the fob, but it's nice to be have the reassurance that our Faith does not go unfounded.