So you may or may not know that the last couple years have been a struggle for our family. It all started in the fall of 2008. October 31, 2008 we got the incredible news that we were expecting our first child.
We had been trying for almost a year and we were so thrilled that we were finally going to be parents! Not too long after that my company started downsizing. In November, our office lost 4 of the 10 people there. This was pretty scary for us because we depended heavily on my salary and our health insurance was through my company. Gradually more people were let go until there were only 4 of us left. In February of 2009 my mother came home from Vietnam to be treated for breast cancer. The last week of February my father-in-law was hospitalized and passed away the first week of March. My first day back to work after my father-in-law's funeral (which also happened to be our 3rd wedding anniversary) I was laid off:( It was REALLY difficult for us to see how this could all be part of God's plan for us. We immediately had to make dramatic lifestyle changes because of the loss of my salary. We were not sure how we were going to make it through. It wasn't too long before we saw how the timing of everything had been orchestrated and was part of a plan much better than our own.
My mom's breast cancer was caught at stage 1 and after a lumpectomy, a few rounds of chemo, and several weeks of radiation mom was (and still is) cancer free. She had her surgery and chemo in S.C. and then headed down to Florida for her radiation in June. This way my parents could be here when Jackson was born. They arrived in Florida the first weekend in June. My baby shower was Sat. June 13th. I felt very loved and blessed to have so many great friends and family. I also had my mom AND my mother-in-law at the shower!
The night of my shower I went into labor at 2am and Jackson David Boykin was born at 5:17am on June 14th, 2009. What an incredible blessing after having had such a hard year. I had a short and uncomplicated labor and delivery and my mother was able to be in the room with us when Jackson was born. If she hadn't had breast cancer, she would not have been in Florida then and she would have missed it. She has said many times that this was a blessing of breast cancer.
We LOVE being parents and were so thrilled with Jackson. He was a bright spot for our family after so much hardship and sadness.
We made it through the next year even though it was a struggle financially for us. We were constantly amazed at how God provided for us. Then we got to the point where were not able to make our mortgage payment anymore. It was a difficult decision but we decided to list our condo for sale as a short sale. The value of our property had gone down so much that we could buy 5 units for what we had paid for our 1 unit. We found a great realtor through a friend and had a buyer the very first day the condo was listed. We knew it would take several months for the mortgage company to complete all the paperwork so we started looking for a house to rent. There wasn't too much available in our price range but we ended up with a beautiful 3 bedroom 1800sf townhouse about 15 min from Phillip's work. What an answered prayer! Our new home was much bigger than our condo, was only a couple years old, and was close enough to Phillip's work that he can come home for lunch everyday! We moved into our new rental in August and in September we closed on the sale of our condo. We LOVE where we live now and can totally see how God took care of so many things for us over the last couple years. If I hadn't been laid off, I don't think we would have made the decision for me to quit and I wouldn't be a stay at home mom (which I LOVE). We also would not have qualified for a short sale of our condo and we would be stuck living in a place that is too small, had high utility bills, and would never be worth what we paid for it. God had provided a way for me to stay home with Jackson, which is what I REALLY desired, and also a way for us to move into a much better home in a better more convenient area for us.
In November of 2010, we sold our truck and became a 1 car family. This hasn't been the easiest task but was such a money saver for us we knew it would be worth the inconvenience. On November 26, we found out that baby #2 was on the way! Another blessing!
Phillip started school in January and is pursuing his Electrical Engineering Degree. This made only having 1 car a little more difficult because of how many evenings he has to be gone. We started saving for a second, family friendly vehicle. We received a few very generous gifts from family towards our new car fund and because of this we were ready to buy earlier than expected. We were hoping to have the new vehicle before baby #2 is born this summer. After months of searching we narrowed down our options and last Saturday we went to look at a few minivans. The first one we wanted to purchase was about $850 over our budget (we were paying cash). So we walked away from it, hoping this meant God had something better in store for us. The last van we looked at I LOVED! It was a few hundred less than our budget and a year newer than the previous one we had looked at. We drove home with a great new-to-us minivan! We really feel like this is the mini-van that God picked out for us.
So all this to say, that I am once again blown away by how Awesome God is and how He is so FAITHFUL to provide for his people! It's so encouraging to be able to look back over the hardships we've faced the last couple years and see how God was in all of it and how we have been so blessed in spite of the challenges that have come our way.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." -James 1:2-4
