An Answered Prayer

So today is my last day before I have to go back to work. Today is also the day that I made a payment to the kid's childcare place down in Irvine. After I did, I only had $600 left from my paycheck which did not even account for the $160 in gas a week that I would be using.

Unfortunately, we do not currently have the means to allow me to be a stay at home mom, but it was clear that we were not going to make it with the cost of childcare. You know how some people are house poor? We are childcare poor. It's amazing to me that Dave and I make good money yet we struggle with the cost of childcare for 2 kids. It's even more amazing to me that you can't claim the full amount of the childcare you actually pay on your taxes.

Well, I was so worried and in tears over what to do about the whole childcare situation. Clearly, we were not going to be able to afford it, but I didn't see any other options. I had been praying about this, and last Friday I did some research on schools in our area. I searched and searched and finally found one that happens to be right across the street. I had told Dave about it, but we just didn't see how it would work with me being so far away (when I 'm at work). I wanted the kids to be close to me in case of an emergency.

But of course God works in mysterious ways. Dave said we should just stop by the school and see what it's like. We did and LOVED IT! It is perfect for us. It is close, Dave will be able to pick Caiden up when he is not working and Caiden could make friends and play with kids in the neighborhood. Also, he will not have to spend 4 hours a day in the car with me!!!! The school is amazing, and the people were really friendly, and the more they spoke about it the more we knew our prayer was answered. It is a private Christian school (exactly what we were looking for) that goes until middle school. It is affordable for us, teaches the values that we want, and the children that attend there test over a grade higher than their peers in the public school system. Not to mention, I have been looking for a church for us out here and was going to try the church associated with the school last Sunday, but I had Pam's baby shower. They informed us that if we are members of that church we would get an extra discount off tuition - possibly as much as 15%.

The school program is actually quite big and instead of sorting kids by ages, they sort classes by birth months. We asked if they had any openings and they said they had one 4 year old position if his birthday matched up. They were looking to match a March 10th birth date, and he is March 12th!!! How much more perfect could it be. Everything fell into place. They even said he could start tomorrow!!!!!

When we walked in, I was in tears and felt a bit hopeless. By the time we left I was smiling and my spirit felt uplifted. This is truly what we needed at exactly the right time. Again, the Lord works in mysterious ways!! I feel so blessed and thankful. Now we just need to find childcare like this for Kiya. They don't have an infant program so we still need to find some other option. She is the most expensive of the two kids too. Hopefully, the Lord will provide a way for us again. I feel like a burden has been lifted - at least partially. All I have to say is Praise God...I feel happy and confident knowing that Caiden has an amazing, faith-based school that he can attend for years to come.