Sep
21
    
Posted (jooosh) in All Posts on September-21-2008

At this moment, Tina and I are in total shock. God is so amazingly awesome! I mean, we’ve seen many miracles along this journey and it’s not that we’ve had any doubt in our Heavenly Father. Ella is living proof of His miraculous ways every day!!! What always blows my mind is how God orchestrates our lives. When we surrender our will back to Him in obedience, we can trust that He will work out all the details.

The last ten days have been filled with huge life changing events. Tina secured an incredible job opportunity that came to her last July (mind you, one that she didn’t originally pursue). We’re moving into the home we’ve been trying to rent for the last four months because our current residence rented in less than a week (hello clear direction from God)! And, as of tonight, we have been blessed to find the most FANTASTIC individual to be a part of our lives to help with Ella.

We have been praying for wisdom and discernment in finding the right nanny. There was no way Tina could perform her new job, and for me to continue mine without some help. We’ve not felt any prompting from God that I’m supposed to quit, and we’re confident that He didn’t provide this opportunity for Tina just so she could turn it down. This is where we had to trust Him because we didn’t know how He was going to work this out. We just knew that it was a major piece that had to fall into place.

And this particular decision is a huge one for us because we will be trusting this individual with the care of our precious Ella, something that we haven’t felt comfortable doing with anyone except the NICU nurses from Florida (which is why our last “date night” was when nurse Janet came out to visit over two months ago).

One option we were considering was an au pair, but after extensive research, we decided against this route due to Ella’s complexity and the likely possibility of a language barrier. This did push us towards having a live-in nanny though, which works because we’ll have more space in the house we’re moving back into.

Tina has been interviewing nannies over phone, some local and some out of state, and we asked a couple candidates if they wouldn’t mind coming to the hospital so we could interview them. We interviewed one yesterday, and based on her experience, she sounded like a possible match. But our gut and spirit quickly confirmed that she wasn’t a right fit for us.

The nanny that came to interview today, her name is Kelly, started out on the right foot before we had even met her in person. While talking to her on the phone, Tina had asked “What is your ideal situation for being a nanny?”. Tina was expecting to hear her say something about the hours she wanted to work, details related to the job, and maybe the possible compensation. But instead, Kelly answered this way: “Well, I realize this might sound superficial, but I just want to do what God wants me to do. I don’t really have many expectations going into this”. Ok…that was the right answer. Heck…that’s the right answer to any decision in life!!

With that foundation, we were excited to meet her. She came to the hospital this afternoon around 1pm and didn’t leave ’till 8 o’ clock! One of the first things we did when she arrived was to pray together, and ask the Spirit to give wisdom and discernment to all parties. And wow….did He ever! From the moment she came in and we prayed, I knew that she was the one!!!

She shared her story and where she’s coming from and we gave some more details about Ella and the complexities of her care. Kelly responded so well to Ella, and her attitude about taking care of her was just amazing.

Tina was going to go run some errands so Kelly went along with her. This gave them a great opportunity to connect for a couple hours, plus Kelly was able to see where she’d be living with us.

Once they returned to the hospital, we had a great time continuing our conversation and getting to know each other better. The Spirit continually confirmed the decision to have her be our nanny, and I could barely contain my joy. Tina felt the same way, but I think she was in such shock.

Kelly’s spirit is so phenomenal and her attitude about the entire opportunity really confirmed things in my mind. We talked more about the details for hours and then also amenities we’d be providing. Tina even jokingly indicated that we don’t use the cheap toilet paper, only Charmin. I confirmed that anything else would have been a deal breaker for me personally, and Kelly concurred. =)

At this point it’s just a matter of timing. We asked Kelly about her availability and she indicated that she could start working right away. She also confirmed the sooner the better so that she could really work with Tina to get to know Ella real well before Tina starts work. With that in mind, she’ll probably be starting shortly after we’re discharged from the hospital. This should help a lot considering all we have to do in preparing for the move.

Oh..yeah…how’s Ella doing? =) Ella had a good day overall. Her clinical behavior was great. She’s acting so much like the happy Ella we know and love. She did have some problems with secretions overnight which caused her to retch every hour between midnight and 5am. I was on Ella duty and with my lack of sleep the previous night, I was one cranky bear by 5am. Tina stepped up, took over, and told me to go to bed. Thank God for my amazing wife. I really don’t know how she does it.

Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for us. There are so many other side stories that we experience that don’t get shared on the blog where the hand of God is totally visible.

These moments continually confirm that phrase that God put on my heart back in Gainesville: ‘There are no accidents, only God ordained moments.’



Schultz Family on September 21st, 2008 at 11:02 pm #

Wow. God is great! I hope Kelly works out for you all! :0)
Tracy

Jim and Char Jordan on September 21st, 2008 at 11:11 pm #

Amazing! Well, not really. Lots of Love, Jim and Char

kristin on September 21st, 2008 at 11:27 pm #

God, we thank you for all you have done for this beautiful family. We also thank you for Charmin! Hello!!! there is no other option 🙂

look forward to hearing the new chapter of Sweet Ella and Josh and Tina. Kelly, we thank you for listening and taking the route that brings you to this awesome family and most importantly to this little amazing girl.

God is good.

Kristin

Kelly on September 21st, 2008 at 11:47 pm #

It’s me, the said nanny 🙂

Josh and Tina, I want you to know that upon arriving home, I went to the site and I read every single blog post since the first ultrasound. And this was a fantastic one to end with.

The whole time, I kept going “Oh, no, what if she doesn’t make it” and wanting to cry. The times in the beginning, after the major surgery, the swelling, the move home–everything that tried you and that little girl so tremendously. Then I realize that I saw this miracle today in live and living color, and she is perfect, and she is beautiful; Elle Renae is a true testament to how Good He is.

No, I change my mind…

How GREAT–AWESOME–FANNNNTASTIC–he is!

As we discussed, I have no idea how I’ve ended up in this place, to become your nanny and your sister 😉 (in more ways than just in Christ, apparently. Haha). But He orchestrates, Oh! yes He does. He fine tunes the details, puts together the talents and insecurities and flaws and abilities.

And what a fine sound it all makes when the music plays in the end!

Happy Birthday Josh! (it’s 12:45 AM)
I hope I’ll be speaking with and seeing you all VERY soon! 😀

*big hugs and endless love to you, Tina, and the little angelic pumpkin ~Ella~ from Kelly*

Roxie (Adrienne's friend) on September 22nd, 2008 at 3:05 am #

Thanking & Praising God for His Awesomeness! The way He loves us and attends to our needs is nothing short of awesome! Amen? AMEN!
Roxie 🙂

Joel Snyder on September 22nd, 2008 at 4:24 am #

Ella, WOW!!! you got a new friend and her name is Kelly. I am so excited that she is going to help take care of you. I am also glad to hear that you are feeling better and that you may be going home soon. I will be over to see you today and have lunch with you and Mom. Love,Grandpa!!!!!

Kathy on September 22nd, 2008 at 4:30 am #

WOW! God is soooo good, isn’t HE? PTL for a wonderful answer to prayer!

Steve and Joan Odell on September 22nd, 2008 at 5:47 am #

What a wonderful blessing for all of you – He is truly wonderful!! So happy that this is working out and that Ella is doing so well. Prayers continue and hugs – Steve and Joan

Kelli Billman on September 22nd, 2008 at 6:33 am #

I love waking up to AWESOME news! God is SO good! Thank you God for Kelly. Ella looks fantastic in the pictures.

Williamsburg on September 22nd, 2008 at 6:51 am #

We are rejoicing with you for your awesome news, for God’s overwhelming faithfulness and for the marvelous gift of Ella Renae. Blessings to you all and to Kelly, the newest member of your household. Love and hugs all around. XOXOXO

Tracy Mitchell on September 22nd, 2008 at 6:51 am #

PRAISE GOD for all the answers to your prayers! Ella looks beautiful!

Eve Johnson on September 22nd, 2008 at 7:18 am #

Your news leaves me nearly speechless in the obvious presence of the Lord working in your lives. I rejoice not only for Ella and her care but for the releif this is going to mean for the two of you. I’m sure you have neighbors that can write out directions to the movie theater if you’ve forgotten them!

John & Estela Williams on September 22nd, 2008 at 7:22 am #

Praise him, Praise him. What a blessing! I am speechless! Love you guys!

Jill E G on September 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 am #

I’m so happy for you about finding the right nanny. It gives me hope that I too might find child care for Gus some day.

Keep on feeling better Miss Ella!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gusginder

Megan on September 22nd, 2008 at 7:31 am #

Congrats on all the good news! I heard a phrase that I thought was fitting to your situation. Its not that God won’t give you more than you can handle its that he will give you all the tools you need to handle it. You all are an amazing family.

LoriAnn Kuhn & Family on September 22nd, 2008 at 9:33 am #

Wow! After all that y’all have been through; you rent your house within a week, you find a great nanny on the second try AND Tina gets to look forward to working again. God is SO AWESOME. We are rejoicing with you. I know that God doesn’t always make things obvious (sometimes, I would sure appreciate a post-it note from Him first thing every morning lol) but these things seem so “there”. And you can tell it IS NOT of the enemy, or else everything would feel wierd to you. Y’all seem to have such great descernment; what a gift. So happy for you.
Kelly sounds like a God-send and I know that it would be imperative that she be a Believer to be in your house and life. I hope she sees that she is not only a blessing to your family, but that y’all are a blessing TO HER.
Great to see that Ella is feeling better, too. She looks like she is about to be her “self” soon.
I read the post from Kelly and am glad that she took the time to read your story, just to see that the Bun is not ordinary miracle AND that she needs constant care. I was going to suggest this, but then saw that she did it on her own. It seems apparent that she already loves your family. Who could not? It just shows that she truly wants to be a part of your lives. You will have to include a picture of her soon, so that we can see the addition to your family.
I guess a wrote another long post, but since I haven’t in such a long time, I feel like I was due. lol
Yours in Christ, LoriAnn and Family

Terri Trainer on September 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 am #

Josh, I can’t think of a better b-day present! Kelly, maybe we can put a bow on your head when it’s time for cake and ice cream?
God is so good!! It’s amazing how He works out the details that we can’t even wrap our heads around.
I’m looking forward to seeing you guys in a couple of weeks, meeting the Bun face to face and this newest addition to your family.
Happy b-day Josh! You are loved!

Heidi Ham on September 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 am #

Happy Birthday Josh! Just so awesome all the great news. I was just updating Paul yesterday and we were both overwelmed by everything going on in your lives. He is so GOOD! So So So happy to hear Ella is feeling better – praying your soon release and a trouble free move into your new/old home. Welcome Kelly – I feel a bit envious of you being able to be such an answer to prayer for this family. Josh and Tina are the BEST! You (all of you as a matter of fact) are blessed. Love to all….Heidi

Kara on September 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am #

Glad its all worked out in the end. You knew it would, just that darn waiting stinks. All in HIS time. We love you all and are so glad you’ve finally got your answers. Happy Birthday Josh. And a truly happy one it is.

Matt, Abby, Austin & Caed on September 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm #

I haven’t had a chance to check up on y’all in the last few days and boy did I miss a lot! I can’t tell you how happy I am to see how God is working in your lives. He is absolutely amazing…there just aren’t the right words for it. Ella looks great in her pictures…she just looks like she feels better than she has in a little while. May God continue to bless you three.

PS. Happy Birthday brother!!

Kelly on September 22nd, 2008 at 2:57 pm #

I don’t know that wearing a bow was ever in the job description, but we might be able to work something out 😉 Hahaha. I wouldn’t put it past myself Terri!

All I can say is that I’ve been overwhelmed just in the last 24 hours not only how lucky Josh and Tina are to have Ella, but how blessed she is to have Josh and Tina as mommy and daddy.

Talk about a match made in heaven, eh? 🙂

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