photo shoot, tax man, free zaxbys meal!

Sorry this is so late today...I spent the whole day getting stuff ready for the "tax-man" visit....oh yeah, I know you're jealous! Mike has always done our taxes, but this year, we had a lot of weird things going on, so we decided to get help. (Oh, and for those of you who read my original "full-disclosure" back in January...I overshot our projected income by thousands...ha!...and that is why I don't do the taxes!!) So, anywho, off we went, and the guy is soooo nice and found lots of deductions and things I didn't think of...so I'm glad that's over for another year!

Great Deal for those of you in states that have a Zaxbys: Go to http://www.zaxbys.com/ and click on their "join the club" tab. Fill it out and you will get a coupon emailed to you for a free meal deal. Sweet!!

 And here's the inspriation for the day: Back in December, we drove back to Cleveland to visit at the hospital. (see Parable of the Chocolate Santa in the archive.) We had a great visit and lots of fun experiences(like the photo shoot-hence the picture) but I wondered if we really made a difference in someone's life...which was what I hoped for. I had really wanted to spend more time visiting families and we were so rushed that I only got to actually spend time praying with one family, and truthfully, it was the highlight of my visit. The daughter had been in a bad car wreck, was about Abby's age, and had a poor prognosis. Just this week I was thinking about her and actually thought she probably hadn't made it. I was also thinking about the whole visit in general and prayed that God would let something good come from it, even if we never knew. Today,  I got this email from one of the ladies at the hospital who had received it from the trama care coordinator:

"Sally (name changed), as you may recall, was the Amish girl in PICU during the Cliff's visit. Much like Abigail she had been in a car crash, was tubed, and had a dismal prognosis. The two families had a chance to meet and pray for a miracle. This is a story to celebrate! I just received a call from Sally's father. She has been discharged from therapy and is back to her old self. She was washing dishes and doing housework this morning. She has two follow-up appointments this coming Monday the 15th and would like to go up to the PICU to visit. Based on the Cliff's visit and the hope they provided, Sally wanted to, in essence, follow in their footsteps and do the same thing! Now that's an answer to prayer!"

Is that not the coolest thing ever....it made me cry (not that it takes much, I'm such a sap)!!! God doesn't have to let us know what He's up to or how He uses us...but sometimes He does...and so I pass the blessing on to many of you who prayed for us!!

More deals tomorrow! If you like the blog, help spread the word!!