Miracle #1- Check

In late April of 2010, I came home one night to find that the company my husband worked for almost 10 years had decided to close the plant where he was working, Mill's Pride.  I remember how devastated we were that night, wondering how this could happen.  Six months earlier, I had left my position as a dental assistant to finally be a stay-at-home mom.  We worked so hard to get to this point in our lives and now our life seemed to be crashing down around us.  That first night was bad because there were so many unanswered questions.  I did the only thing that I could, I prayed.  I prayed to God for peace and the strength to get us through this.  By the next day, the mood changed.  Yes, we were scared, we are human, but we realized God has a plan for us and I knew we would make it.  I began to send out resumes for Tony and for myself, just in case.  Over the next couple months, rumors swirled over the plant getting sold, and the outlook was good.  We carried God's peace daily, yet there were times that we gave into bad thoughts and wondering when this would all be over, but God always brought us back to that peaceful mindset.  We knew we could financially make it, because unknown to us at the time,  God had begun to prepare us for this job loss years ago.  In late 2009, we become debt-free by using Dave Ramsey's plan.  Knowing that our only debt was our house was a great relief at this time.
Day after day, I would check jobsites, newspapers, and anything else I could find, and I would e-mail or mail resumes as much as I could.  No responses.  But we held on to God's promises, and just kept going. 
On June 25, 2010, everything changed.  After much hinting, sign sending, and words spoken by other people, God finally had to knock me over the head.  We were supposed to adopt again.  I had known it for awhile, but with Tony's job situation, I was like are you serious "now".  Well God was definitely serious.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have said one child was enough.  After being in a place when you think you will never be a parent, and then getting the opportunity, especially with Allie, I just didn't want to be greedy:)  But on June 25, it hit me like a ton of bricks, we had a son and Allie had a brother, somewhere, whether he be born yet or not, and we needed to find him.  Anyone that hasn't been touched by the miracle of adoption, this may be hard to understand, but it is real. 
Well I began to get the ball rolling, we decided to try to adopt through the foster care system, and we began the paperwork and classes.  Everything was going along very smoothly, Mill's Pride was about to be sold and the adoption was in the works, until around Labor Day.  We got a call that the company that was to purchase Mill's Pride had backed out.  Bam!  Here we go again.  We had skated through months thinking the company would sell and Tony would just stay where he was, and now that didn't seem to be the case.  On top of that we now had an adoption in the mix.  Well as I learned before God is control.  So we just pressed forward.  I continued to send out resumes and check newspapers daily.  We were coming to realize that there didn't seem to be much hope for someone to swoop in and buy the company, so we began to really prepare for Tony to be layed off.  I went into planning mode and had a plan in place that would secure us financially.  I took a very part-time job to help build up savings, and we began to save every extra cent that was available. 
Tony through this all, he has not complained about getting up at 4:30am to go to a job that he knew would soon be taken from him.  As much as we wanted to be angry with the company, we put it into perspective, and realized as awful as all this was, if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have had the means to buy a home or to adopt Allie.  He fought tooth and nail to stay as along as he could and in doing that he had to watch people he'd known for years walk out of the building for the last time.  He was told March 30th would be his last day, and the weight of everything got heavier for us.  We knew we were financially ready, but now the adoption paperwork was done, a call for our son could come at any moment.  Our fear was that the job loss would take away the dream of our son.  God reminded us, he is never late, he is always right on time.  And he was, one week ago, God stepped in.  Tony was interviewed and offered a job the same evening.  And no this was not a job he applied for.  It was the workings of the Lord, even if the others involved don't realize it, we do.  Today, Tony will walk out of Mill's Pride for the last time, taking with him memories of his time there and the knowledge that God truly has him and his family in the palm of his hands.  We went through another trial and with God's help came out of it better than when we entered.  God's plan may not have been the way we thought it should be at times, but in the end, it is exactly the way it should have been.  We have been through things already in our time as a family to know that everything happens for a reason and at the exact time it should.  As much as I'd like to control everything, I know I can't.  We are so thankful that Tony will start a new job on Monday, but we continue to keep the workers and their families, that have left Mill's Pride already and those that are still there in our prayers. 
I am so happy writing this today, because it shows through the power of prayer and a little faith in God's promises, big things can happen.
We are excited too that this new job is another step in bringing home our son, where ever he may be.  We don't have to worry or wonder anymore about a job loss affecting our adoption.  Waiting and being patient aren't my strong suits, just as our social worker:)  But with the grace of God we will hopefully soon get to check miracle #2, our son, off the list.
Thanks again to everyone that has kept us in their prayers and please still keep praying, we have a son to bring home:)

Holiday Inn

After all the sickness the past couple weeks, Tony , Allie, and I, enjoyed a really great day today.  Started off not to fun for Allie because she had to give a blood sample at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, (long story, preventative thing), but she was able to say after today was over  "Mom, I had a very, very, very fun day today!"  Which is music to my ears.  We surprised her and took her to see Tangled.  She loved it.  Tony and I actually really enjoyed it too.  Then Allie got to go swimming at the hotel pool, which ranks pretty high on her favorite things to do list.  We finished up the evening with a little Yahtzee Jr., and now all is calm.  My little family is fast asleep as I type away.  No one got any fancy toys or expensive clothes today, yes we went to a movie, but it was more about,we were there together. 
I have been given the most amazing little lady, that I have the privilege to call my daughter.  Her trust in Tony and I is nothing like I've ever seen.  She is my life's ambition, and I strive everyday to grow her into a strong and confident woman.
And this man...this man I have been blessed with.  This man that will go back down to the hotel restaurant to get me  a piece of chocolate cake, when we just came from there:)  I don't tell him often enough, how awesome he is and how lucky I am.  He holds me together and for that he deserves an award:) There really are no words for the love I have for him, and I truly thank God for allowing me to call him my husband.  
I know I've asked God for some miracles on David Ave....but first I have to give him thanks as I look at these 2, tucked in and fast asleep.. my miracles at the Holiday Inn:)

It won't be one second late.

While on couch duty because Tony was sick, I was flipping through the channels alittle before midnight a couple weeks ago.  I happened upon  Joel Osteen's broadcast on ABC Family.  It wasn't even on yet, I was just flipping through the guide to see what was up next.  And something said, you need to watch this.  I'll be the first to admit, I don't normally care for TV preaching, but I hit select and prepared to watch.  By the end of his first sentence, I was crying.  It wasn't just something that had told me to watch, It was God.  That show, that sermon was meant for me and my family.  I copied from Joel's website, because he says he much better:

The moment God puts a promise in your heart, He establishes a set time to bring it to pass. Habakkuk 2:3 says, “The vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarry, wait earnestly for it. It will surely come.” It won’t be one second late. When we understand this, we won’t live frustrated and discouraged when things aren’t happening as quickly as we would like because we know God is lining up everything as it should be for the appointed time.  When it’s your time, nothing can stop it from happening. You can stay in faith knowing with full confidence that your time is coming!

That was so meant for me.  He says too, that when God gives us these promises, he sometimes will take a step back to see how we handle not getting things immediately.  How if we wait patiently and trust in him, whatever it is,it'll happen, but on God's timetable and not a second late. 

So the day we found out that Mill's Pride was closing, God put in our hearts that a new job would find Tony.  And we know now it will not be a second late:)

And the day God showed me that there is precious little boy out there that is meant to be our son, we know now that we will find each other, and it won't be one second late:)

Quarantine lifted

OK...finally after weeks of passing coughs and sneezes back and forth, we have "knock on wood" seen the worst of it.  And as usual, I was the last to see it:)  We have all 3 learned that breathing through your nose is not an action to take for granted.  I thank God for our health, and hope we have seen the worst of it, at least for this year, even if that is just for a few more days.

Here we go....

The Christmas season is now in full swing and the new year is right around the corner, and the Castina household is bracing itself for big changes.  We are in the midst of an adoption process and an unavoidable job change for Tony.  We have worked so hard to get to the point we are at and we know there is always a light at the end of every tunnel.  We know God has a plan for us and we know he has us in his hands.  I know the trials and the triumphs we will face in the coming months will only strengthen us as a family.  I decided to start this blog to help us reach as many people as we can, whether it be for support, inspiration for others, or for however God wants to use it.  Please keep us in your prayers as we trust God for a miracle on David Ave.:)