This Is a Long One, But Hopefully Worth the Read

I must admit, I'm hesitant to post this story, no one, not even James, has heard it in its entirety...but, every couple of months, I get the urge to write it up. Up until now, I've resisted those impulses because it's a story that has become a little sacred to me, and also I don't want people to think that I'm am trying to build myself up. That is not my intent! It is my hope that by sharing this with you, you will know that no matter who you are, or what circumstances you may be living in, you can do something to help others. That you will know that prayers are answered, that with the Lord all things are indeed possible, and that miracles still do happen. Like I said, this isn't a story about me, it's a story about a loving Father in Heaven taking care of his children in need. I feel humbled and blessed that I was able to be a part of it. Hopefully, by me sharing it, it will in turn help others.
It all started back in April of 2007. I was listening to a talk during General Conference. I don't remember what talk it was, but while I was listening, I was struck with the thought that I could be doing more to serve those in my community. The thought came with such force that I wasn't able to dismiss it, and within a couple of days, I was researching charity organizations in our area. From the beginning, I wanted to find some way to serve young mothers and their children, but I was having a hard time finding a way to do it. I searched for several days on the internet, but I didn't find any organization that fit exactly what I was looking for. I decided to pray about it, and was led to the Primary Children's Hospital website. I went to their donations page, and found pages and pages of things that you could donate, but nothing that included the parents of the children, as well. I was starting to get a little bit discouraged, and then I saw a link at the bottom of the site for its "sister" hospital: McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden. When I saw that, I got really excited because that is where I went to deliver my babies, and if I could find a way to serve through them, I would be doing something that directly impacted those in my own community.
I went to their donations page, and found a listing for "mother and baby packets". These were baskets that you could put together that included things not only for the newborn babies, but mothers as well. Once I saw the listing, I knew that was what I needed to do.
After contacting the woman in charge of donations for more details (she explained to me that this was an area of great need, since more and more mothers were showing up to have babies who had NOTHING), I put together a "wish list" of things to include in the basket, and then went to the store to figure out how much it would all cost.
When I got home and added it all up, I was a little disappointed. It would take A LOT of money to get everything on the list. James and I easily had enough money for things that we needed for our family, but we didn't have a lot of extra. So, I figured out how much I was able to put towards it every month, and discovered that it would take me about 8 months to collect all the things. As much as I wanted to go out and just get the things all at once, that really wasn't a financial possibility for us, and I committed myself to patiently collect the items as we were able.
Well, time went by, and I bought things with the allotted money for April and May. Then, I started to feel some urgency towards the project. I began to feel like the basket was intended for someone in particular, and that I needed to have it done and delivered to the hospital by the beginning of July.
At that point, I felt a little bit panicked. That meant that I would need to collect the rest of the items in six weeks, not six months. So, I took it to the Lord. I explained how I had been feeling that I needed to have the basket done by July, and that if this was the case, I needed help. I had already spent the allotted money for April and May, and I needed to be able to come up with six months worth of money in a matter of weeks. I didn't know how this would be possible, and I asked for help.
After that, I decided that the first thing that I would need to do was get started on the baby blanket and baby dress that I had been planning to crochet. But, like I said, I had no money to buy the yarn. As soon as I thought that, the idea came to me that I should check my wallet for the money. Now, this may not seem like a strange thought to anyone else, but it seemed strange to me. James and I don't carry cash. If I have cash, I spend it, so I simply don't carry it. I knew, I knew that there wouldn't be any money in my wallet, but I looked anyways. I found a couple of tens and a few dollar bills where I had been so sure I would find none. I couldn't believe it, but I also knew that it wouldn't be enough to buy all the yarn. Then the thought came to check the couch for money. For those of you familiar with our old couch, you know that it "ate" anything and everything it came in contact with, but again, James and I don't carry cash, so I reasoned that there would be no money to get lost in the couch. I checked anyways. To my amazement, I found several dollar bills and a handful of quarters, dimes and nickles. (To any of you that may have lost money in our couch, rest assured that it went to a good purpose!).
With the money safely tucked in my purse, I headed to the store to buy the yarn. Lo and behold, the yarn that I needed was on sale. I was still a little nervous that I wouldn't have enough money to buy it, but I waited in line to buy it anyways. When the cashier rung it up, it came out to the exact amount of money that I had found in my wallet and in the couch.
After that, things just started happening. Within a couple of days, a long lost rebate check for $50 (that I had completely forgotten about) showed up in the mail. Then came the two checks from our health insurance company (when Ethan was born the year before, somehow we overpaid our bill, and the insurance company had been sending us reimbursement checks as they got the problem straightened out). A few days after that, my mother-in-law called and asked me to make her several cards, which she paid me for. Also, at that time, I was making and selling cards out of a boutique in town. My sales soared in May and June, doubling my profits for those two months. Then came my birthday. People that didn't normally get me anything sent me money in the mail. Money was coming in every couple of days from unexpected sources. By the middle of June I had all the money that I needed to fill the basket. But it didn't stop there. Whenever I went out to buy the things on my list, almost without fail, those things would be on sale...unbelievable sales. Just one example is when I went to Mervyns to find some baby items, and practically everything in the baby section was on clearance. I was able to buy several outfits for $1.99 a piece. Because of that, I was able to buy many more things than had been on the original list.
By the first week in July, the basket was assembled and delivered to the hospital. They were so grateful especially since it was during their slow season for donations.
I really can't take the credit for what happened, but it strengthened my testimony of service and prayer. All I did was ask, and I was given above and beyond what I had asked for. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. All things are possible with the Lord.