Please keep David in your prayers today. He has an interview starting at 1:00 PM EST and we’re really excited about it. The place is great and is basically a nerd’s dream job. I’m more nervous than he is.
David has been so stressed lately and we’ve been praying hard for a new opportunity. I know that God will provide, I’m just hoping the provision is sooner, rather than later.
God is always looking out for us. This afternoon, I took Emmy and Rosie out back. Because of Emmy’s broken paw, David or I have been going out with them to keep an eye on her.
I was busy looking at the trees, when I heard Emmy digging and burrowing her face into a hole in the ground.
I kept yelling at her to stop, but she wouldn’t let up. So I walked over and she moved away. I decided, since, I was over there that I should take a look and see what was bothering her. I imagined it was most likely a lizard or chipmunk. Instead, staring back at me was a snake with a head the size of a large egg. It’s eye alone was the size of a dime.
I walked away and thought, maybe I’m just seeing things, I do have bad eyes. Maybe it’s some giant breed of chipmunk or something (I know, I’m ridiculous). I walked back over, no it’s shiny. Mammals aren’t shiny. I’d walk away, and walk back again. It never moved, never blinked.
“Maybe it’s dead,” I thought. I walked back again, nope, it moved deeper into the hole. I called the girls inside and called David. David, of course, wanted to call animal control, but I was thinking its probably nothing. Again, maybe I’m just seeing things.
David called an animal removal service. The guy came. He looked around, pulled out the leaves from the hole, poked into the tree base (where the hole was), and said, “It’s in the tree.”
I stepped back, “It’s in the tree? It’s nest is in the tree?”
“Oh yeah. Great place for her.”
Her? I immediately began to think about baby snakes all over my yard.
“So, it is a snake?”
He nodded, “Definitely.” He then began to ask me questions about what it looked like. I’d only seen the side of it’s head, so my description wasn’t great.
“Did it have a cat eye?”
“Yes,” there was no hesitation there. That was my first clue that it was a snake to begin with.
“Okay, you have a copperhead.” I took another step back from the tree.
“Great, are there more in the yard then?”
“Most likely.”
He laid out the options for me, and I chose the get the snakes out of my yard option.
I’d planned on finishing the raised garden beds today. I’d planned on raking the leaves today. Not anymore. It’s crazy how life works and how God looks after us.
If Emmy hadn’t broken her paw, I wouldn’t have been out there to see the snake. If Emmy hadn’t seen the snake and tried to kill it, I would have continued to work in my yard with a bunch of venomous snakes.
And the most amazing part of all this is that the snake never tried to hurt Emmy. It never bit her or came after me. And Emmy was openly antagonizing the copperhead. God is good. He is really, really good. Awesome, He’s totally awesome.
I hope you all have a great Easter today. David, Brielle Bear, and I went to church this morning and we’re spending the day with David’s mom and his nephew, Matt.
We make Easter baskets every year for Emmy and Rosie, our dog children, and we made one for Brielle this year too.
We filled Brielle’s basket with some of her favorite candy: Starbursts, Skittles, and Air Heads. And then we added some things for David and me too.
It’s been a bittersweet day for us. It has been very hard seeing other sweet little babies dressed up for the holiday, but at the same time because of Jesus’s sacrifice we can be with Brielle again and that is something to celebrate.
We brought Brielle in her urn bear to church on Sunday. I dressed her in one of the church outfits we’d bought her in October. I was so nervous, I thought it would be weird or we’d look ridiculous. But it felt right. David carried her in and we sat with some friends. We took turns holding her through the service. David wanted to hold her the most, he’d take her from me and would say, “It’s my turn to hold my little girl.” It was cute, he needed her there just as much as I did.
Our friends were very supportive and thought it was good. They’ve been very understanding and encouraging. And it was just nice. My arms didn’t ache as bad. I didn’t feel like I was falling apart. It felt right. It felt right, to bring her to the place she loved most.
David and I don’t have a grave site to visit or decorate. We have Brielle bear. And even though Brielle isn’t a part of this world, she still exists, and David and I are still parents. And we still need to parent her. We need to love her and celebrate her. And we’re still connected with her, so it’s not as simple as just saying, “She’s with God now” and moving on.
I don’t know what she sees. I don’t know what she knows. No one does. She loved God and church. She’d jump for joy when the pastor said, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.” She danced when we sang praise songs. So David and I feel it’s right to still bring her to church, she’d want that.
We still need to honor Brielle. We still need to celebrate her and acknowledge her. And we’ll figure out our way of doing that. I’m not going to apologize for remembering Brielle and I’m going to do what’s best for my family. And right now, bringing Brielle to church is what is best for us. If she can see us, I think it made her happy.
