Things are getting done.  It is somehow being taken care of.  I don’t know why I ever stress that things won’t happen, because they always do.  This is the life we are priveleged to live.  There have been times during the last ten years when things were so bad financially, that there seemed to be no possible way out.  And then, miraculously, we’d receive a check in the mail for this, that or the other.  Rebates, refunds, unexpected tax returns, a raise, a promotion.  A few months ago I literally had a list of our upcoming expenses that filled an entire sheet of notebook paper.  Some of these needs were small, such as “boys need haircuts” and some were large, such as “fill oil tank for winter heat.”  As of the 27th of this month, every single item on my list will be crossed off.  I have everything I truly need for the baby, including the small luxury of a baby bathtub, which I assumed I would do without.  My midwife will be paid for her services and she will be paid on time.  My pets will have made their trips to the vet and due to the super low price of gas, my oil tank will be filled with enough heat to last us the winter.  Yes, we’ve had to make sacrifices for these things to happen.  I’ve had to make two humiliating trips to the food bank.  Brent has had to work until his body has felt as if it will give up.  He has had to religiously take medication that makes him nauseous and gives him insomnia, in order to give up the smoking habit that has plagued him since we were kids.  When my minivan broke down for good, I had to learn to drive a huge truck that is impossible to park and difficult to maneuver and makes me want to cry as I attempt to get my enormous pregnant self into the driver’s seat and as I struggle to secure my 3 year old into his carseat.  Nevertheless, it has all happened and I am so proud, so thankful and much less stressed.  *Huge sigh of relief* Now we just wait for the baby.  Just waiting, waiting, waiting.