Unexpected Surprises

I hate surprises. Not that all unexpected events are bad, but specifically when it comes to material items, I'm a minimalist and therefore I only want to get exactly what I want. Ever since childhood, I have created a wish list for Santa, my parents, and now my husband K. I'm happy to specify my requests, and they're happy I make their shopping so much easier.

The only person who has a 100% record of hitting the mark with surprises is, well, God. And when He wants to rock my world, it's completely perfect and I never see it coming. Why do I mention this? Because this past weekend, we got two pieces of mail at the same time:

1. The first package was a tax voucher for the huge chunk of change we owe the IRS. Since getting married, we've always managed to get tax refunds, but this year we had to sell a bunch of stock to pay for our new house and therefore the government is going to take its share.
2. The second envelope contained a bonus check from K's last company before he got laid off. We knew it would be coming in around March, but the surprise was how much it ended up being!

Not only does this bonus check take care of our federal and state tax payments, but it also will stretch to cover several COBRA health insurance payments. I know this sounds so mundane and boring, but I was totally expecting to have to bite the bullet and pay for everything out of pocket, dipping further and further into savings that took us years to build up. Instead, in one fell swoop, we have enough money to last us almost until my due date. Plus, at the same time several of K's career opportunities that have been in the works seem like they are finally ready to hatch!

K is so sweet. When he saw that bonus check, he asked if he could use some of it to buy the PS Vita (the first console he hasn't bought on launch day). I was like, "Of course! You earned it after all. Thanks for taking care of this family, silly." So yeah, last night we spent about 2 hours bouncing between 1 Target, 3 Wal-marts, and 3 Game Stops to get his full gaming package:

Thanks to K's old company for being so generous even to their ex-employees, but more importantly, I'm so grateful to God for continuing to fully provide for us. While I don't a clear of view what He has in store for us, I'm learning to trust in Him a little more each day (Proverbs 3:5-6). ^_^