I hesitated if I wanted to post this for all to see, but I feel like I need to praise God for what He did for us today. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it was a miracle.
Lester has been working a lot on the mobile home next door, which he has recently remodeled. He was working today on caulking and painting the hardie plank siding. Late this afternoon he came inside and said that the girls could come outside to be with him. Alaina helped me get the twins ready (because they were in diapers only :) ) and I took all three girls outside. I had a lot of housework to do (as usual) and welcomed the break from trying to keep the little ones in line on top of what I wanted to accomplish.
I was working for some time in the back bedroom, which is the girls' room, and I remember looking outside and seeing the twins playing in the backyard behind the neighboring home, having a good time.
A little while later, Alaina came inside to go potty and to get away from the bugs that were biting her. She decided to stay inside with me.
After she had been inside for a while, Lester opened the door and asked if the babies had come inside. I said no. (Later he told me he had thought he had heard my voice while he was outside.) He answered "ok" calmly but of course I started to worry. Soon I went outside, too, and came to the awful realization that he did not know where the twins were. We quickly surveyed all the area around our house and the neighbor's houses, to no avail. I have to say...I was panicking. If you don't know anything about where we live, you might not know how serious this situation was. I don't know the exact measurements, but we live very close to a canal. You can see the water from our front window. The canal runs parallel to our street. To get in the water, you merely have to cross the street, an area of grass, and then the ground slopes off into the canal. Lester and I were praying out loud by this time. We were both searching frantically. I didn't hardly know what to do. It was like a terrible nightmare. It seemed like a couple times during this I could feel like God was telling me that everything was going to be ok, but I was truly terrified. Lester and I were so scared the babies had gotten in the water.
Lester told me to get the neighbors to help us, so I went to the people a couple doors down from us whom I knew were home and banged on their door. Of course they came outside to help. Another man who works for a landscaping company down the street also was helping us. Lester told me to call 911, so I went inside and grabbed his phone and did so, then went back outside while the dispatcher was asking me questions.
While I was searching behind our houses, I heard music to my ears...they had found the twins! I told the 911 dispatcher, ended the call, and found my family down at the end of the road (a little over four houses away from us). The twins had been found sitting on a rock in the WATER, playing in the WATER and kicking their feet. (Later I was holding Christina and realized she was wet up to the waist.) The place they were sitting could not be seen unless you went down to the end of the street because of the ground sloping off. Sometime during all of this happening Alaina had come outside and said she would help. She was the one who actually found the babies.
I don't write all this to in any way put my hubby in a bad light. He had his eyes off of the twins for like a minute and a half and they were gone. He thinks they may have ran after our cocker spaniel, they were gone so fast. Twins are so much different than single children. It's true that they are double the fun but they can sure get into double the danger in half the time.
I cannot express how thankful I am to be sitting in my bed right now with the knowledge that my sweet little girls are alive and well. This night could be totally different if not for the grace of God. I was reminded of that verse "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways" I believe my babies were guarded by unseen hands who did not allow them to take the fatal steps into the water.
After we came inside, we were talking about what had happened. Lester didn't know how Alaina knew where to look. She told us that Jesus told her where to look...
I listened to the song "You Are So Good to Me" by Third Day today before all this happened.
Here is are a couple excerpts:
"You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song
You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song
You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song
And I will sing again
You are so good to me
You heal my broken heart
You are my Father in Heaven
You poured out all Your blood
You died upon the cross
You are my Jesus who loves me
You are my Father in Heaven
You are the Spirit inside me
You are my Jesus who loves me"
If you've not heard this before, it's really good-what a beautiful loving Father we have.
