Would you please pray?

Some of you may get this and others, not so much, but that's okay:)

The past few weeks have been a little nutty!  It started with Eli having a slight fever for a few days, sore throat and generally feeling icky so we laid low.  Now I realize that was probably strep but it was mild.  After that I came down with a horrible case of strep.  I was out of commission for four days.  It was so bad that I went to the doctor and had to try two different prescriptions and Mark and the boys left town without me:)  During this three week period McCall had two ear infections and swimmer's ear and Haig came down with swimmer's ear.  Then Mark came down with a horrible case of strep and I'm pretty sure some kind of stomach bug at the same time. He was out of commission for about five days.  McCall was the next victim of strep and once on an antibiotic was still sick for four days.  Then I somehow hurt my back and began dealing with crazy, awkward back pain. Then Mark somehow scratches his cornea, which is mucho painful and tries to let it heal on his own but ends up going to the doctor as well because it started getting infected.

Finally McCall once again begins running a high fever and having major headaches, neck pain and GI issues.  I was terrified it was meningitis so we took him to the doctor but after 3 visits to the doctor and lots of lab tests we are still waiting to figure out what is wrong.  We are trying to keep him from getting dehydrated. Tomorrow will be day 5 of liquids only and MAJOR GI issues.

Sigh...sorry for the long drama...but I'm worn out!!  I'm not gonna lie that I'm a wee bit tired and discouraged.  This is the part where some of you will roll your eyes and tune me out- I feel like we are under some significant spiritual attack.  As of Monday we have all been fingerprinted. That was our next significant step in the adoption process.  It seems like every time we take a big step toward bringing our little ones home... our physical world begins to fall apart.  I do believe that the enemy of our souls has a hand in this!  I'm not trying to sound super spiritual because I do realize that we live in a fallen world and bad things happen.  But so many things at once?  It would be very easy for me to get overwhelmed and stay focused on survival and trying to make it through all the physical discomforts and neediness around me.  I definitely need to be present and helping here but also keeping my eyes forward and diligent in prayer and asking God for BIG faith!!

Because something the Lord has been pressing into me recently is that when we adopt a child and bring her into our family...we are establishing a heritage for her and a future filled with hope.  We are releasing her from whatever bondage or legacy of sin that she may be coming out from under.  We are establishing her identity as a beloved child and as one chosen by Christ to become His daughter.  We are aligning her to answer His call on her heart and her life and providing opportunities for her to heal and then step into the future He has planned for her.

He is going to rewrite what could have been....just as He did for me!  There is no reason beyond the grace of God that I did not end up on the streets or as a young, unwed mother.  This year the Lord really seems to want me to realize that although I responded to His call to become His daughter, at 6 years of age...He still saved me from the life of self-destruction that I would have chosen without His intervention.  He rescued me from me!!  And each year I become more thankful!!

So the enemy does not want these children to be released from their spiritual captivity because that would mean a whole line of children blessed by a heritage rooted in Christ's salvation and relationship with Him.  It amazes me how that works:)  The enemy wants to stop this process.  I am learning so much about the power of prayer and the power of praise.  They push back the darkness.

So would you please pray for us?  Pray for a hedge of spiritual protection over our family, that we remain focused on Christ and His Word, that we will not become distracted or discouraged by our physical circumstances and that we return to good health!  Thank you for the prayer cover!!

Fingerprint time and more!!

Whoo hoo!!  They finally came!! The past week we spent traveling and visiting friends around the state, but as I was pulling out of the driveway I decided to check the mail box one last time ....and our fingerpring appts were there!!!

Unfortunately they are for a date where a few of us will be out of town, so after many phone calls,...we are all (8 of us) heading down to Charleston this Friday to prayerfully walk in for our biometric appointments.  We have to be in Charleston Saturday for a baby shower for my sister Maura so some dear friends are going to let all of us spend the night on Friday.  We are going to hit the road SUPER early, Friday, and hope they will take all 5 of us sometime during the day.  So, if you would, please pray that we can be seen earlier than later, all on Friday!!  This would be the next big step toward completing all of our paperwork.  Pretty exciting:)

For more information on how our family is faring during this season...check out Erika's blog!

Waiting, waiting and more waiting...

We keep checking our mailbox each day hoping to find a letter from USCIS with our date for fingerprinting.  At that point we, (meaning Mark, Erika, Ben, Midge and Leo), will travel to Charleston to be fingerprinted.  Then we wait again:) for the letter that says we were approved.  That could take a few weeks.  Then we will send our dossier on to our agency and they will send it to Uganda.

Then, hopefully and prayerfully we will receive our referral, which means actually being matched with a child and receiving her picture and information.  We also have a few other significant events that can/will affect this process going on in our lives!  You can read about them on my (Erika's) blog over here...


In the meantime, we wait...