What's the deal?

We are back from our cabin vacation and had a relaxing time. I enjoyed just being in the kitchen preparing food, visiting with friends, doing a little reading and playing with the kids. We've been running so much in the past month that I'd forgotten what it was like to do these simple things. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Thank you, Lord for a non-eventful few days.

Blaine, on the other hand became pickled in his steroids and didn't have the same fun I had. He did go fishing morning and night and caught enough for a fish fry for 20. But the massive dose of steroids he was on ended up not alleviating the symptom he had and it gave him all kinds of side effects-the unpleasant ones that are common to Prednisone. He spoke with the dr. yesterday who wants him to have another MRI tomorrow and go from there.

I know I have asked and asked for prayer so many times from all of you but I have to ask again. Please ask God to give us a break. We seem to keep getting hit with catastrophe after catastrophe. Then we have all the small and medium problems mixed in there as well that everyone experiences. So all put together it seems like we never get a break from all of it. It's definitely wearing us down and with Blaine in the physical and mental shape that he's in from the Prednisone, we really can't take any more.

So if you could pray that whatever solution the dr. comes up with based on his MRI results will be nothing but "leave it alone and let it heal in time." No more drugs, no more tests, no more worry.

We really don't know why all these things keep happening to us. Everyone has hard times in their lives for sure. Here's a list of our catastrophic events of the past 4 years.

-Blaine and his dad are along side a highway, looking at some property, are well off the road, getting back into their truck when a woman swatting at a bee in her car swerves from the inside lane, crosses the next lane, heads for the ditch, finally looks up, over corrects and hits them. Blaine's dad dies instantly, Blaine is critically injured, ends up at the best trauma hospital in our state, has 2 huge, long surgeries to repair multiple fractures in his face and femur. He is able to walk 4 months later.

(God used this event to change Blaine's heart toward adoption, showing him that life is short and precious and it's NOT all about us and our comfort and ease of life)

-Blake became very, very sick and we took him to Children's where after hours and several tests, they told us they thought he had cancer. This was a Monday, the same week we were scheduled to attend our pre-adoptive class at CHSFS, which took us 2 months to get into. We were to take him to our pediatrician every day for blood work. She also thought cancer. It took me a day and a half before I though, "No, this is not cancer...he is fine." You see, God had clearly spoken into our lives that we were to adopt from Ethiopia so this could NOT be." So we began to pray Ephesians 6 over him. I had everyone praying. I was certain this was the evil one trying to mess with God's plan for two orphans. I was right. We had an appt. with the pediatrician the morning of the pre-adoptive class. They drew blood and came back a few minutes later with a surprised look on the drs face. She said, "His levels have doubled. They are normal (almost). This looks like a virus that attacked both his white cells and red cells, very rare." Off we went to pre-adoptive class more certain God was on our side than ever before.

-We sense God is moving us once again toward adoption. I make some phone calls and get an application which I was going to fill out on Saturday. On Friday, our house catches on fire and burns down. Adoption on hold.

-We are living in temporary housing when we get a picture of a beautiful young girl. We pray about her and begin the process of adopting her. Blaine has plans on Monday after we get back from the cabin to get his physical that is required for the adoption but instead ends up Sunday at the hospital after driving 4 1/2 hours from the cabin with an unknown diagnosis but is paralyzed from the chest down and for the first couple days, it doesn't sound good. He makes a miraculous, truly miraculous recovery and that brings us to where we are today.

Someone was told of our story and told the person who was telling it, "You're lying. That can't be true. Those things can't all have happened to one family." It is mind boggling, we agree. We're starting to feel like we're wearing a big target on our backs.

There is a common thread in all of this...adoption. I see that. Are we doing something wrong? Are we doing something right? I'm starting to lose the picture.

If any of you has Godly wisdom, please lend us some insight. We want to follow God and obey His will, whatever it is and wherever it takes us. But are we outside of His will? Are we missing something? Or are we just building a fantastic testimony that will reach and bless many people? There must be a reason.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and insight.

Blessings,

Laura