Why I Didn't Write a Review About Last Year

It is typical in the blogosphere to write a review about the year we leave behind. I tried to do that, I even included the topic for one of the writing prompts. Yet, if you read my post  you might scratch your head and wonder why I shared so little. But that is my professional writer blog, so it was all good. However, this is my personal blog, where I get more personal and sometimes a little bit raw. I didn't have the emotional energy to write a review about last year because it was hard. There is a reason why this little blog has been neglected in the last year too.

As much as I share about brokenness, there are some broken places I don't write about. Mainly because I don't know where to draw the line when it comes to writing or sharing about ministry. When your husband is a pastor, church is a big part of your life.

Church has been hard. Really hard. Maybe it is the difference between being the associate pastor to being the senior pastor, I really don't know. But I do know that it has been hard.

This summer, I was ready to walk out. Not just out of the church, but I was done with ministry for good.

We were in the pits of discouragement.

Andy and I attended a pastor's retreat at that time, and I don't know where I would be in my heart if it had not been for that time spent away and resting before the Lord.

In a small church, you end up doing all the jobs, and you also end up getting all the heat (for the things you do or the things you don't do).

Oh some things have been good, exciting even! Some new people have come and our church is now hosting a clothing give away once a month that I really love to be a part of. Yet, the ministry here has been hard and incredibly lonely.

And this is where I struggle to share more, because it is still so hard and so lonely.

Emotional distress has a way of affecting your physical health too. I've always had anxiety issues. I even joked about being hypochondriac, but these issues became very real for me. Almost a year ago, after another night of sleeplessness and realizing I could no longer function, I told my husband I was making an appointment and going to the doctor to get some meds. I have always been one to encourage women who need help to deal with depression or anxiety to do what they need to do to get rid of the veil that blinds them and keeps them from enjoying life. It was incredibly difficult to look at myself and realize that I needed help too. It was humbling to "trade places" and be in the receiving end.

It is especially hard when you see your child being so susceptible to your emotional issues that you begin to see some of those (in a smaller scale) in them too. What a wakeup call!

Although I did not end up taking regular meds, I have changed some of my diet and I take a lot of supplements because my issues are related to some significant deficiencies in my body. Adrenal fatigue and hormonal imbalance do a lot to your brain's chemistry that prevent those neurotransmitters from firing properly. Of course there are spiritual issues going on too.

It has been a slow progress, and writing this makes me feel like a failure and a whiner. But it is the truth, and it is part of my brokenness.

I also know that I have been doing this in my own strength, keeping God at arms length. Recently, I have been convicted about my prayerlessness, and the fact that if I read my Bible 10 times last year I might be pushing it. Yes, I am the pastor's wife whose Bible gathered dust throughout 2012. Because for some reason some people expect a pastor's wife to be more spiritual than your average woman. I am not, I am so broken. And this year I have done a lot of asking Him, "Are you in this? Do you care? Why did you bring us here?"

But I know God is not done with me yet, He is not done with this little church either. He has not promised that things will get better, and I am not planning on that either, but He has promised to be with us. So this year, I am clinging on tight. This year, I am getting down on my knees because I desperately need Him.

My eyes will focus on Jesus because I know it is still going to be hard, but doing it on my own was no good. I just need Him.

Whatever His plan and purpose is, He has us here now. And even if there is a storm, His mighty hands hold me tight.

***

  

(I am not looking for advice or suggestions).

We need to pray for our schools (response to tragedy in Connecticut)

This post first appeared on ellenstumbo.com

It seems ironic I posted my first “confessions” the day before the tragic shooting at the Elementary School in Connecticut. I did not hear about it until after school…thankfully.

There was a flood of compassion and empathy for the victims mixed with fear over our children’s lives as we send them off to school. Are our children safe? Homeschoolers reminded us this is one of the reasons they homeschool.

When tragedy hits our most vulnerable (our children), we face the raw reality of the fallen world we live in. Evil exists, and precious lives suffer under the actions of an enemy that seeks to tear down and destroy.

This is a time where it seems okay to talk about prayer, and God, and His love. It saddens me that it is not until crisis and terror strikes that our Nation recognizes the need we have for God to step in and bring light into darkness.

I will not play the blame game. I will not point fingers and talk about who’s fault this is, or what should have been done different. No.

Instead, I will take a close look at me and see if I have failed to do my part. Because when I honestly look at my heart and the role I play, I have to admit that I have failed. If this had happened at my daughter’s school, I would have to painfully admit I have not done my part.

I send my kids to school and I pray for their safety, “Lord please keep them safe.” Yet today I am confronted by this little prayer, because the magnitude of the events that transpired yesterday show me that I do not take my prayer role very seriously.

So I speak to other God fearing moms (and dads):

Where are we? Why are we not regularly getting together and coming before the Lord asking him, begging Him to MOVE in our schools? Why are we not concerned about the teachers, the staff, the broken families and broken hearts that gather in our public school buildings? Are we burdened by the shattered lives that are so close to us and to our children? Are we doing something? Is it really just enough to ask the Lord, “Keep my child safe” and forget that there are many lives that could be touched by God is we only prayed?

If I take my role as a mother, as a child of God, and as a messenger of His love seriously, then I need to wake up and go!

Let’s wake up church, let’s get our hands dirty as we work to bring the love and hope of Christ to this world. It’s time we bring light back to our schools through us! We cannot blame the government for kicking God out of the schools, we have the Holy Spirit within us, and it’s time to pray!

Lord, may you comfort the broken hearts that grieve because of the wickedness of this fallen world. May we all wake up and listen to your call. May we not point fingers and blame when we have not lived unblemished lives ourselves. May we come together in our grief and recognize that we need you, we desperately need you!

Meet Anya: Another Adoption!

See this cute little girl? This is Anya! This precious princess is 4 years old and she is in Bulgaria. She has Down syndrome and is just a few months older than Nichole. Don't you just love her?

Oh yeah, by the way, we are not adopting her, our dear friends the Loraine's are! Ha! What, did you think I was talking about us? Well, I had to do something to get your attention!

The Loraine family adopted Nina's best friend from the orphanage in Ukraine. The connection that our daughters share brought our families together. Erin and I have been talking since before they began their journey to Ukraine and get Oksana. Last July ,we got to meet face-to-face for the first time and last Thanksgiving their family came over to spend a week with us. The Loraines have become dear friends of ours.

They are adopting again, and they just received an amazing matching grant through LifeSong for Orphans. The grant is for $4000, but they need to raise the other $4000 by March 13.

Here are the details of the grant:
100% of all donations go towards our grant unless paypal is used in which case 2-3 percent are taken out for fees. Donations are tax deductible and can be made by a check made out to Lifesong for Orphans with a memo that says "preference Loraine #2473 adoption" and sent to

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

Or donations can be made online through paypal at http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html with the same memo under "purpose" by the dollar amount.

You can visit their blog HERE.

If you can't give, you can pray!

Will you consider helping out our friends?

Join Me In Prayer

Today, the heavens are being stormed on behalf of this little girl. Gracie Yan. Gracie's story is a story about a powerful God, a good God, and the God of miracles. Her life, from the beginning, has been pointing people to Jesus. She has been known to many of us as "Amazing Gracie."

Gracie, from a medial perspective, should not be here anymore. Her heart is sick and weak.

But God.

When the doctors could not do anymore for Gracie, her family said goodbye. Her parents held her in their arms knowing they would only have a couple of hours left with her.

But God.

Gracie is almost 5 years old now, a miracle.

This morning Gracie is having another surgery. One that will give her a longer life. This procedure is delicate, risky.

Will you join me in prayer today? Will you ask God to guide the surgeon as he performs this procedure? Will you lift her family in prayer as they wait?

You can read more about Gracie HERE on their family blog.

Today, join us as we come before the Lord asking Him to be the Healer.

Update: Gracie is doing well. Thank you for your prayers. If you read Gracie's story you know how incredible this is. God is good!

Our New House

Can I start a blog post with a prayer request? We still have not sold our house in Iowa, so if you think about us, please pray that our home sells quickly. We know that there is someone out there that will love our house as much as we did!

But on to the reason for this post. Some people have asked , "How do you like your new home?" And the simple answer is, "We love it!"

When we began looking at homes, our intention was to rent, because really, who wants to have two mortgages?  We had no luck finding a handicap accessible or a first floor apartment. Looking for a rental home turned out to be tricky and expensive as well. As a matter of fact, the few homes that we found that could work for us were too expensive. But we do have 2 kids with special needs, and their safety is a priority, along with accessibility using a wheelchair or a walker.

And so we found our new home. It is a ranch style home and has a lot of open space. Nina can use her walker freely. All the floors have hardwood or tile. The back yard is fenced in and we have a partially finished basement. All these little details make this house just great for our family and for our needs. And according to Ellie the best part is that we have a fireplace, so that in cold winter days she can cuddle by the fire, drinking hot chocolate, and wrapped in a blanket...yeah...the romanticism of it all...she is my daughter.

The location is just fantastic too! We have everything we need close to us and we are loving it!

There is a park a block from our house and it seems to be a great neighborhood.

I will take pictures as soon as I find my camera.

Another Short Update...But With Pictures!

 I know I have not updated in a  few days, but we have been busy!

Nina continues to receive Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy at Mayo Clinic every day. She continues to do well and she was able to sit like a pretzel on her own today (she got herself  that way!)It has been challenging for our family to have one of us there with Nina, while the other one stays at home with the other 2 girls. The girls are feeling it too, and they are more sensitive and more rascally than usual.

This last weekend we went to Andy's grandfather's 90th Birthday celebration. It was wonderful to see family! Andy also got to spend Mother's day with his mom. On the way back, we stopped by my mom's house to have dinner and I got to see her. It was nice that we both got to see our mom's on that special day.

And, for your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures from Sunday of the girls.

So what are we up to now? Andy is with Nina and I am home trying to pack our house! We are moving in 2 weeks! It is a crazy and overwhelming thing to do.

Lastly, we have yet to sell our house, so prayers in that area would be greatly appreciated!

And that is it for now. I will continue to update as much as I can.

Selective Dorzal Rhizotomy Part 2

Tomorrow is the big day. Bright an early we will be going to the hospital and Nina will have a Selective Dorzal Rhizotomy.

Today was a day full of doctor appointments and to go over all the procedures that will be taking place.

First, we met with the Orthopedic surgeon and he went over the gait lab test results with us. We actually got to look at the charts and see what her body is doing. It was really interesting to see where she is at compared to typical children. We saw what we knew, that her left side is  a lot stronger than her right side, that her steps are really short, and that she walks really high on her toes. Actually, her heel cord is so spastic, that it did not even register on the charts...no wonder she has no balance and really there is no way she could have ever walked independently this way. She is not only high on her toes, she kind of even "bends over" them.

From the orthopedic standpoint, this rhizotomy will dramatically reduce the number of surgeries she would have had without it. After the rhizotomy, IF we need to lengthen her muscles or tendons, we might just need to do it once, without the rhizotomy, we could be looking at doing lengthening of the same muscles maybe up to 3 times (because of her severe spasticity). Her bone deformities will have to be addressed, but the rhizotomy will help postpone when this needs to happen.

We then met with the surgeon, and he explained with detail what is going to happen tomorrow. They will remove a small section of her vertebrate so that they can look at her nerves. They isolate the nerves and they test one by one. Every nerve has roots, and if they have to cut some roots in a nerve they do not cut them all, but up to 40-60% of the roots.

Nina's amazing, incredible, wonderful Physical Therapist will be in the OR during surgery. She knows Nina best and she is an incredibly caring person. Knowing that she will be there gives me great reassurance!

Following the surgery, Nina will have to lie on her back for 24 hours. Her head cannot be above the incision site in order to avoid spinal fluid to leak. She will be in so many pain meds and sedated, that we are praying that she will sleep most of the time! Now, I have never had an epidural, but she will have an epidural and catheter until Sunday.

We thought Nina would have to be in ICU for a couple of days, but that is not the case. She will be in the regular pediatric floor until she is ready to be moved to rehab. Best case scenario, she would be ready on Monday...we will be happy if this happens by Thursday. Either way, it is incredible that she will be up and moving by then...

Which brings me to the next part, because "up and moving" will not happen as easy as it sounds. We were told to expect Nina to be very weak. I heard that from other parents and now also from doctors. She will have to re-learn to do everything again. Sitting, standing, moving her legs. She has been able to do this mainly because of her high spasticity, once it is gone, her muscles will get to work properly for the first time. Just like babies take time to learn to do all these things, it will take time for Nina. Hence the intense physical therapy to follow.

And to finish the day, Nina got her very own wheelchair to keep! The one she got to chose a color for (sparkly blue) and the one that she will get to use for the next 5 years or so. Pretty exciting!

The picture bellow from St. Louis gives you an idea of what this surgery "looks like"

We appreciate your prayers as Nina goes into surgery. Please pray for the surgeon, pray for Nina, and pray for us. I have heard time and time again that parents have a harder time than the kids. I believe that!

Thank you for your wonderful words of encouragement and for all the support and prayers that you have given to us. We truly are thankful. It is so incredibly reassuring to know that Nina is going into this surgery covered in prayer.

I will update as soon as I can.

Update and Prayer Request for Our Family

At the end of this year, Andy and I will look back at the big changes of 2011. For starters, it is the year we both turn 30, but that is a small change, maybe insignificant, other than the fact that it is the big 30!


Mostly, this will be a year of big and significant changes.

On April 13th Andy will say goodbye to Bethany Alliance Church. It has been a long process, but God has been transitioning Andy out of youth ministry for the last few years.

Eight years ago, Andy and I got married. We were only 22, almost done with College. A few months after getting married we graduated and Bethany Alliance Church invited us to come; we were just kids. It was here that we “grew up” and became adults. It was here that we had our three daughters, and the place where we have created family. What a beautiful place this has been, and how dearly we love the people here. Our life together as a couple and as a family has been in this small town, with these incredible people. To think about leaving breaks my heart, and although it is cliché, part of me will truly stay back here. Our daughters are losing grandparents, and although they are not blood related, they will always be family. I don’t like to think about leaving, because I am not able to hold back the tears.

But there is this small church in Wisconsin, with only about 40 people. They needed a pastor. A pastor that could carry a tune, maybe play an instrument and lead them in worship. And someone that was comfortable with disability and special needs. While we know that it will be hard, we are so excited to be a part of Orchard View Alliance Church. There are wonderful people with big hearts in this church, and we are so excited to create a new family with them. We are excited to see God move! Andy will become the Senior pastor of Orchard View on June 1st.

Between this transition, Nina will be having a Rhizotomy done. This is a very intense surgery and the rehab is quite demanding. Nina will be living in the rehab center anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks. Yes, it means most likely Nina will go from Mayo clinic to a new house in Wisconisn.

During this time, Andy and I will be splitting our time with the girls. One of us will be with Nina, and one of us will be with Ellie and Nichole at home, packing our house so that we can move. We know this will be a hard time for our family, but the love and support that we have received from our church here is incredible! We know they will walk with us, they will support us, and help us carry the load. They have loved us so well these last 8 years, and they continue to do so. Again, it will be so hard to say goodbye.

So this is where we would appreciate your prayers.

For Nina’s surgery

- We know that it is a painful 2 days following surgery. For some kids, intense pain, others just sleep it off. Please pray that Nina can handle the pain.

- For Andy and I as we watch Nina having to go through this. The surgery will help her so much, but it still does not make it easy.

- For the surgeon performing Nina’s surgery.

- For Ellie and Nichole back home, this will be hard for them too.

- For our family as we spend so much time apart from each other.

For our transition

- Please pray that we sell our house. This is a big prayer request!

- We need to find a place to live before we move (and ideally we will only have one mortgage).

- For the people of Orchard View Alliance as they wait without a pastor. This has been a transition for them too.

- For our girls as they move to a new town and make new friends.

- For us, because we need new friends too.

She Said YES- One Less Orphan in This World!

Yesterday I shared with you my heart about the million orphans of this world. And I shared with you about the Davis family, who was denied adoption of their son because he has Down syndrome. I asked you to pray for the Hook family who was facing the same judge, and the Moreno family who will soon be facing the same judge.

Today, with great joy I want to introduce you to Evan Hook. The judge said YES! God is moving, He is answering our prayers!

Please continue to pray for the Davis family as this judge has the document with the appeal on her desk. It would be as easy as her picking it up and changing her answer. She can be a yes.

And continue to pray for the Moreno family, as they are the next family to come and petition this judge for the adoption of their sweet baby J.

We are witnessing a miracle, as stereotypes are being challenged, as a judge's heart is being changed! Pray for the judge too, because God could use this woman to become a strong advocate for adoption of children with special needs.

Dancing With Angels

Last month I posted about Crissie. A little girl adopted through Reece's Rainbow. Crissie had a serious heart condition, and a month ago, she went in for surgery covered in prayers.

Today Crissie's heart has been restored, she is healed in the presence of Jesus.

My heart aches for the family, and rejoices for Crissie.

You can click here to visit their blog.

Another Hospital Night

Nina had a few spots cauterized this morning. They said that there was a nerve or vein (not sure which) that was leaking underneath a scab. It was putting pressure on the scab and creating lots of blood clots.

She seems to be doing better than last week, after all, half her throat is healing, the other half has to start healing all over again. The OR doctor told Andy that in 10 years working there he had only seen 3 kids come back after the 7-10 day. He said it is usually the very next day.

She is tired as is expected and so are we, it has been a long day.

To clarify on my last post. My mom will come and stay with Nina only if we have to stay for an extra day. Ellie has a school event tomorrow night that I promised I would be there for. So hopefully we will all be home!

This morning as we went to the ER in our town, the doctor had taken a quick look and said that Nina was fine, to just go home and bring Nina to see the ENT later in the morning. I was not so sure. A nurse saw Nina still spitting up blood, and we could see a blood clot in her mouth. The nurse insisted we waited a little bit longer. Thank goodness! Once Nina took one sip of water the blood just started coming out.

I have never been more scared for any of my kids before. Nina was sputtering blood and it was coming out fast. They were sucking it as fast as they could and the doctor rushed to call mayo hospital. Then all of a sudden she threw up and the nurse caught a handful of blood clots and blood...and more blood was coming out. They were scared, I was crying, "Do something, please do something!"

They called for a helicopter to rush her to Mayo. I felt terrible, knowing that I could not go with her. However, they said Nina did great on the flight (she got to play with an i-pod touch, I am now a big fan of them.)

It was a long day, but tomorrow will come and they say rarely does a kid come back after a second time. Pray with us that she does start on the road of healing. And thank you all for your many prayers for Nina today.

In the OR

Nina was taken to the OR. She has been there for over an hour. I don't know if that is normal or if it is too long. We are just waiting. Please keep Nina in your prayers.

Also, Ellie is very sad. She told me this morning as I was leaving that she wishes we had not adopted Nina because I am gone with her all the time. It breaks my heart! Tomorrow Ellie has a final school event, and I promised her I would be there. I am so thankful for my mom willing to come and stay here with Nina so I can be with Ellie.

On the mean time, please pray. I am exhausted (emotionally) and feel like as I am down I am getting kicked.

I was listening to a song called "Stand in the Rain." I need to get the lyrics, because it sure feels like the world is crashing down.

Prayers needed for Nina

She woke up this morning bleeding. Went to the emergency room and it got pretty bad. She is now being air lifted to Mayo so they can do something!

Please keep her in your prayers!

A Better Day

Yesterday was a hard day for Nina. She drank very little and did not eat anything at all really. Not until later at night did she have a little bit of soup. Still, she was going to need IV fluids for the night.

Nina asked for a bath last night, and she got one. She absolutely loves baths! however, her IV tape came loose regardless of the "covering." And because Nina plays so much in the water, it had started to come out.

Later at night, they called the IV docs to out in a new line, but they "fixed" it. Well, at least they thought they fixed it. We had trouble with the IV line all night, until finally at 3:00 am I asked the nurse to please just be done. We needed to sleep, and she had had IV fluids for 5 hours already. He agreed and said we could decided what to do in the morning.

At 5:30 am Nina woke up crying. The IV had come out completely and it was just hanging there attached to a little bit of tape. Yikes!

Then we were back to sleep until 10:15 am!

Nina woke up asking for water and milk. She then wanted breakfast. Her choice...soup!

We played with some play doh and she is now playing with Grandma Chachi who stayed with us last night.

So we should be okay going home today. She is talking more, although she is still so crabby! But that could also be because of the lack of sleep.

Can't wait to sleep in my own bed with no lights and nobody coming in at all hours of the night or machines beeping.

Not So Good: A Prayer Request

To say we are exhausted is an understatement. All 3 of us!

They took Nina of the IV to see if she will eat and drink on her own. So far we have failed, as she has had nothing to eat or drink, other than a few little sips of water.

Her oxygen numbers keep dropping when she is sleeping and they have an oxygen mist thing going for her as she sleeps. Unfortunately, she never had an actual test done to see if she had sleep apnea, which she very well might have, so we do not know if her numbers are "normal" or not. I am afraid with what we know, they will say "not."

Our one night stay at the hospital will most likely result into 2 days at the hospital. No fun! I need sleep, I am not happy, enjoyable, nor mothering or nurturing when I am sleep deprived.

So please pray for Nina.

-That she will start eating and drinking

-For her pain

-For her oxygen levels

Do Not Like Hospital Stays!

We have not had many experiences staying at hospitals overnight. Just 2 births and all girls now at some point in life. I do not like spending nights at hospitals!

It seems like things always look "worse." And maybe...is it possible...that night staff is hired to work at night for a reason? Like maybe...bedside manners are not as good?

So after a scare the doctors were having because Nina's oxygen levels were too low and they almost got her hooked on oxygen or considered ICU, the probe thing was found to not be on correctly. This has resulted in beautiful numbers so far as it is on right.

This after a doctor coming in and seeing Nina is asleep proceeding to speak loudly. Never mind we were whispering, he was not getting the hint. And I just decided I am crabby, so I should not post while crabby.

For now, please do pray for Nina, I have a feeling we are not going to go home tomorrow and Andy leaves on Monday for school for 2 weeks.

Surgeries Done. Now Recovery.

After three hours we finally were told that we could go see Nina. However, because we are spending the night, their recovery room only allows for one parent to come be with the child. Nina asked for daddy to come be with her and I waited for a long time to see them.

Nina is in and out of crying.

She is sure of one thing she does not want. Mommy. Sigh.

If I see her she cries, if I talk to her she cries, so this mommy is feeling pretty defeated. I know she is in pain, but it is still hard.
She got some pain meds and she is doing better now. I was actually able to play with her for a little bit and she seems more herself. She has had a couple of Popsicles and some sips of juice. However, she is still in pain. Her voice sounds a little different, which I knew sometimes happens.

She is playing with some toys and pushing on all the buttons on the bed, which means we have had some unexpected visits from nurses.

That is it for now, there is not much going on other than trying to keep her happy and comfortable. At some point she was so worked up that she threw up while Andy was holding her. Her diaper was also so wet that Andy's pants got wet. So today, Andy gets the best daddy award.

Nina's Surgeries Have Started

We woke up bright an early this morning and left home by 5:45 am. Our sweet little girl did not sleep any more in the care ride, she just looked outside the window and seemed pretty excited to be gong somewhere.

We waited for a while and we met with different doctors and nurses. Amazingly, Nina did not ask for milk or something to eat. She did notice Andy and I were chewing gum and she asked for a jelly bean!

Here we are waiting.
Nina got her new pajamas on and she was pretty excited. She was pretty happy to wear a hat too, although she insisted we were not putting it on right.
Then they said one of us could go back with her. Nina chose her daddy and so Andy got his blue pajamas on so he could go in with Nina :)
They offered a medicine (drug) that would make Nina ll loopy and basically will "erase" her memory from what will happen. We agreed to it as we are not sure how this could impact Nina after all she has had to go through in her life. She was so out of it! Basically she was "high."

Before Andy and Nina got to go in, they came and said Andy could no longer go in because of the many procedures they will do, the order required is not conducive to having parents be there. Whatever they are doing first does not require full sedation, I think that was the issue.

So we are waiting. The procedures started at 9:35 and they said this will take at least 3 hours. So we will be waiting and praying for our sweet girl.

Please pray with us too!

And continue to pray for Crissie and her family please.

Nina's Surgery Tomorrow

We finally have a time for surgery tomorrow. Yes, finally! For some reason this system is set up that you don't get an actual time until after 8:30 pm the night before.

Tomorrow we need to be in Mayo at 7:15 am and then we go from there. I know for sure we will be there until Friday to make sure that Nina is okay.

She is having 8 procedures done

-laryngoscopy

-microlaryngoscopy

-bronchoscopy

-bronchoalveolar lavage

-ear cleaning

-tonsilloctomy

-adenoidectomy (just a possibility depending on what they see)

-MRI

So please keep our sweet girl in your prayers. I know many of these things are routine but it is not routine for us! Thank you for your prayers!

Prayers For Crissie!

The Patterson Family adopted Crissie last year from Serbia. Crissie was one of the little girls from Reeces Rainbow. Crissie has a severe heart condition and the Patterson's knew from the beginning, that this road would take them to hospitals and open heart surgeries.Right now, Crissie is fighting for her life. Things did not go as expected and Crissie was gone for 20 minutes. But the Lord brought her back and she is now fighting, fighting, fighting! My heart breaks for this family. Please join us in prayers, visit their blog, and leave a comment or a prayer for them.
This is Crissie and her mom before she went in to have surgery.This is Crissie now, fighting for her life!Please pray for Crissie and her family! you can click on the button on the top of the page and it will take you to their family blog, or you can click on this link.