Thursday, November 26, 2009

Prayer Requests

Tuesday I was moving some files (photos) from the old laptop and putting them on an external drive. To verify the files transferred properly, I viewed several of them. I was amazed at how much the kids, all of them, had grown. I was also saddened because I saw pictures of my oldest daughter smiling. She hasn't done that much lately. She has been sick since the first of September. Her problem is she can't keep food down. It is not immediate and ranges from 30 minutes to 4 hours or more. Her diet is mostly liquid and even that is difficult to manage. She has had 3-4 tests run by a gastro-interologist and everything comes back okay. While that is great, my baby is still sick. Sometimes water has been a problem. There was a time when I would have thought there was an eating disorder, but we are well past that. Even she is scared. So please, when you say your prayers, please add Christina to and ask our Father to please heal her.

Also, we are walking down the adoption road again. In fact, we signed with an agency back in early summer. Way back in January, I was having trouble sleeping. I knew the problem, I was just trying to ignore it. Ever said "No" to God? He doesn't like that a whole lot. So, I fessed up to Dawn one night and she told me had been getting the same message. So we started listening to God and about three months or so later, I felt like we were being led to adopt a special needs child. I didn't say anything to Dawn about it, and later we started getting some agency packets in the mail after I submitted some inquiries. One day, she grabbed a packet that had arrived in the mail and started reading info from ABC agency and she said, "Hey - did you see this brochure on special needs children." So, that is how it started and we are now in the process of getting clearance from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. Jeremy and I received our clearance more than six weeks ago. She went to the ABI office on Tuesday to see about getting her fingerprints electronically scanned (the originals were the old ink and card). They advised her that her prints were rejected twice because they could not read them. They asked her if she washes dishes and she laughed. Even though we have a dishwasher, some things do get washed by hand. And then there is the other cleaning that is done using household cleansers. They advised her they were running her name to complete the clearance. Now this takes about thirty seconds, (I did this in college) but they told her she should receive her clearance in about six weeks! She asked if she could just have her prints scanned and the told her no, they were running her name instead. So, prayer number two, please pray we get our ABI clearance before Christmas. Our homestudy is finished and we are just waiting on that once clearance before the homestudy can be submitted to the State for approval (and then US Immigration/CIS).

It is Thanksgiving and I do have so much to be thankful for. So many people have lost their job due to the crappy economy and I still have mine. I have a wonderful wife (that I don't deserve) and six beautiful children that I love dearly. And.... across the great ocean is a special little boy under five that needs us. So please, pray for our family.

God Bless -

Tony B.

6 comments:

Mama Fish said...

Tony- As usual I love to read your updates. I will pray for your daughter, that God would heal her and that she will be able to keep food down. I will also pray for Dawn's fingerprints to be approved for your new adoption adventure. I love when God lays something on both a husband and wife's hearts at the same time. Exciting!

Craig and Phyllis said...

I remember her being sick when we were there in Montgomery and saw your family! How awful that she is still in the same condition! I was extremely sick with my pregnancies and had to be hospitalized several times because I could not keep any food down. It is horrible and so frustrating. I will be praying for Christina very specifically!

We will be praying for Dawn's fingerprints and her dishwashing! : ) It is so amazing how slow government can work, isn't it?!

Bill and Myra said...

Tony - great news about another adoption. I have the same problem with my fingerprints; the guy printing me at USCIS actually yelled at me because it took 30 minutes to print me. We have gone to our local jail and they do electronic fingerprints - it was a lifesaver for our adoptions (I kept getting rejection notices). I cannot wait to hear more about your adoption!

I will keep you daughter in my prayers. It is awful that she is getting so sick.

Blessings to you and your amazing family!

Myra

Troy and Rachel said...

First and foremost we will absolutely be praying for Christina.

Secondly, congratulations on your decision to adopt again!! I hope things move quickly for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ArtworkByRuth said...

So sorry to hear about your daughter, I am sure it is very scary for everyone! Praying for your next adoption too! God will work it out!

MamaSten said...

You and your family are in our prayers for healing and speedy processing. We hope that December will be a great month for your family.
Blessings to you.