Fasting

So...today I am fasting. I am on a Christian yahoo group for families adopting from Ethiopia. Every Wednesday they promote a 24 hour fast. I participated in the fast last week and really saw the Lord work. This week I am fasting and spending time praying for my baby girl. Even though we do not have a referral as of yet, I firmly believe she has been born and is waiting for us. I am praying that the Lord strengthens her and wraps His loving arms around her so that she feels the love of a parent. I am fervently asking the Lord to touch her body and keep her strong during this time in her little life. I cut off any rejection she may have experienced and ask the Lord to shower her with His everlasting love. I pray that we will be matched with her quickly so that the proper care can be given to her. Bless the nannies who care for her and may they treat her as if she were their very own. Thank you Jesus for hearing the cry of my heart and the longing you have placed within my me. I trust You with my baby.

Ok...So it has been awhile...again

Well life has really been crazy around here. I haven't posted in a while because of everything that has happened in the last month and a half. On Sunday, January 31 Andrea got really sick. She was throwing up and complaining of stomach pain. By Monday she had quit throwing up but she started having a temp of 102. We dismissed this because there was so much stomach flu going around that we just assumed this is what was what she had. By Thursday she still had this temp and was still complaining of slight discomfort in her tummy. We called the dr and she said that it was probably viral. By Monday she still had a temp so Andy took her in to get checked out. The dr said she still thought the temp was from a virus and her stomach pain was because of constipation (even though she had gone to the restroom). By Thursday she was still running a temp and had tummy pain when you pressed on it. She would have a temp of 99-100 in the morning and by 4pm she would be up to 102. We called again and the nurse said she could run a fever for up to 2 weeks and we did not need to come in. Friday we headed out to Gatlinburg to meet up with my parents for a weekend getaway. Since the dr wasn't concerned we just kept with our original plans. However, on our way there we called and demanded that some blood work be ordered so that we could get to the bottom of her fever. All weekend she was lethargic and not up to par as her fever ran its usual patter of lowgrade in the morning and getting higher as the day progressed. The dr reluctantly called in the bloodwork tests and as soon as we returned we took her in for the test (Tuesday). The dr didn't even request a follow-up appt. Wednesday morning I was a wreck and insisted that the dr see us that morning. Andy and I loaded her up and headed to the dr hoping that we would get some answers. When we got there some of the blood work had arrived and they showed that she had some inflammation in her body. The dr then said that she sent it to rheumatology to get their input. I kept saying that I thought it was her tummy because she still complained of it hurting in the area of her appendix, but the dr dismissed my concerns (which I had had since the beginning of all of this). She pressed on her tummy and said, "Well, maybe...she does hurt right by where her appendix is located." So, Andy asked if we could get a scan of her abdomen and she finally consented. We went right over to the CT scan place and waited for over 2 hours for the results. Poor Andrea was asleep on the couch in the waiting room. Finally the dr called us and said that they can't find the appendix on the scan but it appears it might be chronic appendicitis. She sent us to Riley Children's Hospital. When we arrived the surgeon compared her CT scan to one she had had last summer and said that it looked as if her appendix had ruptured. They took her back to emergency surgery not knowing what they were getting into because the CT scan showed a mass of inflamed tissue. When they got in there the surgeon found the the appendix had literally exploded and he had to take it out piece by piece. The surgery took 2 hours to complete (normally this type of surgery would have been 30 minutes). He couldn't believe it had been ruptured for so long. She went 17 days with a ruptured appendix. It is a miracle she is alive. She spent 8 days in the hospital. The drs and nurses at Riley were absolutely amazing! The surgeon called her a miracle. Needless to say we no longer go to that pediatrician. We did several interviews with various drs and found one that we feel will fit us well. It was truly a scary experience, but one where we felt God in COMPLETE control. There were people all over the country lifting her up in prayer. Andy and I were peaceful the entire time. We knew that the Lord was keeping her. She is an amazing little girl and now has a testimony of the healing and keeping power of God. So now you can see why I haven't posted in a while. Andrea missed school the entire month of February. She did an amazing job of staying up on her school work. I am so proud of her. Last week she got a clean bill of health from her surgeon and is excited to be able to run again. As for adoption news, we found out that we are next in line to receive our referral. We pray that this will come quickly because there are so many changes taking place in Ethiopia right now.