More Fingerprints...

Brandon and I are just in awe as we watch our family. The task of raising four (soon to be five!) little blessings really feels like too much for two people to do alone-- but we have God's help and He is so good to us!

His provision is great and it always has been. The more we trust and walk this road, the more He shows Himself to us in little and BIG things.

Here are just a few of the ways that He has shown Himself through our most recent trials.

1. Our family doctor was just speechless when we went in for our last weight check. He said he was embarrassed by the way that various medical professionals have treated us. When I left, I left with his business card in tucked away in my wallet, with his cell phone number written on the back. Now, we've been through a lot of doctors with insurance changes and moving and I have never received a doctor's cell phone number, ever. He trusts us to use it responsibly and we will. But if we are ever in a pinch again... we have it. Our doctor has also told us if we call to get an appointment for Xander and we are told he is booked, to call his voicemail and leave a message. He wants Xander to have continuity of care and prefers that he is the one to see him all the time, rather than his partners. (Not that there is anything wrong with his partners, but Xander's case is a bit complicated.)

2. Our church has been amazing to us. I do not find it a coincidence that we floundered searching for a church home for so long after moving here, yet all this unfolded as soon as we were settled in our church. Cool Spring's people are amazing. They have really stepped up and gone above and beyond anything we could have imagined. Prayers, dinners, hospital visits, phone calls, surprises, really... we are so blessed. I'm often moved to tears when I think about it, and ask God to let them reap far more than they have sown into us.

3. Due to the way things played out, my Auntie Karon was here for Lainey's birthday this year. Last year, she was able to either meet up with us or be here for Julianne's and Xander's birthdays. And she was here shortly after Solomon was born. But this year, Lainey had her Auntie Karon in attendance and she was so excited!

4. Due to Xander's medicines all needing compounded, we have met the most amazing pharmacist. We had to go to the little pharmacy in our little town to have Xander's prescriptions compounded, but the pharmacist read the prescriptions and stopped to ask me "What is going on with little Xander?" I explained the saga, and he was very encouraging and helpful. As I waited for the prescriptions, I got to see him interact with other customers and he was just as kind to each of them. Now, I'll drive out of my way to get to that pharmacy.

5. Xander is coming around. Slow but steady wins the race! It is exciting to watch his personality come back along with his willingness to eat a wider variety of foods. We still aren't at the goal, but we are making progress. His diapers are much better than they have ever been before, even though he has lots (!!!) of dirty diapers each day. Still, I'm clinging to the progress. We've come so far, Baby!

6. Our adoption worker from Xander's adoption agency has really stood by our side. She is always so amazed at the lengths we are willing to go to care for our children. Anyway, we were approached about an adoption situation and before anyone has a heart attack, we let her know that right now the timing just isn't right. We also let her know what was going on with Xander, and she was very compassionate and looked back through the file to see if she had any kind of medical clues for us to help. She also said that if we ever really, really needed to have some additional questions answered by his birthmom that she would be willing to facilitate that for us. She is a Believer and is praying very hard for our son. Xander captured her heart when he was born and he still has a grip on it. She literally dances in the lobby when I stop by with pictures of Xander but her favorite times for us to stop by are when we walk in with him. She just adores him. She isn't in the adoption field for the money, it is truly her calling. <3 her!

We do have a new prayer request though. We have to call around to various labs and attempt to find a lab that does a certain test for Cdiff. It is more sensitive than the test that was done at St. Mary's. If we can have this one test done, it will be so much more accurate for us. If we cannot find someone that does this test (closer than driving back to DuPont to drop off a dirty diaper!) then we have to do the other test, which requires three samples and still is not as sensitive.

Please pray we find someone to do the sensitive test. I have orders for both, just in case, but it would really set me at ease to see the results from the sensitive test. This will be my task on Monday so we have a few days to pray! (He can be tested from Tuesday to Friday next week.)

Father, You still amaze me! The way that You take care of the details, before we even know what we need continues to amaze us. We love You and are so blessed to have the opportunity to raise FIVE children to know and love You. Your fingerprints are so evident in our lives. Continue to keep our eyes open, especially when things get tough, so that we can see Your presence! Love You and praise You, Amen!

~Stephanie