Long Way Home

Today's post is going to be lacking in updates about our adoption journey and fertility. Rather it is a prayer request for a friend of mine. A few weeks ago a friend and colleague, Laura Schindler, was diagnosed with a very rare condition called post partum cardiomyopathy. In essence, the heart muscle cannot contract forcefully enough to pump adequate amounts of blood for the needs of the body's vital organs. This can occur in the last few months of pregnancy and up to five months after giving birth. Laura had just given birth a few months prior, to her youngest child, Eli. She also has a 2 year old daughter, Olivia. Her first symptoms mimicked the flu but when she started having trouble breathing, knew it was something more serious. Laura ended up having to be life flighted to the Cleveland Clinic, has had open heart surgery, a stroke that affected the left side of her body and several other set-backs. However, in the last few days God has been working a miracle and Laura is slowly starting to heal. She has a long road in front of her but I know she can get through this and get back to her babies and all of the kids who miss her at school. Please keep Laura and her family in your prayers. Her full story and updates can be read here: 

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauraschindler

When I first heard about what Laura was going through my heart broke. I questioned God again like I have so many times in the past year. Why would you do this to someone so young? Why would you do this to such a great person? She has two young children and a husband who loves her, you can't do this Lord! My whole body just ached at the thought of the absoloute worst happening. As I was asking these questions and struggling with how much I don't understand in this world it struck me that I just need to PRAY. Although Laura and I are going through two totally different trials in our life they are both trials that are unexpected, upsetting, and scary. I feel confident that although God has given this set-back to Laura that he knows what he is doing. He has not left her side the entire time and is working to heal her right now. Though we may never completely understand why we go through these ups and downs in life, God does. He has given her a family and friends who care so much about her and we have all come together in PRAYER to ask for his healing. God needs us like we need him. He wants us to ask for his help and guess what? IT'S WORKING!


This song is one of my favorites lately and I feel like it is very fitting for so many people right now! Enjoy!

Quick adoption update:
We continue to check off multiple things on our homestudy checklist. We have our fire inspection completed and several other simple documents signed and ready to be sent off. The biggest thing we completed this week was our Profile Book. I have spent every night this week after work perfecting it and it is done. We weren't going to do this so soon but on Thursday the website I am using to create this book had a Mother's Day deal (buy 1 book get 1 free)! This is awesome as we needed to order 24 books at $20 each. Anyways, we felt that this was God's way of giving us a break in a round about way and ended up saving over $300. Crazy I know!! I can't wait until they come in. I think they look awesome, although I may be a little biased. This weekend we hope to complete our "assessment narrartive" this is essentially 50 questions that we must answer about our life, relationship, feelings on adoption, etc. Next week we are planning to start our 36 hours of training online and then besides meeting with our social worker will hopefully be on our way to officially "waiting".