Totally Awesome and Amazing Answer to Prayer Today!

We just have to share and record something really awesome our great God did today!!!  It's a long story, but so worth reading!  You will be blessed!  

This morning, I woke up feeling compelled to share with our church family a burden we had concerning Brielle's lengthy adoption process, and ask for prayer that God would help us "move a mountain" in getting her adoption finalized. 

So this was the request that was put out on our church's email prayer chain around 10am.

"Our family has a little prayer request that will make a big difference in one little life. 

It’s concerning our little Brielle’s adoption finalization through the State of WA.

All we need for the adoption process to be finalized is the return of one of our 3 background checks.  We submitted this Child Abuse and Neglect form on July 1^st, so we have been waiting for it to come back for 10 weeks and counting.  We have asked a few times about its whereabouts, and hear back that the department is backlogged.   But we think that all it requires is a few minutes to enter our names into a database to see that we are clear.  We have received the other 2 clearances (even the fingerprints that go all the way to the FBI in West Virginia) a long time ago.  And we have finished all the updates to our home study a while ago.  So, this little clearance is the only thing that is keeping us from having Brielle’s adoption finalized.  Until then, she technically still belongs to the State (with all that entails) with her given birth name. 

We are happy to wait if it be the Lord’s will and perfect timing.  But we are feeling at this point, that we just need some prayer from our SVCC mighty prayer warriors for God’s mountain-moving-power to get this accomplished!    And we’ll keep you updated as soon as the mountain has been moved!  Thank you so much!"

 

Just now, I was able to send out God's awesome answer to their prayers!   Below is the update I sent, which describes the amazing thing God did today when His people prayed and asked for such a seemingly tiny thing like adoption paperwork to be finalized!

"Dear Wonderful Prayer Warriors,

We are sooooo excited to update you all on the prayer request we sent to you this morning!!!!!  I know we shouldn’t be a bit surprised when our awesome God does super, duper amazing things when we pray and ask . . .even in the little things like paperwork for an adoption process!!!!  Because our awesome God loves hearing our requests and answering them, and sometimes loves to bless us with an obvious, extraordinarily supernatural answer!!!  So we just can’t wait to share this very special and super speedy answer to your prayers!!!    

It’s a bit of a long story, but hang in there, as we just have to write it out so you all can see how God moved a mountain today for you all!!!  

 

After sharing our prayer request with you all this morning, I felt compelled to see if I could find a phone number to call the Child Abuse and Neglect clearance department.  (This was actually prompted by an email I received from Judy P.  I wasn’t sure how to find this, so I just “googled” Child Abuse and Neglect clearance in the state of WA, and found the form we originally filled out with a phone number on it.  Thanks so much, Judy, for your part in God’s answer!)  

So, I called the number (probably around 2:10pm) and a very sweet lady named Eileen picked up the phone and was genuinely interested in helping me!   At first, she couldn’t find us in the system at all.  So she said she would call me back after Lucy, the social worker who could help her, was back from lunch.  A little while later, she called me back to say she found us in the system after all, (Lucy was still away at lunch), and that we had been “logged in” on August 8^th  (We completed the form on July 1^st!).  As I was asking Eileen what this meant, and if she had any idea of how much longer it would take, she all of sudden saw that our clearances had actually been COMPLETED!!!   So, then she said that when Lucy came back from lunch, she would ask her if they would be able to get them faxed over to Antioch Adoptions for us.   

At 3:14pm, Eileen called back to say that she was able to get them faxed already over to Antioch Adoptions!!!  After 10+ weeks of waiting on these clearances, it was DONE!!!  Just like that!!!!  ; -)  

Now, for the rest of the story.  (We think Eileen might be an angel. ;-)   

I copied these two emails below that Stephanie, our case worker at Antioch Adoptions, sent to me after I emailed her about what I had learned about the clearances being in.  

“Wow!  That is great news!  I have no idea as to who Eileen is, but I’m sure glad that she was the one you talked with!  (The person that I had communicated wasn’t anywhere near as interested in speeding things up.  I had gotten the impression that being persistent would only upset her, and I didn’t want to delay things any further). I’ll check in with Suzanne to confirm that Antioch has received the faxes, and will let you know as soon as I hear more.  Yay God!!!”       

A few minutes later:   

“I just received them!  You want to know something else that is totally like God?  The checks were completed today, and faxed at 2:17 pm. So, either your call helped to prompt things along, or it was all transpiring as you were in contact with Eileen.  Additionally, they were completed by the person that I was in contact with .  There is no mention of an Eileen in the paperwork . . . hmmm"

Praise the Lord!!!  Thank you sooooo much for joining us at the throne of grace this morning, and for being a very special part of God’s work in our family.  To God be the glory, great things He has done!!!"

 So Valerie's now in the kitchen baking a cake!!!  It's time to celebrate!!!!!  : -) 
And now be praying for a near-future court date to make it finally final!

Exciting News!

We just got word that a judge has officially deemed Brielle to be legally free for adoption! The adoption process might still take 3-4+ months, but we are so thankful to be to this point!   We would be so grateful for your prayers for a smooth and speedy adoption process!  And also, for protection on a couple potential bumps in the road! A specific prayer request would be for the state to accept the private home study we completed last year for an international adoption.  If this one meets all their requirements, this could definitely speed up the process!  (And would save us from going through the "scrutiny" of another home study. ;-)   Thanks so much! 

A Great Idea ~ Memorial Box Monday

Ever since our family's most fateful day in our history, back on Oct. 26, 2006, when God miraculously worked to spare 2 of our lives from certain death, I have been convicted and convinced of the importance of documenting for future generations all that the Lord has done for us.  God's word has so much to say about passing on the stories of His faithfulness and goodness to others . . . not only for the generations yet to come, but to "encourage one another daily" (Heb. 3:13a)!

I was so convicted soon after the Lord spared my life and Joseph's life, that I hadn't documented all that He had done for us, that I was very motivated to take the time to write down some of the big and small ways the Lord has touched and blessed our lives since He brought Ted and I together.   From this, a little book was started . . .  entitled "In Big and Small Ways . . . A Mother's Memoirs of God's Providential, Loving Care Through the Years"    I must admit, it needs some serious updating since it was printed 6 years ago!!! 

So this is one reason why I was so excited about Linny's encouragement over at A Place Called Simplicity to continually "remember" God's goodness and faithfulness in our lives, and be sure to pass down the stories to the next generation.  One great idea she talks about quite often is having a "Memorial Box" in a prominent place in your house.   She has many posts about their family's memorial Box throughout her blog, which are so very inspiring, but one post that explains her "Memorial Box" idea is found here.    Such a neat idea, especially combined with writing down and printing the stories behind each little treasures/item in the Memorial Box to save for future generations.

Linny loves to encourage and inspire others by having bloggy friends share their "Memorial Box" stories by linking up to her blog.    I've decided to do this with a recent story I printed already on our family blog back in September.  But because Linny was a vital part of this particular story, in that she was the one to help open my eyes and encourage me to fast and pray over certain things in my life; and with us still needing to be continually reminded of God's mighty hand in the midst of our foster-to-adopt process, I chose to re-post and link this story to her blog.

The Wonder of God's Great Love!

"I will exalt you, My God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works,

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness."

Psalm 145:1-7

 

Our loving Father-to-the-fatherless did something really extra special recently for Brielle (and her Mommy!) and I would love to "tell of the power of His awesome works and proclaim His great deeds!" as we document this special little part of Brielle’s story for generations to come!

The story begins back in April as we were preparing for our 3 week trip back east.   I was looking for a sun bonnet for Brielle to pack, and as I was digging through a box of little girl items I had saved from the time when Lydia was a baby, I found a perfect little bonnet.   It has a very old-fashioned look to it, and though I don’t remember the origin of it, I couldn’t remember any of the other Bowes babies wearing it.  I thought at the time, it is as if this unknown bonnet appeared just for Brielle!   It is so perfect for her, and I thought we could claim it for her very own, and that it would make a wonderful keepsake for her.    (I really love saving a few little baby things for each child!) 

So during our 3 week trek across the country and back, she wore it often, and I have lots of adorable pictures of her wearing it.  I was always very vigilant to keep track of it.  It wasn’t easy, as we visited sooooooo many places; in and out of vehicles and strollers; hotels and campgrounds; and through 20+ states and 7,530 miles!    But I always kept an eye on it, knowing one day that it would be a very special part of her treasured keepsakes.  

When we returned home, and after doing all the wash and having everything put away, I went looking for the bonnet.  I searched high and low . . . in strollers, in the truck and camper, in her dresser . . .  everywhere I could possibly think to look.  And I did this over and over to no avail.   I became increasingly sad about the possibility that I had lost this special little bonnet, and I prayed, knowing the Lord knew where it was.  In the meantime, I even called a few places we had been last, where I thought we could have left it, but no one had it.   Since then, I always have kept my eye out for it, as I have cleaned out her clothes and dresser often.  But after many weeks and months having passed and several times of emptying her dresser and reorganizing things, I resigned myself to the fact that the bonnet was really gone forever.

Now fast forward to a few days ago.  I went to bed Tuesday night feeling particularly troubled about Brielle’s situation with still “belonging” to the State, and many things happening (or not happening) in the foster-to-adopt process that are quite unsettling.  That particular day I was very burdened, and thought that I just needed to fast and pray about it all on Wednesday.    So I started out the day, fasting and praying through breakfast, crying out to the Lord for Brielle.   About mid-morning, I went looking for some clothes to dress Brielle for the day.   Guess what I found at that very moment in her same dresser that I had cleaned out many times in the months after our return home from the trip?  Her little bonnet was lying in the bottom drawer, amongst some of her older set of clothes!!!   I couldn't believe my eyes!  

Many times, over the course of the months of looking for the bonnet, I had come to grips with the reality that the bonnet is really a fairly insignificant little piece of fabric and ribbons, and it is just an earthly thing that will be left behind in the end anyway!  But there was always something about that bonnet that just seemed so special, and just for Brielle.   I wanted it for her as a keepsake and remembrance of how very precious she was in her infancy and always will be to us. 

Now, it will always have an even greater significance!!  Our Heavenly Father who loves Brielle even more than we do, chose this particular day and moment to sweetly remind us that she ultimately belongs to Him, and He is orchestrating His good plans for her in His perfect time.   I just feel soooooo blessed with this special kindness from our loving Father.   And I'm so very grateful that He is answering our prayers, in His good way and timing, and He truly cares about every little detail in our lives!!! 

"I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,

the deeds for which he is to be praised,

according to all he has done for us -

Yes, the many good things he has done. . . "

Isaiah 63:7a

Life and Death - With Update

Latest Update - Polly passed away around noon, Tuesday 11/5.

Update:  As of this Tuesday late morning, Polly the goat is still clinging to life.   Victoria and Caroline are en-route once again to the veterinarian to have her IV fixed.  Thanks so much for your prayers for them! 


It has been a very difficult weekend for Victoria and Caroline as they have been nursing, round the clock, one of their significantly pregnant does that has been on the brink of death since Friday.  It is always so hard . . . first off, not being able to quickly and accurately diagnose what the sickness is; (There are so many things it could be, that all have somewhat similar symptoms.); then, to give her every conceivable remedy, all the while drenching her with fluids of every kind and with not seeing much, if any improvement; to watch the doe be so uncomfortable; and then to consider not only losing the momma, but her babies as well.  (They think she could have up to 3 within her, and have a waiting list for up to 4 of her babies.)   With all of this, our hearts feel very heavy and sad. We'd be so grateful for your prayers for Victoria and Caroline.  We were planning to have Caroline's special "birthday" day today, but will postpone it for a happier day.  :-(

Meanwhile, Blackberry, one of Valerie's momma labs, decided to surprise her early this morning, with an unexpected early onset of labor and delivery.  After checking her good before bed last night, Valerie was sure, from not observing any of the usual early signs of labor, that she would not be giving birth in the night.   So thankfully, because Caroline and Victoria stayed up through the night with their sick doe, they noticed Blackberry was delivering her puppies at around 4am, and woke Valerie up!   This is always an exciting time, to see how many and what colors and genders she will have!

We have such mix of emotions now, with celebrating this new life on one side of the house, while grieving the potential loss of up to four special lives in the barn on the other side.

Pig Tails and Piggy Paint

Looking quite adorable in her new pink Piggy Paint . . .

(Thank you, Lydia!)

 

 and her two very cute pig tails . . .

Brielle and Mommy went to Seattle today for her long-awaited specialist appointment.

We were so glad to hear from this very nice doctor about what to expect

concerning her diagnosis and upcoming treatment plan.

He confirmed that she will not be able to use the necessary medicines for a few years,

And he relieved some of my worries when he said that it is not likely that she will show much in the way of symptoms during this time. 

These were the two main things we learned,

although he did tell us a bit about the medicines; 

how they are administered and for how long;

their side-effects;

and percentages of effectiveness/cure rates. 

It's hard to think about right now  . . .

so while we wait some more,

 we can pray that our Great Physician might see fit to heal her little body before her next blood test!

 

"The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." 

Philippians 4:5b -9