The ways of the Lord!

(Elyssa with a water wing as a hat!)

This is an email I sent to friends and family--

Thanks so much for praying with us. Most of you know about our newest little daughter, Elyssa Mercy. She came to us near death and we initially thought it was due to severe malnourishment. While this was part of the problem, tests confirmed today, that she has sickle cell disease. This is an inherited disease which causes the red blood cells to become sickle shaped. Therefore, they do not carry the neccessary oxygen needed for her body to function properly. She gets frequent "crisis" which bring on fevers, pain and fatigue. She has very liitle, if any defense, to fight infection. She is also extremely anemic and will take folic acid the rest of her life. At this point her liver is still functioning ok, although she is slighty jaundiced. If you would like to read more on sickle cell disease you can do so at http://www.mayoclinic.com/.

We know that the Lord knew all this in advance and chose to place Elyssa into our home. It is a miracle that she survived and we are excited to see how the Lord will use her and through it teach us more of His love, compassion, mercy and grace. The kids have all been a super help and I can see the Lord using this to draw us closer to one another and Himself.

Please join us in prayer as we walk along this path the Lord has chosen for us.