The Bartlinski Bunch

" Teresa "

" Teresa "

Teresa "Fang Fang " Bartlinski

Teresa was born on December 25, 2006 in China. She was born with a very complex heart condition. In July 2010, GOD added Teresa to our family through adoption. We have been blessed with 9 wonderful children. Gods grace has woven us together as a family. Upon bringing Teresa home from China we unfortunately learned she not only needed a heart transplant but also a lung transplant. Her doctors feel she would not survive this operation. Please help us to pray for a miracle for Teresa's heart and lungs to be healed. She is a very special little soul who has touched so many lives around the world ...
I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Choices

I never imagined my life would be so difficult. Difficult probably isn't the right word, busy, complex, challenging, exhausting, heavy and tiresome are probably better, but also rewarding and so filled with love.

As my Father so kindly reminded me today "You chose this life". Yes, Ed and I did choose this life and we do not regret one minute of it or of our choices. (well maybe the financial part.Being the control freak that I am it would be nice to have a little financial security but GOD is teaching us to be totally dependent on HIM for our needs of each day . )

Right now we are trying to find a "new normal", a new way of life. Our new normal consists of knowing the fastest way to the Hospital in traffic, learning exactly how the human heart functions, monitoring Teresa's oxygen and breathing regularly , medicine schedules and trying to balance the needs of 8 other children who are also learning how to deal with a new way of life.

WE are trying to not have Teresa live in a bubble and we want her to experience everything a healthy child does, but right now it is a balancing act. We were told to take her home and let her be a kid, so that is what we are trying to do. Hand sanatizer has become my new best friend. Please do not be offended if I ask you to wash your hands and take off your shoes when you come to visit or if you have been around any one that has been ill to please not get too close to Teresa. A virus could very easily travel through out her body and to her heart and brain because of how her heart is so severely deformed. ( We were told to keep her away from anyone with a virus, but with 9 kids I know this is not entirely possible)

I use to wake up at night and worry about money...how were we going to pay for this adoption...the travel expenses...health insurance...our leaking roof... tuition...

I now wake up at night and worry if Teresa will be with us for one more day . It seems so meaningless now worrying about money . We are so grateful for everyday that God shares her with us.

I know GOD has her heart in HIS hands and I know that HE brought her into our lives for a reason . I know that HIS will is perfect and I pray that I can accept HIS will for her life what ever that may be.

9 comments:

Jill said...

Praying Ann. Just praying. HE did NOT move so many mountains to let you down now. ((Hugs))

Chris said...

I have been praying for Teressa for months...long before she was your sweet little girl!

I was a part of 'Lucy's Day of Prayer'...did you know about that? :)

I cried so many tears for her....wondered if we were her parents....struggled to listen to the voice of God....

I rejoiced when I 'stumbled' across your blog!! I was like "Yay, I found 'Lucy' and her family!!!!

Praise the Lord! He loves your daughter passionately...He will provide...ALL!THAT!YOU!NEED!

May I post about Teresa on my blog?

Prayers are coming your way on a continual basis!!!! Teresa is being lifted high to Our Father daily by the faithful!

Rita and John said...

Ann, if there is anything at all we can do to help, please let us know. Meanwhile, we are praying hard for Teresa.

Tara Anderson said...

You've been on my heart all day, and I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I'm praying for you, Teresa, and the rest of your family. I also appreciate your transparency in TRYING to accept God's will, even if it's not what you would have chosen. That's a hard place to be...but it's also a beautiful one.

Holly said...

God has raised up so many prayer warriors for this little treasure. I can't pretend to know what it is like to walk in your shoes, but I know HE knows. HE Who has called you is FAITHFUL and He will walk you through this...whatever His plans are...His is at work for good and so very many are praying.
Blessings,
Holly

Annie said...

We continue to keep Teresa in our prayers! I follower of mine asked if she could post about Teresa and ask for prayers for her. I told her that I would ask you. So many have prayed for her and are now praying for her and your sweet family!!

Medtary said...

Ann,
May I put your blog link on my blog? We have been praying for (Lucy) Teresa for a long time, ever since I saw a picture of her sweet face on the ASIA blog. The link is beloveddaughtersworthysons.blogspot.com. I know a lot of people that will pray for your little girl. We are praying too.

Lorraine, AKA Forever Blessed said...

Holly (Purpose Driven Family) asked me to pray for your sweet princess. I don't know if you want to read about our heart journey with our Serbian princess or not, but we were in a similar journey that began in Oct. 09 when we adopted our 4-year-old daughter (who also had severe congenital heart defects) from Serbia. Her diagnosis was "not compatible with life", but she gave us life to its fullest in the 7 months she spent with our family. It may be too hard for you to read about since Chrissie went to Heaven on May 19, 2010, but He is faithful and her days were not one day shorter than He had planned from the before He even knit her in her mother's womb. It seems hard to understand why God would call us to adopt a little one who He isn't going to heal, but His plans are always better than our own desires. His desire for Chrissie was to fulfill His promise in Mark of not leaving her as an orphan. Chrissie so badly wanted a mommy and a daddy, but no one wanted to adopt a child who might die young. God called us to Chrissie, we obeyed, and she brought more joy to our lives than we had ever known. And God fulfilled His promise to her...He did not leave her as an orphan...and now she will have an ETERNAL forever family, praise the Lord. I will be praying for your family and your precious daughter. Trust Him, the Author of life. He has lovingly numbered all of our days, His sovereignty is trustworthy, His faithfulness is true, and His grace is sufficient...all the time, no matter what. Our blog is www.AllArePreciousInHisSight.blogspot.com. You can read about Chrissie's story there. God is good, even in the storms of life.

Amy said...

covering your family in prayers from N.C. What a treasure Theresa is. Praying for a miracle!