OUR JOYFUL PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

To our great joy and surprise, we are thrilled to share I’m PREGNANT!

For 16 months, we’ve been praying and pursuing adoption wholeheartedly. We’ve filled out stacks and stacks of paperwork, gone through tests, and spent money listing with agencies, all the while begging God for a baby. He answered in the most surprising way! It is with extreme gratitude and awe we share our pregnancy announcement.

Our Journey to Build a Family

If you’re new here, we started trying to have a baby in 2014. 

• After finding out I have endometriosis, I had surgery in early 2015.
• After 6 months of menopause inducing shots, Follistem shots, and more, we started IVF in early 2016. 
• By the grace of God, we welcomed our precious daughter, Ivy Jean, at the end of 2016. 
• In early 2018 we tried on our own to have a second baby before trying one failed IUI.
• In mid-2018 after much prayer and thought, we laid down all fertility treatments, stopped trying, and JOYFULLY began pursuing adoption. My mom was adopted, and it is something we always thought might be part of our family.
• At the end of 2019, we had heard NO from over 35 birth moms. Our hearts were heavy yet hopeful and open. Check my Instagram story highlight for more real time updates.
• In the last days of 2019, to our great surprise and shock we found out I was pregnant.

Without trying, tracking, or treatment, God has given us the greatest blessing! We are THRILLED to welcome our baby in August of 2020.

Hope in Our Story

If I’m being honest, there have been times this past year that felt really dark. In the secret places of my mind, I wondered if we’d ever be a family of four. Sometimes people would say to me, “I bet one day you’re just going to get pregnant.” Truthfully, it made me mad. One because I knew how impossible it was after all we had been through and two because we genuinely wanted to adopt.

But God was teaching me all about His character. If we’d been matched through adoption now or waited another year, He was still good. Instead He did what I truly believed was impossible. He is teaching me that even when it looks hopeless and hard, I just never know his plan. I never thought I would share another pregnancy announcement. Birth, yes. Pregnancy, no.

Redemption

True to who He is, He has redeemed so much in this journey. My first pregnancy wasn’t easy from the start. So medical, filled with shots and calculated treatments. Once pregnant, I got gestational diabetes. As a new mom, I worried about my body changing. When the baby came, would I even have what it took? Then Ivy Jean was born 6 weeks early though an emergency c-section, and life with her as a preemie in flu season with some breathing issues made for a hard start.

After holding on to maternity clothes for years, I finally gave mine away and accepted that nothing would be as I had envisioned. He knew better and there was peace, even amongst tears, in the surrender.

This time, pregnancy wasn’t even a thought in my mind, and it happened. I had relinquished ever carrying a baby again, and now I am trying to relish it rather than worrying as my body changes. This time I know that motherhood is one of my greatest joys in life, an honor and privilege. The no sleep phase passes quickly. There is quiet rest in my heart. The bonus? I get to buy some new maternity clothes.

Love Makes a Family

Whether you’re building a family easily, through many treatments, or through adoption, LOVE is what makes a family. We are so grateful for this miracle baby! It is our greatest hope that no matter what stage you are in of this process, our story gives you faith. Our God is able, and you just never know what he’s up to. He is still working miracles, still capable of the impossible.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Turaloo, a balloon styling company, and Katie Stokes, an incredible photographer, for these images. I cannot imagine sharing our news in any other way, and I’m so grateful they made it possible.