A Long Overdue Update

***Trigger warning for those struggling with infertility and miscarriage***

What a year this has been! God has faithfully walked with us through this season of our adoption journey. Gladney has been amazing and we are beyond grateful for the work they are doing in our life and around the world. 

One of the issues Ray and I have had to honestly address and grieve is the reality that Abigail may very well be our only biological child. Due to our personal convictions, we have never felt God “okaying” the use of pharmaceutical intervention in order to conceive. There are so many children in the world, longing for a forever family. This, I very intentionally state, is our feeling about OUR marriage and family journey. We would never disapprove of others using intervention for pregnancy; it is merely where God has led us as individuals and a couple.  God filled us with grace as we found great peace and joy in the future makeup of our family.

Ray worked very hard this spring, training for the OKC memorial half marathon, raising funds for our adoption with each mile run. Thanks to the incredible kindness of family and friends, we raised all the funds needed to fully pay for our adoption. We have seen the provision of God through the generosity of so many people. What an amazing and humbling experience to have the community of Christ love you in such a tangible way.

April was spent creating our family profile, having it printed, and multiple copies sent to Gladney. This profile is the first glimpse a birth mothers has into our life. Once those were turned in, the long wait began. April turned to May, and then the long wait was suddenly and unexpectedly over.

After a week of intense sickness we discovered that I am pregnant!

Miracle.

We have heard so many stories of people finally being able to conceive during the adoption process, but never expected to be one such family. If you are familiar with our journey, you know I struggle with recurrent miscarriage. The first several weeks we usually hold our breath and pray for peace, which God has once again provided.

This pregnancy has been much more difficult on my body than my pregnancy with Abigail. I honestly chalked this up to it begin the second pregnancy with a 2 ½ year old exhaustion and possibly a baby boy since I was having such intense symptoms.  

After we encountered some (what we now know are minor) issues, we had the opportunity to have an early ultrasound. While the sono tech looked around I began to fret, not being able to see a heartbeat. I nervously asked if she could see a heartbeat, she paused and then replied, “Actually, I see two.”

Twins.

That’s right, not only are we expecting (a miracle in itself), we are expecting twins (who are possibly identical. Not quite sure; as of now they seem to be mono/di twins)!!!

Wooo. Yeah, take that in.

Okay, to answer some of the questions you may have:

What happens with the adoption?

-Our adoption goes on hold until babies are at least 9 months old 

(we will probably wait until they are 1 year).

Will you still adopt?

-YES!! We will continue to adopt. We know adoption is intended for our family and look forward to God’s prefect timing.

When is your estimated due date?

-Due date? Ha! Twins are a whole other ball game y’all. We’re already working diligently to help them stay in until they are full term, which for twins is 37 weeks.

Meaning???

-Meaning, we hope babies will stay put until early January.

Isn’t it a bit early for an announcement?

-Possibly :). This news has been a lot for us to take in and we have found comfort in having the chance to process with close family and friends. Now that a growing number of people know, we figured we might as well share openly. Not to mention that second pregnancy with twins . . . 

momma is gonna be showing quickly.

How can I help?

-Thank you for asking!! At this time, we deeply covet your prayers. We are still in a bit of shock. The idea of moving from a family of 3 to 5 is a bit overwhelming! Pray for the safety of the babies, as they are in critical weeks of growth. Also, please pray for my focus and diligence with this pregnancy. All of our research thus far has instructed that the best way to keep twins growing until 37 weeks is nutrition. Among other things, this means drinking one gallon of water and eating nearly 150 grams of protein daily. No easy task for a nauseas momma!

Have other questions? Leave them bellow and we will do our best to answer them!