Little Miracles / Adoption update

Brace yourselves. This is long

As many know we have been in the process of adopting for the past 2.5 years. The reason we decided on this route was because we'd tried to have children for years with no luck. My cycles were far from regular and I was diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS basically means I have small cysts on my ovaries and have difficulty losing weight. Anything with cycsts can't be good. It is hereditary and though my mom was never diagnosed with it, it would explain her difficulty having children after her first. We tried some drugs but decided that we didn't want to do any really invasive treatments, we'd just continue not to prevent pregnancy and pursue another avenue...adoption.

The adoption process has been really hard. We ran into some complications with BMI requirements which jump started our new healthy lifestyle change. This is where the miracle began. Dan and I realized we'd really let ourselves go and wanted more than anything to get the weight off so we could qualify to be parents in China's eyes. We also wanted to be healthy so we would live long lives and be able to keep up with our future addition. So, in many posts we've already made you know that Dan has lost 135 lbs and I've lost 55 lbs. Since losing around 25 lbs I've started having regular cycles. I was pleased because I knew it meant my body was getting healthier.

After waiting for 2 years for our adoption and hearing weekly that the wait time kept going from 3 years, to 4 years, now to 5 years I started to feel very discouraged. I started praying that the Lord would soften the hearts of the Chinese government to allow these babies good homes. Then I started praying that we would be able to have a child sooner rather than later, by whatever means. I guess He took that to heart, because now I'm pregnant.

It was unreal. I missed a period. I hadn't done that in years. I decided I didn't want to tell Dan because he'd just tell me I was crazy. So instead we went to the store and I told him I needed to pick up some lady business. I came back with a a pregnancy test. As the checker swiped it through Dan automatically said "What's that for?" I replied with a smart "What do you think." I'm sure the checker found this all very amusing. I wanted to wait to take the test in the morning (I've taken enough of these to know that is the most accurate time of day). That night we headed to the U2 concert and had the best time of my life. I kept thinking, this is the best weekend, U2, and possibly pregnant. We were out SUPER late due to parking issues so slept in. I got up, did my business on a stick, and immediately there was a vertical line. I've seen a lot of horizontal lines, NEVER a vertical one. I was shocked. I'm sure my mouth hung open for a second, then I did a little jump and squeal. I walked out of the bathroom and Dan was staring at me. With a grin on my face I told him it was positive. I was surprised by his response, to be honest I thought he wouldn't really be happy. But his shocked face turned to a big grin and he said, "really?". We both laughed (a bit hysterically) and went back to check the test again :) I waited until the afternoon and took another test. Still positive.

The next day I called the Dr. bright and early to get an appointment to find out for sure if I were pregnant. Luckily I was able to see someone. While I waited they came in and asked me if I was positive my last period was on May 1st. It old them yes, it was May 1st at 5:15 am to be specific, I'll never forget the day I ran my first half marathon with my period. The Dr. came back in the room and told me it was official, I was pregnant. I called Dan, he freaked again, in a good way! I called my mom on the walk back to the office and told her and all of 3rd avenue that we were expecting. She immediately called all my siblings and told them, she was so excited!

Here is the rest of the miracle. When my mom told my brother, he told her that his family had been fasting and praying for us to have a baby sooner rather than later. My exact same prayer. All the little girls prayed, and the two oldest, 9 and 8 fasted with their parents. I cried when my mom told me. I'm crying now. I'm still overwhelmed by the faith of these little girls and the love of my brother and his wife for caring about our family situation. When I finally talked to my brother and his wife I could barely get the words out of gratitude. They told me that the girls screamed with joy when they found out the news. I was glad that I got to tell each of them when we saw them over the summer thank you. I might have scared them a little as I cried getting the words out, but I wanted them to know that their prayers had been answered and I was forever thankful to them.

Here's baby's first picture. No, it's not twins :)



We are still moving forward with the adoption. We don't want to get out of line now that we've come this far since you really never know if we'll be able to carry to term. After the baby comes we'll tell the agency and get advice from them as to how to proceed since China has a rule of no children under the age of 1 in the home when you bring your new child home. I still feel like this is what we should do. I've been thinking of a Chinese girl for the past 2.5 years and feel she should be in our home too. But we will continue to pray and discover what is meant to be in our family as we move through life.

So that's it. We're so happy, and nervous, and scared, and overwhelmed, and blessed. I love Dan, I love this baby and I love my family. I know there have been countless prayers on our behalf, and I thank the Lord for answering them.