Happy Monday! Today I am pleased to introduce you to Jennifer, a sweet fun-loving mama with lots of wisdom to share! I learned a lot from prepping her testimony, and I hope the same for you! Thank you again, Jennifer, for taking the time to invest yourself in these answers. You are such a powerful witness to God's miraculous healing!
1. Tell us a little about yourself!
I'm a 33 year old wife and mother. I'm in my 11th year of teaching and I've been married for 11 years to my handsome husband, Dave, who is a campus minister.We have 2 energetic boys that keep us busy. I love photography, spending time with my family, and most importantly, naps.
2. If you’re comfortable, can you walk us through your process of knowing you wanted a baby, being told you couldn't have one, and being connected with Nate after it all?
Dave and I knew that we wanted a family, but we both agreed that we didn't want kids right away. We decided that we wanted to wait five years before we started our family, but just a little over a year into our marriage, we decided that we didn't want to wait any longer. We got pregnant the first month of trying and we were shocked, but so excited. We told our families and started dreaming of the future. All of that came to a crashing halt when we had a miscarriage. Everyone told us that we would get pregnant again quickly, but month after month, it just wasn't happening. Facebook became my enemy as I watched friend after friend announce their pregnancy and post their super cute baby pictures. I would never have admitted to it then, but I was depressed and it just kept getting worse and worse. I longed to have a family and my heart was breaking.After a few years of trying on our own, we went to a fertility doctor. I was hoping they would have a magic solution, but instead, they told us that our pregnancy was probably our miracle pregnancy and without the aid of fertility treatments, we would probably never get pregnant again. We weren't comfortable moving forward with fertility treatments and I had decided that we should pursue adoption. It took a lot of convincing to get Dave on board with the idea, but God opened his heart to the possibility of an adopted child. We completed our home study, listed our profile with a local adoption agency, and started spreading the word about our desire to adopt. On January 19, 2010, exactly four years after our miscarriage, we found out about a baby boy that was due in March of 2010. I contacted the attorney the birthmom was using and within a week, I spoke to the birthmom on the phone and was jumping for joy when she told me that she had picked us to adopt her son. On March 19, 2010, we stood in the OR waiting area and heard our son cry for the very first time. That day, we became Mommy and Daddy to a 7 lb. 4 oz. little guy that we named Nathan, which means God's gift. He may not have grown in my belly, but he is, without a doubt, our son. We were finally a family.
3. What were your initial feelings when you discovered you WERE pregnant, despite what the doctors had told you? Were there any fears surrounding this pregnancy?
After we adopted Nate in 2010, we enjoyed our lives as a family of 3. Those were happy, happy days. I look back on those pictures and smile, remembering the fun we had with our little man. Around the time he turned 2, I started getting the "itch", the feeling that it was time to start preparing to add to our family. Since we were infertile, we started looking into adopting again, but realistically, we knew that we couldn't afford another adoption. The only other option I could see working out was adopting through foster care. Our intentions were to adopt a child that was in the system and was available for adoption. In order to do that here in our city, you have to take 9 weeks of foster adoption classes. While taking the classes, God opened our hearts to being willing to foster a child if a situation opened up and they needed us. Well, before we were even official foster parents, we got a call about a baby girl. They rushed the rest of our paperwork and prepared our home for this little girl. While we waited for her to be released from the hospital, Dave and I went on a anniversary trip and while there, I kept feeling sick and I could smell weird things! When we got home, I decided to take a test as a joke. It had been eight years since my miscarriage and since then, we hadn't used any birth control. There was no way that it would be positive.Amazingly, the positive sign came up right away and I almost passed out. There was no way that it could be real! Instead of feeling joy, I was immediately scared that this test would keep us from getting the foster baby we had been waiting for. It seems silly now, but in that moment, I couldn't imagine saying no to the foster baby that we had been preparing for. Once the shock wore off, I was excited, but it just didn't feel real. When we went to the doctor's appointment a week later, I still struggled to believe it, even as I saw the baby on the screen during the ultrasound, a baby who was already 8 weeks old. It really wasn't until the 20 week mark when we went for our big ultrasound that it started to feel real, when I started to let myself believe that I might actually be having a baby and that it really was going to happen.
4. What was Nate’s reaction to knowing you were pregnant with Zach, and after meeting Zach for the first time? Did your pregnancy lead to questions by Nate that were difficult to answer?
When we started the foster parent process, we talked to Nate a lot about what we were doing and why we were doing it. He knew we were going to open our home to a child that needed some love and from the very beginning, he was convinced that we were getting two babies instead of one. We kept on telling him that most likely, we would just get one baby. Well, he was right all along. Granted, they came in different ways, but we did indeed get two babies. My pregnancy didn't really lead to any difficult questions from Nate. We have been open and honest about his adoption since he was born. He's always known that he was adopted, that he has a birthmom in Florida, and that he is loved by two mommies. His story may be different than Zach's, but their stories were both a part of God's plan, a plan that was only possible through His power.
5. What advice or encouragement would you give to parents who are struggling to conceive and considering adoption?
Infertility is so hard and I don't wish it on anyone. It's depressing and very hard for fertile people to understand. People will tell you to take a vacation and "just relax" as if that's the magic answer and suddenly, you'll get pregnant. We heard it all as we struggled to get pregnant. Adoption has been such a blessing for us. We love our Nate and can't imagine our lives without him. If you're thinking about adoption, first start praying about it. Take some time to open your heart to what God might have in store for you. Then, look into your local adoption agencies and start networking. We didn't find our Nate through an agency or an attorney, but through a friend who had a connection. It never hurts to let people know your intentions and more importantly, it never hurts to have people praying for you.
For us, our adoption journey started in October 2009 as we started our home study and Nate was born in March of 2010. God can move mountains!
I'm a 33 year old wife and mother. I'm in my 11th year of teaching and I've been married for 11 years to my handsome husband, Dave, who is a campus minister.We have 2 energetic boys that keep us busy. I love photography, spending time with my family, and most importantly, naps.
2. If you’re comfortable, can you walk us through your process of knowing you wanted a baby, being told you couldn't have one, and being connected with Nate after it all?
Dave and I knew that we wanted a family, but we both agreed that we didn't want kids right away. We decided that we wanted to wait five years before we started our family, but just a little over a year into our marriage, we decided that we didn't want to wait any longer. We got pregnant the first month of trying and we were shocked, but so excited. We told our families and started dreaming of the future. All of that came to a crashing halt when we had a miscarriage. Everyone told us that we would get pregnant again quickly, but month after month, it just wasn't happening. Facebook became my enemy as I watched friend after friend announce their pregnancy and post their super cute baby pictures. I would never have admitted to it then, but I was depressed and it just kept getting worse and worse. I longed to have a family and my heart was breaking.After a few years of trying on our own, we went to a fertility doctor. I was hoping they would have a magic solution, but instead, they told us that our pregnancy was probably our miracle pregnancy and without the aid of fertility treatments, we would probably never get pregnant again. We weren't comfortable moving forward with fertility treatments and I had decided that we should pursue adoption. It took a lot of convincing to get Dave on board with the idea, but God opened his heart to the possibility of an adopted child. We completed our home study, listed our profile with a local adoption agency, and started spreading the word about our desire to adopt. On January 19, 2010, exactly four years after our miscarriage, we found out about a baby boy that was due in March of 2010. I contacted the attorney the birthmom was using and within a week, I spoke to the birthmom on the phone and was jumping for joy when she told me that she had picked us to adopt her son. On March 19, 2010, we stood in the OR waiting area and heard our son cry for the very first time. That day, we became Mommy and Daddy to a 7 lb. 4 oz. little guy that we named Nathan, which means God's gift. He may not have grown in my belly, but he is, without a doubt, our son. We were finally a family.
3. What were your initial feelings when you discovered you WERE pregnant, despite what the doctors had told you? Were there any fears surrounding this pregnancy?
After we adopted Nate in 2010, we enjoyed our lives as a family of 3. Those were happy, happy days. I look back on those pictures and smile, remembering the fun we had with our little man. Around the time he turned 2, I started getting the "itch", the feeling that it was time to start preparing to add to our family. Since we were infertile, we started looking into adopting again, but realistically, we knew that we couldn't afford another adoption. The only other option I could see working out was adopting through foster care. Our intentions were to adopt a child that was in the system and was available for adoption. In order to do that here in our city, you have to take 9 weeks of foster adoption classes. While taking the classes, God opened our hearts to being willing to foster a child if a situation opened up and they needed us. Well, before we were even official foster parents, we got a call about a baby girl. They rushed the rest of our paperwork and prepared our home for this little girl. While we waited for her to be released from the hospital, Dave and I went on a anniversary trip and while there, I kept feeling sick and I could smell weird things! When we got home, I decided to take a test as a joke. It had been eight years since my miscarriage and since then, we hadn't used any birth control. There was no way that it would be positive.Amazingly, the positive sign came up right away and I almost passed out. There was no way that it could be real! Instead of feeling joy, I was immediately scared that this test would keep us from getting the foster baby we had been waiting for. It seems silly now, but in that moment, I couldn't imagine saying no to the foster baby that we had been preparing for. Once the shock wore off, I was excited, but it just didn't feel real. When we went to the doctor's appointment a week later, I still struggled to believe it, even as I saw the baby on the screen during the ultrasound, a baby who was already 8 weeks old. It really wasn't until the 20 week mark when we went for our big ultrasound that it started to feel real, when I started to let myself believe that I might actually be having a baby and that it really was going to happen.
4. What was Nate’s reaction to knowing you were pregnant with Zach, and after meeting Zach for the first time? Did your pregnancy lead to questions by Nate that were difficult to answer?
When we started the foster parent process, we talked to Nate a lot about what we were doing and why we were doing it. He knew we were going to open our home to a child that needed some love and from the very beginning, he was convinced that we were getting two babies instead of one. We kept on telling him that most likely, we would just get one baby. Well, he was right all along. Granted, they came in different ways, but we did indeed get two babies. My pregnancy didn't really lead to any difficult questions from Nate. We have been open and honest about his adoption since he was born. He's always known that he was adopted, that he has a birthmom in Florida, and that he is loved by two mommies. His story may be different than Zach's, but their stories were both a part of God's plan, a plan that was only possible through His power.
5. What advice or encouragement would you give to parents who are struggling to conceive and considering adoption?
Infertility is so hard and I don't wish it on anyone. It's depressing and very hard for fertile people to understand. People will tell you to take a vacation and "just relax" as if that's the magic answer and suddenly, you'll get pregnant. We heard it all as we struggled to get pregnant. Adoption has been such a blessing for us. We love our Nate and can't imagine our lives without him. If you're thinking about adoption, first start praying about it. Take some time to open your heart to what God might have in store for you. Then, look into your local adoption agencies and start networking. We didn't find our Nate through an agency or an attorney, but through a friend who had a connection. It never hurts to let people know your intentions and more importantly, it never hurts to have people praying for you.
For us, our adoption journey started in October 2009 as we started our home study and Nate was born in March of 2010. God can move mountains!