New Life

As one woman sits in the doctor's office hearing the news that she has a new little life growing inside her, the woman in the next room is learning there will never be a little life growing inside her. Such different stories, but life will change for both of them. Some might say that the one woman is receiving the better news, that she will be having a precious little one, but at this juncture in my life, I'm going to say that the other one is receiving the better news. No, I'm not saying that having a hysterectomy is way better than having a baby! Or, am I? You see, we tried for 9 years to conceive and were unable to, but God still keeps his promises and we have a son and will have a daughter that we can completely call our own when the time is right. I only gave birth to the boy (what a 13 hour pain that was!) but the girl was born in our hearts. It's a different kind of birth, one that has a special joy all it's own. Both are super special events and completely life changing. But, that isn't what I want to talk about today. What I want to talk about is why we've chosen the path that we have for my body... (I really don't know a more delicate way to put that!) I made the appointment with the doctor to tell him that we're choosing to completely end our chances of ever having any more "natural or birth" children. We decided this all our own. I'm going to get a little graphic here, so if you're weak and can't handle talking about a female reproductive system, then STOP READING NOW! lol I promise it won't be too bad and I'll be as gentle with my words as I can! To start with I learned today that I'm not normal. Shocking, huh? I was describing my "normal" monthly situation to the doctor and he stopped me to tell me that it wasn't normal. Well, it's been my normal for many, many years! You see, it's a very painful time of month for me, but I get the opportunity to showcase more than one of my awesome outfits in one day! What a way to keep up with my wardrobe! Many of you already know the issues I had with the pre-cancer cells that were causing issues with conception as well. So, we got rid of that set but lately I've had some issues with the possibility of them having returned. Because of that we made the decision to ask the doctor what our steps would be to assure us that I would not get cancer of that type. That's when he said the "H" word. My first thought...."I'm not old enough to be talking about this!" and my second "I wonder if this would help me feel better." Of course, I realize I AM old enough and yes, it probably would help me feel better! I am fully aware that this will not fix every issue I have in my life nor will it be easy to deal with when the time comes, and I know that it demolishes the chances of me ever having another "natural" child, but I'm ok with this decision. I'm happy we made this decision. Actually, I'm excited about this decision and the opportunity it holds for me, a better me. So, while each of the ladies in the doctor's office today were hearing different news, both were happy news for each of the women. Unfortunately this isn't the case for all women hearing the news I got today. Please, take a moment to pray for someone you know who's going through this. Their world might be shattering before them, but we know that God is great and has the best possible plan for our lives. He is the one who has guided me through this and has helped me see the light. 

Now, as an added bonus, I want to thank every one of you who has prayed for us through this journey. Not every step has been as exciting as some, but it's been worth it, that much I'm sure of! We still have a long journey through the adoption process of our little princess, but that is more than worth it as well! God has truly blessed us beyond measure! Until it gets a little closer to adoption time, I'm not sure I'll be writing much, but I promise I WILL write about that!

Have a blessed day!

~H

A New Post! Finally!

I just wanted to give the latest update on our adoption process. We attempted the process several times over the past year and each time we’ve gotten up to almost the day of the birth then found out we weren’t going to be able to adopt the child for one reason or another. Well, in November a friend of my husband’s parents heard about a little girl that was in foster care and would possibly be up for adoption soon. The foster parents, who’ve had her since birth, were not going to be able to adopt her, so they were looking for a good home of someone who would be interested in adoption once she becomes “adoptable” We decided to meet her and immediately fell in love with her! To get her in our home, we first have to become her foster parents, so we’ve been taking classes in the evenings and getting our house inspected to become licensed. We’ve also been spending lots of time with her, so we can begin to form a bond with her. Things are going well and on January 24^th she will be moving into our home. We will be her foster parents until she is adoptable. We have no guarantees that she will become our child permanently, but we’ve decided to do what we can to make it happen. We’re just going to love her and treat her as if she’s our own, no matter what happens. She is very healthy and happy! Her name is the name Chris & I would have picked for a girl, so we're uber happy about that! So, there you have the latest! J

 

 

**edited to remove photo (sorry, we were asked to remove the photo, but trust me, she's gorgeous!) & name

Still Waiting

Well, they say "no news is good news" but in this situation, it sounds rather appropriate to say "no news is no news". (see sad smile) We've had a few leads but nothing so far has come from any of them. We're still trusting and praying for the little one or ones that God has planned for us. Some days it's just harder than others to wait on His timing (when my own timing has already come and gone! lol)

Our house is really quiet these days. Our son has gone on to Job Corps and he is having a wonderful time! We visited with him this past week-end and had a great time! It does a parent's heart good when we hear our children talking about how things are going and how they are using things we've taught them. I was so worried about him, but our visit set my heart soaring for him again. It was wonderful!

There is a little noise going on in our house during the day. We've had some repairs done to our main bathroom and tomorrow we're getting a fresh coat of paint and new baseboards! I'm super excited about this! We've picked out a lovely bright green color that we thought was so cheerful! I can't wait to see it all completed!

I'm really looking forward to fall this year. I love the cooler weather and I've been visiting pinterest a lot, so I have some awesome ideas for decorating!

Chris threw a big birthday bash for me a couple weeks ago. It was so much fun! There were lots of people and tons of food and even a purse cake & photograph booth and great stories of my past! My cousins from Wichita came up and we had such a great time! He really knows how to throw a party! I'm such a blessed lady to have him and our son in my life!

Tim & Katie (Chris' brother & sis-in-law) are getting closer to having their twins. We had a big scare a couple weeks ago and she is on bed rest for now. They are hoping she will be off bed rest in the next couple of weeks and that the babies will stay put until at least November 1st. After that, the doctor will be more than excited to have them arrive. We are all patiently awaiting their healthy arrival, too!

Thanks for stopping by to visit today and especially thank you for your prayers. It's been a rough couple of months, but God is good and He always helps us see when we need to turn our focus back on Him! Have a blessed September!

~Helen

Praising Him in Our Darkest Hour

Things have changed, a lot, since I last posted! We had been pursuing the adoption of the 2 little boys who's birth mother picked us, however we have pulled out of that adoption. After pulling out, we found out that neither of the children really are up for adoption, because the father is in their lives still. He has rights to them if he is supporting them and we fully understand and respect that. Our hearts are breaking, but we know that God is STILL in control. He will do nothing to harm us in anyway. We are still planning to adopt, but these little ones just weren't for us. I'd like to share with you something that I emailed a friend earlier today. It shows some of the growing that God has allowed us to do during this time.

 

Prayers have been our life support! I have learned so much in trusting God during this process! The other day I learned what "praising Him in your darkest hour" was all about. I got up on Thursday morning, I'd been struggling with things for days and said "so, this is what you mean about praising you in my darkest hour" and it made so much sense! And it helped me to see what He wanted me to see. God is good, no matter what, even if we don't feel it at the time we're going through our trials. We learned about patience the other day in our Sunday School class, too. It was quite humbling. Growing hurts, but once that phase is over I'll look back at all this and know that He was good to me the whole time. Thanks, again, for all your prayers & support. They mean so much to us!

 

I also wanted to share this with you. I found something similar on pinterest the other day and so I used the words to create my own. It's kind of our motto right now.

 

 

We truly want to thank you for your prayers, love and support during this time of our lives. We could not make it through this time without them.

 

Love, Helen & Chris

Update & Prayer Request

Adoption prayer warriors... I wanted to give everyone an update what our adoption. As with anything in life there are ups and downs, peaks and valleys, this adoption process has those as well. Here is where we are with the adoption of our baby...We have found out that the birth mother had what we believe is inaccurate information for the due date, which we were told July 8th. We believe the date i...s actually an August date now. Also the birth mother's phone has been disconnected, which means we have no contact with her. We fully believe that this baby is ours, and we beleive God has prepared us for this, however our faith does get tried through this. Please keep us in prayer that we will remain strong and grounded in faith as we go through this. One question that has been asked is our we sure there is a baby, the answer to that question is yes. We do have someone that we know and trust that was in contact with her before she went "dark". I will keep everyone updated as we find out new and exciting information.

~Chris

And your life changes in an instant

We were finally patiently waiting on God's plan and His timing, when BAM! out of the blue, we get the call! They called to see if they could show our profile to a mom and then they called to say she had picked us! We've spoken with the birth mom and are ready to move forward! We will have more news for you soon, but for now, we need to get figured out our trip to CA to pick up these little guys!!! Please keep praying for all of us and for our transition. I promise not to make you wait too long to hear more! lol

Have a blessed day!

~Helen & Chris

Our Anniversary

Good morning, friends! I just wanted to stop here and say what a wonderful 8 years it has been since we've wed! Our journey so far has been nothing short of amazing. We've learned and grown so much together! God gave us each other and we're so blessed by Him each day. Through trials & triumphs, heartache & victory, tears & laughter we make each day successful.

We're so looking forward to the rest of this journey He has planned for our lives!

God bless you!

Happy Anniversary, husband, I love you!

~H