The Past Five Years...

Well the time has finally arrived for Nate and I to start a blog. It's definitely going to be a journey, because it took us at least 3 days to name the blog and I am still not satisfied with the title! "Life Unexpected"...It really does describe the past five years of our life. So, in case you missed out on those 5 years, we'll fill you in.

We started "planning" for a family after 3 years of marriage. Little did we know, our plans would be totally different then the plans to come. We tried several means of fertility treatments. Lots of shots and 3 fertility treatments later, we still wound up not pregnant and in the "unexplained category."

Those 5 years have been some of the most trying times in my life. I cried a lot...I yelled at God a lot...I watched as EVERYONE (and I do mean everyone..best friend, sister, people at church, teen in my youth group...everyone) got pregnant. I was so confused, so broken, and completely devastated. At the same time, the past 5 years of my life have probably been some of the most shaping years of my life. I have learned more about myself, about my relationship with God, about God's faithfulness, His timing and His perfect plan, then I could have ever imagined. This journey has been transformational and continues to be transformational and for that I am forever grateful.

Which brings Nate and I to the present. WE ARE ADOPTING A CHILD FROM ETHIOPIA!!!!

Comments

  1. Kerry SkehanMay 11, 2010 at 7:10 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. steelersgirlMay 11, 2010 at 9:47 PM

    Many of us have been on this journey with you and Nate for the past 5 years. It is so hard to believe that it has been 5 years. That's how I know that 1 to 1 1/2 years is going to go fast too. I can't wait to be the baby's favorite babysitter because I am already Al's favorite dogsitter. I'll take on the challenge of sitting both for you guys when the time comes. Love you and praying always for you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. April DMay 13, 2010 at 8:59 AM

    While we've never met, I'm totally crying reading your first blog posts. I'm so excited for you guys and yet so sad that it's come from such a painful place. The best (and most challenging!) times are still to come...

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownSeptember 30, 2010 at 11:57 AM

    Ok, so I'm starting from the very beginning!! We too are in the infertility battle...3 years in December, but still trusting God's sovereignty!!

    I'm off to read some more!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother's Heart...

Image
It was the night before we were ready to leave for Ethiopia that it dawned on me. We hadn’t given the necklace to Biruk yet. When we had exchanged necklaces with his birth mom ten years prior at the orphanage, we had no idea when we would give it to him. We just knew that we wanted him to be old enough to appreciate it, as it would be the only thing he would have from her. We had no idea if we would ever see her again.  There have been several moments in our journey where I’ve had to pinch myself, because it has felt like I was dreaming. That night as we put our final things in our suitcases, took a deep breath, and came to the realization that we were not only taking our kids to Ethiopia, but that Biruk would in fact meet his birth mom…well, you had to pinch me, because it felt like I was dreaming. It also felt like the perfect moment to share this gift that we had been holding onto for 10 years. So we pulled out the necklace and gave it to Biruk. While words can be few and far
Read more

Stories Matter

Image
Yesterday, my family and I found ourselves at a local elementary school’s culture club, presenting about our trip to Ethiopia. Even as I write those words, it kind of blows my mind how God has continued to use our story in unexpected places. When the kids were old enough to understand, we began to talk about taking them back to their birth country when they turned 10. We figured at 10, they would be old enough to be pretty good travelers, but still approach the adventure with a childlike wonder. What we didn’t plan on, was that the year Biruk turned 10 would come on the heels of me taking a brand new job, our family moving to a new state, and buying our very first house, in an economy that felt as though it was tanking!  I remember talking to my counselor one day and sharing with him that while we had always promised this trip to our kids, it just didn’t seem to make financial sense. After all, last time I checked, Southwest Airlines does not travel to Africa. He said something
Read more

Thin Spaces...The Sights and Sounds of Ethiopia

Image
When I was in Seminary, I went on my first Mission Trip to a third world country. I was just two years into my marriage, a young 23 years of age, and I had no idea how the experience would change me. My Dad happened to be taking a team from his church to the Dominican Republic and I needed a cross cultural experience for a class I was taking, so it seemed like a perfect match. That trip not only changed my life, but created this passion to serve in third world countries and was the launching pad for all the mission trips I would get to lead at the churches I was a youth pastor at. By the time I was I reached 40, I had taken 2 more trips to the Dominican Republic, a trip to Costa Rica, a trip to Guatemala, a trip to Africa, and of course 25+ trips to Honduras.  There is something about being in a third world country that feels like home to me. I know that sounds strange, but I have often found myself saying, “I’m my best self here.” They are places that breathe fresh life into me,
Read more