Our Family Journey

It's hard to believe it has been over 7 years ago because it seems like just last week. The emotions are so fresh in my mind and Chris & I refer to this journey often, it's the journey of our growing family that began with so many infertility issues. After marrying, we knew in our hearts that we wanted a family and we weren't getting any younger. With our 6 year age difference, Chris felt more pressure in this than I did, but I was also eager to have our first child. So many months went by without being able to get pregnant and then the months of regular OBGYN visits to then be sent to specialty infertility doctors...all of this was taking much too long. Once arriving at the ART Program, the infertility specialists, we were put on yet another timeline of over a year to answer some of our many questions as to why we couldn't conceive a child. It seemed as if time was dragging even slower than normal and going to school, teaching children, and seeing the parenting side that Chris & I could not achieve was heartbreaking. Finally, more and more tests were done and we were to get some more definitive answers. When the doctor's answer came, we were both devastated. Less than one percent chance of conceiving naturally! In their words, almost impossible. What a hard conversation to swallow. We went ahead with other strategies and methods that would increase our chances, but nothing yielded me being pregnant. Finally, after a roller coaster of emotions, I was done. We sat in that doctor's office and told her we were finished. I couldn't do the hormones, or the next method, or anything else. Our funds were too low for IVF and the statistics weren't in our favor anyway; we were finished, thanks for everything, but goodbye.
Finally, some relief came for the emotional roller coaster. Chris and I began to consider the possibility of no children for us. This was a tough time for us, but our faith in God pulled us through each and every moment of this journey with a closer walk with Him than either of us had experienced before. In 3 months time, He answered our prayers and we were expecting our first child! We learned through this, God's timing is perfect! Just look at us now, through God's grace and His provisions for our family, we have just added the newest addition: Ella Grace!