Answering His Call - Part I

(Start at the beginning Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII,Part VIII)

The dream began before we even laid eyes on one another. Mike and I have always had a desire to adopt a child. When we got married in the summer of 1999, we talked about how we'd like to adopt one day. We wanted to wait 5-7 years to have kids, however, we decided ahead of time that if we had any trouble getting pregnant, we'd adopt rather than going thru fertility treatments.

August 14, 2006 - Brody was born (yes...a week past our 7th wedding anniversary). Thoughts of adoption were put on the backburner as we adjusted to life with a newborn baby. We loved being parents and we loved our new little boy. Mike told me that he'd be happy with just Brody. I convinced him that we didn't want to have an only child and that it'd be fun to have siblings for our son. We planned to wait until Brody was 3 years old before trying for another baby.

April 13, 2007 - My period is late and 4 pregnancy tests confirm that I am pregnant. Yikes! Not exactly the 3 years we were hoping for. (Brody was only 8 months old!) I cried at first. Mike laughed. We were shocked, but very excited about another baby. We waited to tell our families in person and everyone joined in our shock and excitement. We were sad beyond words when over a month later (when I was 8 weeks pregnant) our little baby died. I had a very rough miscarriage which ended in a blood transfusion. Losing Baby K was the hardest thing either of us had ever suffered thru. We grieved together and, thru our faith in Christ, we grew closer as a couple and a family.

October 27, 2007 - Surprise...again! After the second surprise, we decided that it must not be God's plan for us to wait until Brody's 3 years old to try for another baby. Barrett was born on June 27, 2008 and has added so much joy to our lives. He's now at the age where he and Brody enjoy playing together. I love watching our boys interact with one another and look forward to all the years ahead where they will be not only brothers, but friends.

July, August, September 2009 - I start talking to Mike about the possibility of another baby. I was, after all, already pregnant with Barrett when Brody was Barrett's age. I was beginning to get that itch. Mike told me that he'd been praying about this for some time now and did not feel like God was leading us to have another baby. I was very disappointed to hear this. I would love to have a little girl (not that another baby would guarantee a girl...but at least it'd give me a chance at one!) After many discussions, Mike mentioned (in passing) that he was afraid that if we had another biological child we'd never adopt. There it was again. The idea of adoption. I put that idea aside. That wasn't what I wanted! I wanted to be pregnant again. To feel a child that was part of both of us moving inside my belly. I set to work to change Mike's mind...thru the power of prayer. I prayed that God would show Mike that he wanted us to have another baby. I just knew that it would work out my way in the end. I'd pray and then I'd work my charm on my husband and he'd give in to my desires. I forgot about one little piece of the puzzle...the Holy Spirit.