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The Thing that Shook My Faith | Monday Musings

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I realize that it’s been radio silence over here on the adoption process ever since the last blog I posted, and now that I am removed from what happened I can say why – less than 4 months after Joel passed away we had another unsuccessful adoption attempt. And as much as January hurt me, this loss completely silenced me in a way I never anticipated.

We were notified that we had been chosen by a birth mother in mid-March, just 2 ½ months after our traumatic loss. Though she was not due until late in the summer it seemed like a sure thing and I was strangely not filled with the anxiety that I anticipated with our next successful match. We already had what we needed to bring a little one home so preparation was not really necessary, and we knew it would just be a long road ahead filled with waiting until our babe came...

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5 Things I've Learned about Grief | Monday Musings

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5 Things I've Learned about Grief | Monday Musings

Before the last few weeks of my life, I had never truly dealt with grief. I had been extremely sad over friends and family members passing away, some even unexpectedly, but I was certainly not prepared for the passing of our first son before he even took a breath (read the story here if you missed it). The grief that ensued in the weeks following was unlike anything I'd gone through before. In some ways I am still in the middle of working through this process, but over the last month I've learned some things I never thought I'd experience. Again, I'm writing this because I need to share it and it needs to be heard - and I hope you never have to go through true grief in your lifetime...

The Story of Joel, Part 2 | Personal

The Story of Joel, Part 2 | Personal

At 1am on Sunday, January 3, my phone buzzed. I have never bolted out of bed so quickly - the birth mom's water broke, and she was on her way to the hospital! I scared Nathan half to death waking him up, and we rushed as quickly as we could to get out the door. Our bags were already packed and in the car, so it didn't take long before we were on our way, though not before taking a picture of our excited faces. I looked at the clock and just tried to memorize every minute of the night I knew would change our lives.

We got to the hospital and rushed in. It was quiet, and we went straight to the floor where our baby was to be born, talking about the gender and our plans for bringing him/her home. We checked in, and the nurse told us that the birth mom was with the doctor, and they would get us when she was ready to have the baby (I was going to be in the delivery room while Nathan waited outside)...

Books are my love language, especially fun ones that carry me away with a good story 📖 Lately, they have also been an important place of learning for me. Some recent favorites: 📚 For Fun: #WheretheCrawdadsSing (@authordeliaowens) 📚 For Business: #
In a turn of events that is surprising to exactly no one (myself included, by this point), we have a new house guest this summer! 🏠 At the last minute, a 15-year-old exchange student needed a place to stay, and it just so happened that we have an ex
This is how I've felt during quarantine. Whether it's waking up, or running, or reading, or working when work seemed to slow down for awhile, my mantra was: just. keep. moving. I guess I was in good company when that idea kept me going 😉 . . . #quot
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