It's a GIRL!

Could not wait to post the story.

Christy and Troy wanted to take us to a Chinese restaurant. When the meal was done the hostess brought our fortune cookies. Our sweet DIL opened hers first.

She said "Christy, I think this must be for you. Bonnie, what does yours say?"

"Mine says 'It's a girl' too. It's fate! It's got to be a girl!"

Troy said, "It is! It's a girl."

WHAT!  I screamed!!! You have got to get kidding.  I was jumping up and down!

Because of IVF we knew early when they were expecting. To have the joy and element of surprise Christy and Troy decided to learn early the sex of the baby and share with family. Troy is very creative about special events. He thought of the fortune cookie idea and ordered on line. He arrived early and asked the girls to bring out the cookies. The girls at the restaurant were excited too. We were all crying and laughing.

Since Troy's parents were coming through the night before they ate Chinese two nights in a row and were able to have two nights of celebration.                        

We had ice cream later. I shared the news on Facebook this way.

It's PINK!

We're Having A Baby!!!

I know I'm blogged all day,
three posts.
Since I'll be sitting with my little lady tomorrow,
I can't wait to share our news!

Surprise Reveal

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!

The journey has been a long one.

This mama's heart has ached with pain so intense that 

I felt it would tear out of my chest.

It's what mamas do. 

We hope, we pray, we believe

and when God doesn't answer like we pray He will, 

we cry for the pain of our children.

But now we celebrate NEW LIFE!

I saw our little one today on sonogram.

She's beautiful or HE.

She's 11 weeks and our baby is moving it's little arms and legs

and all is well. 

You can read more about their journey here...

IVF Journey
and here
Infertility

Our tears have turned to joy and we are thankful.

Troy and Christy share their news...

We’ve thought long and hard about how to announce that we are expecting, and our words have fallen short. We are thankful for the friendships, prayers, counsel, and support that have sustained us through these last few years of infertility. We are thankful that God is not good because we got good news; rather, He is good because of His love and grace in our lives, even when we couldn’t feel it. We are thankful for doctors who are skilled and research that has led to amazing p...rocedures like IVF which was the right step for our family. We are thankful that we have something to celebrate today when we have found it difficult to hope for a long time. We are thankful for the opportunity to breathe in the good news of today while breathing out the worries and fears that sometimes creep in. Yet, even when we forget to breathe, we are thankful that it’s ok to question sometimes too. We are thankful that we can open ourselves up to the joys of parenthood without forgetting our journey up to this point. We are thankful for many of you - thank you for walking this path with us.
See More

 

Promise of Life

The past few weeks, my blog has been less lace and more promise.

Promise of new hope, sunshine after rain and joy after pain.

This week I heard God speak in my inner spirit, "Be not disabled, rather healed."

I'm not sure if that was God's promise to me or my little girl.  Maybe both.

I'll take both.  

I made some pictures of the flowers in her yard.  I should say "their" yard because the man does most of the yard work in their home.

These are some of the irises that came from my mama's yard.  I take this as a sign of God's redeeming love, his promise of NEW LIFE.

  

Memorial Day is the 3 year anniversary of the miscarriage.  Almost to the day, they will get the results of the pregnancy test.  We are believing God.  

The embryo transfer went well.  She went back to work today.  She has had little or no side effects from the surgery or medication or transfer and the little baby is now a part of her body.  We are waiting with hope and praying for a positive test and a growing and healthy baby. 

My sweet son-in-law (and daughter, but he had the idea:) gave me these for Mother's Day. 

My sweet daughter-in-law (and son, but it was HER idea:) gave me this for Mother's Day.

Can I say I hand-picked my DIL AND SIL? Not really.  God did that!

Christy was given tulips, her favorite flower, from her sweet husband.

Connor and Cora (and Aunt Tina and Uncle Chad) gave these to my sweet girl for Mother's Day.  Christina is ready to be an aunt:)

Yes, fresh new life, a symbol of a NEW little life.  

Thanks for your prayers.  

Thanks for Believing with me, 

Bonnie:)

Thankful for a God who Walks WITH Us

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to check in and read your blogs the past week.  I will be home on Wednesday to catch up.

I attended the most beautiful service yesterday at Providence Community Church in Mt. Juliet, TN. The United Methodist Pastor,  Jacob Armstrong is very personable and intentional about reaching out to those who are hurting.

I'll be honest, it's not been easy for me to attend a Mother's Day service since my mama passed away 4 years ago.  I am usually with my children at the beach.  I've tried to concentrate on the blessings of being a mom myself and enjoying my children and pushed away any thoughts of my mama.  It was just too hard.  The only reason that I went to the service was to stand beside my daughter who sat with an empty heart and hands and nervous anticipation of what was just around the corner.

The message was not the typical Mother's Day sermon.  After all, who are we really there to worship? It bothers me today how so much emphasis is put on everything else, from the worship team to the pastor, to the children, to the youth and to the recipients of those for whom we celebrate.
(I will share his message at a later day which was very timely for me.)

My daughter saw the carnations and thought, "Oh, no not another one!"  However, his approach was different.  He honored all women at the end of the service with first a reading by Amy Young. Two girls on the praise team read the following:

To those who gave birth this year to your first child-we celebrate with you.
To those who lost a child this year-we mourn with you.
To those who are in the trenches with little ones everyday and wear the badge of food stains, we appreciate you.
To those who experienced loss by miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away, we mourn with you.
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears and disappointment, we walk with you.  Forgive us when we say foolish things.  We don't mean to make this harder than it is. 
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, or spiritual moms, we need you.
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children, we celebrate with you.
To those who have disappointment, heartache and distance with your children, we sit with you.
To those who lost their mothers this year, we grieve with you.
To those who encountered abuse at the hands of your mother, we acknowledge your experience.
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood, we are better for having you in our midst.
To those of you who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children, we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be. 
To those who step parent, we walk with you on this complex path.
To those who envisioned lavishing love on your grandchildren yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you.
To those who will have emptier nests in the coming year, we grieve and REJOICE with you.
To those who placed children up for adoption, we commend you for your selflessness and remember now that you hold that child in your heart.
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expecting or surprising, we anticipate with you.
This Mother's Day, we walk with you.  Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst.  We remember you.

Read more of Amy Young's blog at www.messymiddle.com.

At the end of the service, Pastor Jacob asked the ladies to come up and pick a carnation-red for those who still had their mothers and white for those whose mothers are no longer with us.  Those flowers were placed on the altar.  Afterwards, we were given the bread and the wine remembering the ONE for whom we derive our name, Jesus.  Pastor Jacob then prayed.  It was moving.  I looked at my daughter. Tears of comfort were streaming down her face as I looked with blinded, flood filled eyes.

My heart rejoices in a God who sees, who understands, who cares and a community who is willing to walk WITH us on whatever journey life may bring.

My son't birthday was yesterday,  We was my favorite Mother's Day present of all time.

I can still smell my mama's signature scent, White Shoulders.

Bonnie:)

Mother's Day Weekend Photos

Still in Nashville. I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with my children and grand babies.

I am a very busy sweet little boy.

My favorite Disney character is Buzz of Toy Story which we are watching. 

I can now sing Jesus Loves Me. My favorite part is "for dee Bibel tells me sooooo."

My car seat fits in BonBon's car.

I went with Daddy and BonBon to get Mommy's present. Then we ate ChickFila.

Yummy!

Is my sister not a doll baby?

We went this weekend to my daughter's church. It was a great service and the pastor was very intentional about reaching out to those mothers who are hurting.

The transfer is tomorrow. Prayers continue. Thank you my friends.

Hope you had a Happy Mother's Day!

Bonnie

IVF: Egg Retrieval

On Tuesday I was able to spend some time with the babies. It melted my heart when I opened the car door to open arms and, "BonBon!"

While Christy was in surgery, I enjoyed some snuggle time with our little sweets.

Oh, my heart goes pitter patter. She is such a good baby and is already cooing and smiling.  It is not gas! 

My baby girl has done very well. The medication did it's job and they were able to retrieve Xnumber of eggs. Called today and at this point over half achieved the results that we were hoping for. Tomorrow she will call her nurse to see how they are progressing. If all goes as expected, the transfer will be on Monday.    Christy has done better than she expected.  She was given pain medication and slept most of the day yesterday. She had some cramping and bloating but nothing like she had anticipated. She goes back to work tomorrow. Everyone says the third day is the worse. She's been somewhat anxious about overstimulation but so far so good. She is eating protein and drinking lots of water. She took an early walk this morning. I am so proud of the trooper she has been.  She and Troy have been through so much. It's sometimes been hard for them to believe. That's okay. This mama BELIEVES even when it's been hard for them to hear.  I've torn that roof off and put them in front of Jesus more times than you can imagine. I will continue to so until we get our miracle.      

Update on IVF

The IVF Journey Begins

This post was written in January and I wanted to repost as a reminder to pray for my baby girl and her husband.  I know I have asked many, many times as I have brought this before the Lord many, many times. 

I had a dream after my mama died.  We had already been praying for several years.  I dreamed that my mama was there as was I and my daughter and her little girl with blond curly hair and blue eyes.  I can see her as vividly now as I did in my dream.  

When Christy was just 2 or 3 years old, my mama gave her a little rag doll.  Christy carried it around until the hair was falling off.  Mama had written, "Nanny" on one foot and "Granddaddy," on the other foot.

In the dream, Mama said, "I wish you would look at that! (that was mama's expression about everything) She's playing with that doll just like her mama did."  That was confirmation to me and from that moment on, I have never doubted.

The apron was made for Christy by my mama 

because she wanted one "just like Nanny."

One day our granddaughters will play house

and these will be tucked away until then.

Next week will be the second week of injections

with a second shot added.

On Friday, she will have a trial embryo transfer.

So far, the meds have not made her sick,

just tired.

She works and is in her masters program.

So, she has a lot going on.

Please pass this along to your friends for prayer.  

Bonnie:)

I will be visiting my newest granddaughter in a couple of weeks.

Our Connor man is adjusting nicely 

and Cora is a perfect baby, only waking for feedings.

Hope to share new photos soon. 

Today, I need to share my heart.

You, my blog friends, have

become my prayer partners, 

for which I am so thankful.  

Most of you know,

how long we have been praying for a baby,

6 years. 

I'm so ready to see this smile again-

ready to see my baby girl laugh like she once did,

ready to see that twinkle in her eye again.

Ready to see her celebrate again,

Ready for her heart to sing again,

Ready to see the craziness,

Ready to see this incredible love
shared with a child.

(This was taken when our Connor man, her brother's baby,
was born.)

Ready to have her experience 

the love and joy that is beyond 

any love she has ever known.

Praying that the arms that have held others, 

will one day very soon, 

hold their own.

If being a good husband is any indication 

of what kind of daddy he will be, 

this man will be the best!

Cancer could not claim him

and neither will infertility defeat him!

After 7 IUIs and a miscarriage, 

they will finally start 

the IVF process this week-

one step at a time.

On Wednesday, she will start birth control, 

as crazy as that sounds, 

to start a new cycle.

She and Troy will both

start on antibiotics. 

(Don't ask me why!)

She will have her own personal

fertility nurse who will be 

with her through the entire process.

She's afraid of so many things,

afraid it won't take,

afraid it will take and

afraid of loss,

afraid of what people will say, 

afraid of what people won't say, 

afraid of looks of pity, 

afraid of looks of excitement-
just afraid.

Today her emotions are all over the place, 

Troy is off on business, 

and I'm six hours away.

I say, 

"I will come."

She says, 

"I'll be okay."

So Jesus, 

will you give her peace while she waits.