Exciting New "Development"

Exciting news! Jason and I are expecting a baby due on August 14th!

After many years of trying to have a biological child, it seems as if God has finally answered our prayer in the affirmative. This journey has been long and fraught with sadness and opportunity to learn patience and empathy, but now we feel that this baby will indeed be born into our world.

We are 21 weeks along and the baby is growing well. During our ultrasound this week we were hoping to get a peek at the baby's gender but he/she was being modest. However, we got see the baby move and a few of his/her adorable body parts. Additionally, I can feel the baby kicking and punching in the womb. That serves as a daily reminder that God is knitting together our very own miracle.

There were not many pictures that were cute, adorable, or recognizable but here is one of his/her hand. The technician commented that the baby was very active and didn't want to sit still for any pictures.

After much prayer, we have also come to the decision that I will not be returning to work next year. While this was a very difficult decision, we both feel that this is the plan that God has set for us. I am excited about spending this time with Addison and baby #2. There are so many things to learn and discover (hopefully including some potty training for Addi). While I absolutely love my job as a high school English teacher, it takes an extreme toll on our home time and increases my levels of stress and parenting guilt.

This is what I can't wait to stay at home with! Isn't she just amazing. (Feel free to leave comments about how adorable she is.)

This will also hopefully free up time for Jason to focus on the end of his residency and to be able to enjoy his learning process as a PT. Now when Jason has vacation time, the family will too! What an amazing opportunity for us to grow as a family.

Finally, we still fully intend to actively continue pursuing adoption. We have had no bites in the last several months, but feel as if God has asked us to continue to be patient. There is a possibility that the agency will require us to wait 6 months after our baby is born to consider another newborn, but they told us they would maintain a case by case basis. We most certainly can't wait to see how our family we look in the end!

We would enjoy prayers for the growth of God's miracle,our adoption pursuit, and for the decisions and implications regarding a stay at home mother.