Thankfully all the above indicate good things. Great things actually! First off, I am overjoyed to finally be able to announce that we are unexpectedly…expecting! I am almost 5 months pregnant and praise God, everything is going well so far! The news came as a complete shock to us. As many of you may know, we did not know if we would ever be able to have children again, after having struggled with infertility for over 4 years. We didn’t do anything special, except for being diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder (that could cause early miscarriages) and going on a prescription to remedy the issue. I also started a different method of charting, both of which I owe to my amazing physician, Dr. Lasaletta. With our adoption process in full swing and us waiting for a referral at the time, it was VERY emotional when we found out. We were in total disbelief (in a good way), but I was also petrified it would derail our adoption. We had so much invested already, emotionally, spiritually, financially and time-wise. From the beginning we felt the Lord’s leading so strongly, but I still couldn’t help my fear that our “surprise” would be the end of our adoption dream. Anyway, that is the reason I waited so long before making our happy announcement.
I prayed for months, but didn’t tell anyone about it out of fear. It felt so odd. I waited YEARS to be able to share such exciting news, and when it finally came, I was scared to death to say anything. Thankfully, when we did, our adoption agency was happy for us and eager to expedite the process to help us get Karolina home safe and sound and adjusted before her sister or brother comes. I will forever be grateful for St. Mary International Adoption Agency! They could’ve taken our referral away, but instead they worked with us are allowing us to bring Karolina HOME. The funny thing was, in our dossier that we submitted to Poland, we actually requested up to 2 children. So, by the end of the year we will have TWO new babies in our little home. It’s still hard to believe! The boys are excited and we are just humbly thanking the Lord for his goodness and praying we may be worthy of these children.
So, on to the fun stuff! I am playing catch up a little. Here is the 18 week ultrasound of
our little miracle baby:
We opted NOT to find out the gender this time. God gave us such a surprise with this pregnancy, we are just going to keep up the theme until our little peanut comes. 🙂
Here are some “baby bump” photos. This is me at 16 weeks:
I will be 20 weeks on Monday and the baby is due at the end of October. Thankfully it will allow for some time to get Karolina completely settled in and used to the affection of her big brothers and family. It’s also nice because she will be so close in age with her brother or sister and I hope they will have a deep bond because of that.
Speaking of our dream girl….HERE SHE IS!!
This is from our “Gotcha Day!” We picked her up from the orphanage and have been enjoying EVERY sweet minute since!
She is an answer to prayer, and such a light in our lives. I can’t wait to get to know every single aspect of who she is! We have been enjoying giggling, morning prayers, and long strolls in the park together. There are aspects of having a baby that are just heavenly, and it’s been wonderful to be reminded of them again. I love watching her sleep, and giving her a bath and the smell of the sweet baby lotion. 🙂 I love rocking her to sleep and singing and hearing her breathe so peacefully. This has been quite a year of unexpected things for our family, from my dad’s cancer diagnosis, to my pregnancy and our blessing of Karolina. I offer it all up to God and thank Him for the gift of family and the power of love and faith.
I will update more as we enjoy our trip and our bonding time with our sweet baby girl! Off to bed now, lots of sweet dreams!:)
Beautiful post, Brooke! And we couldn't be happier for you! This is absolutely magical and your faith is being repaid many times over. Blessed be God the Father!
Wow!! Congratulations, I am very, very happy for you and your family!
Congratulations! I am very happy for you and your family! I look forward to future post!
What BLESSED news! My heart is doing backflips for you. You are glowing inside and out…(can you do that? 😉 ) Fantastic. Congratulations to you, Jim, 3G and Karolina! She is so blessed to be immersed in such a loving family!
Congratulations! What wonderful blessings from God both babies are!
Brooke, you are such an inspiration to me! I also have a blood clotting disorder and our son was stillborn at 29 weeks last May. We had no idea until then that I had any issues, it was our first pregnancy. We then faced a misscarriage in December. We have recently finished the home study process to become foster/foster-to-adopt parents and we will of course continue to pray for God to bless us with biological children as well. You sharing your story and pictures gives me so much hope and helps me to keep pushing until the day when God blesses our home with children!
Brooke- I'm a homeschooling mom of 3 and I have been reading your blog for a few months now and am so excited to hear your news (both parts)! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. My husband and I were struggling with secondary infertility after a miscarriage 2 years ago. I started seeing Dr. LaSaletta in December and in April we found out I was expecting! The word really needs to be spread about Naprotechnology. God bless you and your family. We'll keep you in our prayers.
Erin
Congratulations, Brooke! A family member just forwarded your blog link to me and I am so glad she did. I am a homeschooling mother of 6 and am so inspired when I see families living out their vocations of life-giving love. I know many women (including the lovely AuntE from your combox) who have benefited from Dr. LaSaletta's knowledge of Naprotechnology and am so grateful that Catholic women have this beautiful and natural option. The joy you express through your writing is contagious…thank you!
God bless you and your blossoming family!
Wow!!! Very very happy for you all!! I am due October 21st with my first, very excited for both of us!!
Thank you so much for your beautiful comments!
Amanda, I don't have adequate words to express my heartfelt sorrow for your loss. I am so, so sorry for the pain you have had to endure. Every life is precious and I know it's not only the loss of a child, but the dreams and hopes and bond you already had with your precious babies. I WILL be praying for you. I will pray for your homestudy process, for God's leading in your lives through whatever direction he takes you, and for you to be blessed with a full-term pregnancy and healthy babies, if that is His will! I know you will be an amazing mom someday! May God's grace wash over you and give you strength. I can't wait to hear your good news in the future, please keep me posted! God bless you and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Brooke,
I am rejoicing for your family… I have followed your blog for quite awhile… I am the mom of a teenage son, Andrew… we also like you, had 3 miscarriages after him. We started the adoption process for China, but due to the long wait, and wanting to send Andrew to CVCA, we had to make a difficult choice, and stopped the adoption process. It was so painful, but knew that God has a plan, and that CVCA was the best place for Andrew to succeed in his future. So, it has been a joy to follow your wonderful news on all fronts. God is so good!! Also, I love your homeschooling stories.. I am a 5th grade teacher and love parents who advocate for their children… God bless you and your family!!
Jenie Fosnight
Congrats on your two babies! How amazing to have been blessed with two miracles at once. We are interested in adopting from Poland. What orphanage was it in Czestochowa? She is just too beautiful!