My miracles

I cannot go any further in the "history of me" process without introducing you to my five miracles. You see, God in His mercy, blessed us with the miracle of children, both from my body and through the beauty of step-parenting.

Cori, our first child, was 18 months old when I met Greg (my amazing husband). There were days that I believed God led me to a man with a child because that would be the only child I would have. I will tell the tale of "Cori and Me" in another blog post about step-parenting. :) Cori is now 19 and serving our country in the US NAVY. The last year of his life has brought AMAZING changes. We are very proud of him in so many ways, and continue to pray for him daily.

Danielle, now 12, came in 1996 after almost 2 years of fertility treatments. Our first miscarriage was the month before she was conceived. Due to my excess weight, it was a very difficult pregnancy. I was on bedrest at 24 weeks, and went into false labor many times. At 28 weeks, I went into REAL labor, and then took drugs to keep labor away until 36 weeks. She came into this world at 6 pounds 8 ounces and perfectly healthy. She continues to be a joy that goes beyond measure. She loves Jesus, and everything about her reflects that. Her relationship with her Daddy is VERY special, but then HE is very special.

Next came Benjamin. He is now 8. I had the ectopic pregnancy and another miscarriage before he was conceived. Bedrest again around 24 weeks. I had lost some weight before he was conceived, and that is the only thing that saved him from coming VERY early. I was still very overweight. He was born at 35 weeks. 5 pounds 11 ounces and sweet as could be. He looked like a chicken, he was so little! He continues to be our most tenderhearted child. He would do anything for his Mommy, but is a HUGE tease to his siblings! His laugh makes me laugh every time I hear it...even if he is being ornery!!!

I lost a good amount of weight after Benny was born. Then, I read about a newer procedure called "Ovarian Drilling". It was being used to help women with PCOS by putting holes in their ovaries to let the "eggs" get out. I wasn't in too much of a hurry this time to get pregnant, so I tried the surgery. The next month I was pregnant....WITH TWINS! Oh my, oh my, oh my!! My wonderful sister-in-law Melanie was with me when I found out. My hands were shaking so bad, and she actually screamed when she saw two little shapes on the ultrasound screen!! It was so fitting that she was with me. My entire fertility process included her in more ways than I can write about. I was so afraid, but in my heart I knew before I even had the ultrasound. On Christmas morning I had taken a home pregnancy test...WAY ahead of when I should've been able to know. It was positive. What an amazing Christmas gift. I knew in my heart it was twins. But seeing it on ultrasound....WOW, that was reality hitting me in the face!! I KNEW that I couldn't carry them to term. What did that mean for their health, for my health, for the other three kids at home who needed me? My "twin story" is also for a whole other blog post! At 16 weeks, I was on restricted activity. At 24 weeks, I was on complete bedrest and had gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. I was HUGE! At 28 weeks, I was in hard labor and was hospitalized. At 30 weeks, our twins were born via emergency c-section. After a month in the NICU, we brought them home. Nathan Gregory and Abigail Lynn completed our family. And then there were SEVEN!

So, now you have met the GOOD part of our fertility story. FIVE beautiful children.....way beyond our wildest dreams. What precious gifts God gave us.