The last two years…
In May 2003, David and I began trying to expand our family. Many, many months passed with no pregnancy. After about a year, David and I began seeing Dr. Bopp, a fertility specialist in Indianapolis. David and I made a regular habit of visiting Dr. Bopp’s office (a 65 minute one-way trip) 3-4 times or more every month. We underwent many tests, 5 artificial inseminations and clomid (hormone therapy)…all
without success. In November, 2004 David and I sat down with Dr. Bopp and decided that we would stop treatments. Dr. Bopp recognized that the treatment was becoming too stressful for David and I. On the car ride to Indy that day, David and I had discussed our options and had basically come to the conclusion that we might go through one more month of treatment but that this really wasn’t the best sounding option. David and I were feeling more and more strongly about adopting. The process had become so emotionally overwhelming…month after month of hoping followed by intense disappointment. We needed to take a break.
Starting the adoption process…
David and I were relieved to stop the expensive and emotionally exhausting infertility treatments and we quickly began pursuing adoption. We chose the American Adoption s Agency in Kansas and decided to apply for the Agency Assisted program which would allow us to adopt an African American or Bi-racial newborn baby. David and I wanted a baby that we could call our own and we believed that we could love a child that did not come from us just as much as we would love a biological child. David and I spent many hours working on adoption paperwork, taking pictures for the online profile, and preparing for the homestudy. The homestudy agency seemed to be dragging their feet and taking longer than normal to complete their process and we could not be activated in the adoption agency’s system until the homestudy was complete. Ironically, it all started to become clear when we were informed that the homestudy was ready for our final signatures the Monday after finding out I was pregnant.
How I found out…
It was about 4:00pm on Tuesday, February 8th, 2005 and I was home myself exercising. Danny and Nichole were living with us at the time and they had taken their kids to the library. David was at the church office preparing for a Tuesday night sermon. Not really thinking much about it, I headed to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. I had taken so many before that had come up negative and was expecting the same result this time. Much to my surprise, the test had two pink lines…a positive result! I couldn’t contain my joyful sobbing for even a moment.
How David found out…
I called David on his cell phone right away. He didn’t answer so I called his work # and then his cell phone again and left a message. David called me back within just a couple of minutes. Ironically, David had not had much time that day to prepare for his sermon that he would deliver at 7:30 that evening so I wasn’t sure I should distract him with this incredible information but I just couldn’t wait. “David, I took a pregnancy test and it came up positive” was what he heard through my tears. “Are you serious?! Well, I will be right home.” Fortunately, David’s office was only a couple of minutes from our home and so I did not have to wait long for his arrival. When David arrived, we hugged, cried and took another pregnancy test just to be sure. Yep, it too was positive!
What about Hawaii…
David and I had the incredible opportunity to spend January 19th-29th on the Big Island of Hawaii. An amazing couple from our church paid all of our expenses to the “Kona Encounter”, which was a conference focused on understanding the love of God as our Father. The trip really was life-changing. Not only did it cause us to examine our life in several ways, but we created a baby…in Hawaii. At the end of the conference, each couple was prayed over by the leaders of the Encounter. When the leaders had finished praying over David and I, two different women (Geri and Jean), told me that they felt like God had some very special surprises waiting for the two of us. Hummm!
Phillippe and Laura’s Prayer
When we were in Hawaii, we met the sweetest couple, Phillippe and Laura Vallerand from Seattle. Phillippe and Laura told us about a special yearly service at their church called “Presentation Sunday”. It is a service to specifically pray for couples who are having infertility issues. Four days before finding out we were pregnant, we received a bulletin from the service which just happened to take place the day after they had returned from Hawaii. Laura included a note with the bulletin stating that she and Phillippe had gone forward in our place for prayer. She said that they got some weird looks since they are in their 50’s but they really didn’t care. Like I said, four days later, I found out I was pregnant.
How they initially felt…
I was so excited and yet Iwas kind of scared to allow myself to believe that it was true. We really were not expecting this. David had more faith. He saw the double lines and he believed that they were real and that there truly was a precious baby developing inside of me. David later explained that this was one of two times in his life when his did not have the emotions to grasp what he was experiencing.
Who did they tell first…
Danny, Nichole, Josiah and Hannah returned from the library. Remember that they were living with us at the time. It would have just about been impossible to keep this joyous news from them. So, David and I went downstairs once we heard their voices. I was holding the pregnancy sticks behind my back and David said, “hey guys, could you come help us figure something out?” I pulled out the tests and we all started hugging, crying, and wondering if we were dreaming. Josiah, who was 3½ at the time, wondered if there was something wrong since we were reacting so strangely. We just told him we were happy and that the pregnancy tests were suckers…bad suckers that he shouldn’t eat. We knew that if Josiah figured out that Aunt Christina was pregnant, it wouldn’t be long before the news would spread to everyone else.
The Blood Test…
David and I decided to get a blood test on Thursday, February 10th to confirm the results of the home pregnancy tests. I had gotten my blood drawn so many times in the process of infertility treatments over the past several months, but hoped this would be different. As David and I proceeded into the office, we were nervous and excited. Without waiting long, I was called back to have my blood drawn and was told to return to the waiting room for about 10 minutes to wait for the results. Though we were not sure how long we waited, it seemed like forever and we were actually starting to get a little nervous. Finally, the nurse called us to the door, she showed us the results and said, “congratulations!” okay…now it’s beginning to sink in.
Celebrating the news…
David and I went to our favorite restaurant in Muncie at that time, Johnny Carinos. I am sure that we had these goofy grins on our face. We just couldn’t stop saying, “we’re pregnant”. This news was incredible and an amazing answer to prayer.
Telling David’s Dad and Karen …
Late evening on Saturday, February 12, David and I went over to Al and Karen’s home “to give them an update on the adoption”. We went in and sat in our normal seats in the living room across from Al and Karen. David did the talking, said just a few things and then made the announcement... “We’re pregnant”. It was a great moment. We were all so happy, hugging and crying. Karen seemed especially taken back. We processed the news for about 20 minutes and Karen just keep shaking her head and crying.
Telling Christina’s Parents…
On Sunday, February 13th Christina’s parents just happened to be coming into town to celebrate David’s 30th birthday. The visit had been planned for a couple of weeks but we had no idea that it would be such an eventful visit and neither did my parents. They met us at church that morning and we asked them to go to our house before we headed over to David’s dad’s house for the birthday lunch. We went into our living room and told them that we wanted to talk to them about the adoption before going over to the party. I told them, “we have decided to put the adoption on hold”. My mom hesitantly said, “Okay”. I continued by saying, “because on Tuesday, I found out that I am pregnant”. My parents both started crying and of course hugged us. Mom was jumping around the room so excited, hardly able to catch her breath. Dad was basically speechless except for saying “thank you Jesus”. What a great reaction. David especially loved seeing my mom so incredibly overwhelmed with joy.
Telling our small group…
During the nearly 2 years of trying to get pregnant, our church small group had been on the journey with us. They had cried with us and prayed with us. They were excited with us as we began to embark on the process of adoption. They wanted us to be able to have a baby almost as much as we wanted it. (Well, maybe not quite but close.) The small group was getting together at our house on Sunday evening, February 13th. We knew that once we had told our parents the great news that we would then want to tell our small group. As usual, we ate supper together and then we worked on getting the kids out of the room long enough to tell the adults the great news. David told them that finally we are going to be able to experience something that all of them have been able to experience in the past year…”Christina is pregnant”. Everyone kind of sat there stunned for a moment. Amanda Chester just kept “oh my gosh, oh my gosh” over and over again. And then everyone stood up and started hugging us. They could hardly believe it.
Telling the select few…
As difficult as it seemed, David and I decided to wait until the first ultrasound to tell most people. The first ultrasound was scheduled to take place at week 11. However, we did decide to tell the church staff and just a few other close friends. This was very hard to say the least. We had this incredible news that we wanted to shout from a mountain top, but we just felt it was wisest to wait a few more weeks.
The flowers and the willow tree…
On Monday, February 21st, David sent flowers to the Briarwood clinic where I was working. These weren’t any flowers…they were Birds of Paradise, the beautiful flowers that we had seen all over Hawaii. Attached to the flowers was a card that simply said “Thinking of Hawaii”. I thought David’s gesture was so sweet and kind and it made me feel very special. That same night, David placed a box under my pillow before I crawled into bed. I quickly noticed the huge lump under my pillow and found a Willow Tree figurine underneath it. This wasn’t just any Willow Tree…it was “Hope: Expecting a Miracle”, the woman holding her pregnant tummy in joyful anticipation of her baby. I loved Willow Trees but had almost given up Hope that David would ever be able to buy this particular one for me. Silly girl…don’t stop hoping!
In May 2003, David and I began trying to expand our family. Many, many months passed with no pregnancy. After about a year, David and I began seeing Dr. Bopp, a fertility specialist in Indianapolis. David and I made a regular habit of visiting Dr. Bopp’s office (a 65 minute one-way trip) 3-4 times or more every month. We underwent many tests, 5 artificial inseminations and clomid (hormone therapy)…all
without success. In November, 2004 David and I sat down with Dr. Bopp and decided that we would stop treatments. Dr. Bopp recognized that the treatment was becoming too stressful for David and I. On the car ride to Indy that day, David and I had discussed our options and had basically come to the conclusion that we might go through one more month of treatment but that this really wasn’t the best sounding option. David and I were feeling more and more strongly about adopting. The process had become so emotionally overwhelming…month after month of hoping followed by intense disappointment. We needed to take a break.Starting the adoption process…
David and I were relieved to stop the expensive and emotionally exhausting infertility treatments and we quickly began pursuing adoption. We chose the American Adoption s Agency in Kansas and decided to apply for the Agency Assisted program which would allow us to adopt an African American or Bi-racial newborn baby. David and I wanted a baby that we could call our own and we believed that we could love a child that did not come from us just as much as we would love a biological child. David and I spent many hours working on adoption paperwork, taking pictures for the online profile, and preparing for the homestudy. The homestudy agency seemed to be dragging their feet and taking longer than normal to complete their process and we could not be activated in the adoption agency’s system until the homestudy was complete. Ironically, it all started to become clear when we were informed that the homestudy was ready for our final signatures the Monday after finding out I was pregnant.
How I found out…
It was about 4:00pm on Tuesday, February 8th, 2005 and I was home myself exercising. Danny and Nichole were living with us at the time and they had taken their kids to the library. David was at the church office preparing for a Tuesday night sermon. Not really thinking much about it, I headed to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. I had taken so many before that had come up negative and was expecting the same result this time. Much to my surprise, the test had two pink lines…a positive result! I couldn’t contain my joyful sobbing for even a moment.
How David found out…
I called David on his cell phone right away. He didn’t answer so I called his work # and then his cell phone again and left a message. David called me back within just a couple of minutes. Ironically, David had not had much time that day to prepare for his sermon that he would deliver at 7:30 that evening so I wasn’t sure I should distract him with this incredible information but I just couldn’t wait. “David, I took a pregnancy test and it came up positive” was what he heard through my tears. “Are you serious?! Well, I will be right home.” Fortunately, David’s office was only a couple of minutes from our home and so I did not have to wait long for his arrival. When David arrived, we hugged, cried and took another pregnancy test just to be sure. Yep, it too was positive!
What about Hawaii…
David and I had the incredible opportunity to spend January 19th-29th on the Big Island of Hawaii. An amazing couple from our church paid all of our expenses to the “Kona Encounter”, which was a conference focused on understanding the love of God as our Father. The trip really was life-changing. Not only did it cause us to examine our life in several ways, but we created a baby…in Hawaii. At the end of the conference, each couple was prayed over by the leaders of the Encounter. When the leaders had finished praying over David and I, two different women (Geri and Jean), told me that they felt like God had some very special surprises waiting for the two of us. Hummm!
Phillippe and Laura’s Prayer
When we were in Hawaii, we met the sweetest couple, Phillippe and Laura Vallerand from Seattle. Phillippe and Laura told us about a special yearly service at their church called “Presentation Sunday”. It is a service to specifically pray for couples who are having infertility issues. Four days before finding out we were pregnant, we received a bulletin from the service which just happened to take place the day after they had returned from Hawaii. Laura included a note with the bulletin stating that she and Phillippe had gone forward in our place for prayer. She said that they got some weird looks since they are in their 50’s but they really didn’t care. Like I said, four days later, I found out I was pregnant.
How they initially felt…
I was so excited and yet Iwas kind of scared to allow myself to believe that it was true. We really were not expecting this. David had more faith. He saw the double lines and he believed that they were real and that there truly was a precious baby developing inside of me. David later explained that this was one of two times in his life when his did not have the emotions to grasp what he was experiencing.
Who did they tell first…
Danny, Nichole, Josiah and Hannah returned from the library. Remember that they were living with us at the time. It would have just about been impossible to keep this joyous news from them. So, David and I went downstairs once we heard their voices. I was holding the pregnancy sticks behind my back and David said, “hey guys, could you come help us figure something out?” I pulled out the tests and we all started hugging, crying, and wondering if we were dreaming. Josiah, who was 3½ at the time, wondered if there was something wrong since we were reacting so strangely. We just told him we were happy and that the pregnancy tests were suckers…bad suckers that he shouldn’t eat. We knew that if Josiah figured out that Aunt Christina was pregnant, it wouldn’t be long before the news would spread to everyone else.
The Blood Test…
David and I decided to get a blood test on Thursday, February 10th to confirm the results of the home pregnancy tests. I had gotten my blood drawn so many times in the process of infertility treatments over the past several months, but hoped this would be different. As David and I proceeded into the office, we were nervous and excited. Without waiting long, I was called back to have my blood drawn and was told to return to the waiting room for about 10 minutes to wait for the results. Though we were not sure how long we waited, it seemed like forever and we were actually starting to get a little nervous. Finally, the nurse called us to the door, she showed us the results and said, “congratulations!” okay…now it’s beginning to sink in.
Celebrating the news…
David and I went to our favorite restaurant in Muncie at that time, Johnny Carinos. I am sure that we had these goofy grins on our face. We just couldn’t stop saying, “we’re pregnant”. This news was incredible and an amazing answer to prayer.
Telling David’s Dad and Karen …
Late evening on Saturday, February 12, David and I went over to Al and Karen’s home “to give them an update on the adoption”. We went in and sat in our normal seats in the living room across from Al and Karen. David did the talking, said just a few things and then made the announcement... “We’re pregnant”. It was a great moment. We were all so happy, hugging and crying. Karen seemed especially taken back. We processed the news for about 20 minutes and Karen just keep shaking her head and crying.
Telling Christina’s Parents…
On Sunday, February 13th Christina’s parents just happened to be coming into town to celebrate David’s 30th birthday. The visit had been planned for a couple of weeks but we had no idea that it would be such an eventful visit and neither did my parents. They met us at church that morning and we asked them to go to our house before we headed over to David’s dad’s house for the birthday lunch. We went into our living room and told them that we wanted to talk to them about the adoption before going over to the party. I told them, “we have decided to put the adoption on hold”. My mom hesitantly said, “Okay”. I continued by saying, “because on Tuesday, I found out that I am pregnant”. My parents both started crying and of course hugged us. Mom was jumping around the room so excited, hardly able to catch her breath. Dad was basically speechless except for saying “thank you Jesus”. What a great reaction. David especially loved seeing my mom so incredibly overwhelmed with joy.
Telling our small group…
During the nearly 2 years of trying to get pregnant, our church small group had been on the journey with us. They had cried with us and prayed with us. They were excited with us as we began to embark on the process of adoption. They wanted us to be able to have a baby almost as much as we wanted it. (Well, maybe not quite but close.) The small group was getting together at our house on Sunday evening, February 13th. We knew that once we had told our parents the great news that we would then want to tell our small group. As usual, we ate supper together and then we worked on getting the kids out of the room long enough to tell the adults the great news. David told them that finally we are going to be able to experience something that all of them have been able to experience in the past year…”Christina is pregnant”. Everyone kind of sat there stunned for a moment. Amanda Chester just kept “oh my gosh, oh my gosh” over and over again. And then everyone stood up and started hugging us. They could hardly believe it.
Telling the select few…
As difficult as it seemed, David and I decided to wait until the first ultrasound to tell most people. The first ultrasound was scheduled to take place at week 11. However, we did decide to tell the church staff and just a few other close friends. This was very hard to say the least. We had this incredible news that we wanted to shout from a mountain top, but we just felt it was wisest to wait a few more weeks.
The flowers and the willow tree…
On Monday, February 21st, David sent flowers to the Briarwood clinic where I was working. These weren’t any flowers…they were Birds of Paradise, the beautiful flowers that we had seen all over Hawaii. Attached to the flowers was a card that simply said “Thinking of Hawaii”. I thought David’s gesture was so sweet and kind and it made me feel very special. That same night, David placed a box under my pillow before I crawled into bed. I quickly noticed the huge lump under my pillow and found a Willow Tree figurine underneath it. This wasn’t just any Willow Tree…it was “Hope: Expecting a Miracle”, the woman holding her pregnant tummy in joyful anticipation of her baby. I loved Willow Trees but had almost given up Hope that David would ever be able to buy this particular one for me. Silly girl…don’t stop hoping!
