Spring Chicks

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote. To be honest, every time I thought to write, I wasn’t even sure where to begin. Mainly because there hasn’t really been anything to write about. The last time I wrote, I shared of our momentary adventure into the world of fostering-to-adopt. Such an eye-opening experience and one that we are still very much open to, but not right now.

The last time I wrote, I shared of our momentary adventure into the world of fostering-to-adopt. Such an eye-opening experience and one that we are still very much open to, but not right now.

To be completely honest, I’m not ready to adopt. The lifestyle we have is comfortable and we are very happy lounging together on the couch on a Sunday afternoon, picking up and going skiing on a given Tuesday, heading out for a date night on a random Thursday all without having to find a babysitter is wonderful. We are enjoying each other and the precious time we get to spend together.

Maybe it’s just in my head, but if we were to get pregnant ‘naturally’ we would be elated and excited to make the lifestyle changes to welcome a little one into our world. The process of adoption seems like an ongoing conscious decision and investment that for some reason does not seem like the right thing right now.

So, this is where we are. It’s been 3 months since I had a period and unfortunately, I have not seen one of the much coveted ‘:-)’ on the Ovulation stick since January. It’s pretty hard to track any sort of cycle without the major indicators, so I have hung low and not thought too much about ‘trying’, whatever that means.

To be honest, I didn’t really know what the next right thing to do was, which is why I have stayed stagnant for the past few months. I was super discouraged after January when I had so much hope of what could be.

I let myself just relax around the baby thinking, ovulation-tracking, mucus-checking mindset. Gave me permission to focus on other things such as my business and the part-time job.

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed coffee with a dear friend (15 years older than I) who shared about her struggles of becoming pregnant. I recall this struggle of hers but was too young to really understand and yet, here she sits with 3 amazing children and a story of patience, trust, and acceptance. She even mentioned to me how grateful she is to be an ‘older mom’. How encouraging this was for me to hear!

Hope awakened.

With the weather changing and the amount of outdoor activity, I feel a sense of refreshing newness. I have desires to clean out the house and start opening up the windows, letting life in. With my husband’s busy season at work winding down, our focus is back to the steps we can take. He will be tested in the next few weeks to see the status of his swimmers and by his proclamation, feels they are as strong as ever :)… true boy.

Our much-awaited fertility appointment with my new OB-GYN is in 2 weeks as well and I’m looking forward to what she may say. Although, I have an inkling she will recommend starting Clomid.

What is it about taking Clomid that is unsettling? I think there is a component about Gods-will that holds me back.  The thoughts and questions about my will vs. His will. An example of what I mean is if God wanted me to be pregnant than He would make it happen and by taking drugs to stimulate ovulation is taking matters into my own hands.

There’s still a part of me that wants to try acupuncture. Wondering if my body has become ‘off’ and thinking if I can align my body correctly, back to how it’s ‘supposed to be’ then I will ‘work right’ again.

So here I sit, wondering what the next thing is and what suits both of us. I know everyone has their own journey and we are on ours. I just wish I understood it a little better.

Babies are being announced and being birthed into this world left and right and I am ecstatic for all of our friends who get to experience the joys of carrying their own baby into this world.

I’m not sure what our story will be, but I am grateful for what God has in store for us. At least, for today, I can see that our lives are blessed by our friends and family. I’m so grateful to be married to an amazing man who I love spending time with and who I enjoy. Today, I choose to focus on what I do have and the quietness of this Easter day.

Foster to Adopt

We drove for close to two hours to a place in Colorado I have never been. The dust from the road swirled around our car as we bounced along the backroads of Peyton, near Colorado Springs.

“Where are we going?”, I asked as I looked around at the wide open spaces between the houses and horse stables.

“To a home large enough I guess,” Hubby replied.

Hubby worked with a friend in Thailand many years back and has kept in touch through Facebook. A few years ago, Hubby saw a post from his friend that his friend was trying to raise support to adopt a girl from a very horrible situation in Texas. We donated.

Today, we are going to meet this girl and the family. As I learned more about this family, though, my intrigue only grew. This family has six of their own birth children and adopted five. Incredible!

As we pulled up, I grew nervous, not sure how to talk about adoption without seeming like it was a four-letter word or as though the adopted children are black-sheep to the family. I’m so awkward.

We walked in and there were children all over the main part of the house! The older four were in the kitchen making treats while the younger four (including the girl we unofficially met through the Facebook story) were playing Wii in the family room.

The parents welcomed us warmly and invited us to sit and talk as we wanted to learn more about their adoption experiences.

I was appalled to learn the number of young people who are stuck in the foster system in the United States. Wishing I would have written down the statistics I learned throughout the day, here’s what I recall:

  • Texas has a significantly high number of children in the foster system*, 600,000!
  • Colorado has close to 100,000 children in the foster system*
  • If one family in every church across the nation adopted one child, there would not be an issue with children needing to be adopted from the fostering in the US.

*Foster system: the first choice is for children to remain/return to the birth mother/father. Fewer children are foster-to-adopt with a high number of sibling-sets needing families.

Hubby and I are just at the beginning of our adoption research and I have not been as open to the idea of fostering to adopt because of the stories I’ve heard and yet, I left today thinking a little more of the possibility.

We are wanting to adopt a baby for our first adoption and then in a few years would like to adopt a sibling group of 2 or 3. If we could wave a magic wand, I believe we would want to live in a larger house to be able to adopt a couple of sibling groups and be able to give the kids a home, a family, a future…

With how much it costs to adopt internationally and how much of a need there is domestically, I am much more open learning about various domestic adoption agencies and researching the agencies that have the greatest need for adopting families.

Back to Square One?

Waking up to a period when one is hoping to become pregnant is deflating. The weeks leading up are full of unknowns and questions and hopes of what could possibly be. Constantly checking to see if anything is abnormal or feels like symptoms of pregnancy. Just to see the truth that pregnancy is not the reality and another month of ‘trying’ is in store.

For me, I did not receive this clear presentation of reality. I actually would have loved to have received a period to mark a new month of opportunity and possibility of what’s yet to come.

Instead, after using the ‘cycle tracker’ to predict when I should be menstruating, I noticed I had missed the window of my new start. Full of excitement, I pulled out a pregnancy test in the hopes of a miracle and… negative.

Back to square one? How frustrating! I don’t have a day one to base my ovulation of off and could spend the entire month peeing on those darn ovulation sticks each morning. Possibly. I now know that my body has the ability to be ‘normal. Yet, I don’t know what I need to do to make it ‘normal’.

Or maybe this is just a part of the road of life for me. I now know that my body has the ability to be ‘normal. Yet, I don’t know what I need to do to make it ‘normal’.

Maybe that’s the point. I did nothing spectacular to receive my period earlier this year. The one major thing I did differently was to pray for God’s healing in my life and in my womb. It could be that simple. Letting go of the analyzing and trying new things and taking exercise out and taking more naps and on and on.

Finding the balance of taking care of myself without going to the extremes of finding answers that aren’t supposed to be found. Instead of me simply taking in information, I quickly move into “GO” mode with to-do’s and predictors and Google searching advice on the best ways to get pregnant and my mind became consumed with the thought of ‘this is the month to get pregnant!’

“WOAH sister”. That’s what I wanted to tell myself. “Slow down girl, just take the period as a wink to know the impossible IS possible and there is so much more where this came from.”

Instead, I was off to the races, trying to figure out what I could do to get pregnant. Since when did this become about ME and what I have control over?

God is a very big God. All knowing and all powerful, I believe this to be true. I also believe He is the creator and healer. Instead of worshiping the ovulation tracker this month and calculating days, I choose to spend my energy and time worshiping and getting to know Him more and letting my body do what it will do.

I do agree and believe in medical assistance and the amazing knowledge of doctors, it just seems like I can force my wants and timing a little too quickly. So for now, I will rest in this month of letting go and remind myself that I am not in control, so humbling.

Rejoice in Hope

I all too often fear of letting myself become too vulnerable at the thought of what is possible. As I have been on this journey towards growing a family, I have felt pretty guarded from the rejection of not being able to have a baby. The shield of ‘I don’t get a period’ protected me from thinking too much into growing a baby inside of me.

If I don’t let my mind ‘go there’ then I’m safe.

As I have been on this journey towards growing a family, I have felt pretty guarded from the rejection.

The shield of ‘I don’t get a period’ protected me from thinking too much or anticipating what might be or wondering when I would have the opportunity to grow a baby inside of me.

In many ways, I was able to keep my expectations quite low for what starting a family would look like for my husband and me.

Both of us desire to adopt and talk as though that is a given, yet if I was honest with myself, I continue to have a little hope in God’s amazing All-Mighty power of being the ultimate healer.

If God wants us to be pregnant, I will be pregnant, regardless of a period. I mean come on… He did create this world and everything in it… the stars, the land, the animals… I think he can connect an egg to a sperm… (too graphic?)

Well… now I have had a period and my shield has been taken away. I feel vulnerable to the thoughts of excitement and anticipation of the ‘what ifs’ and ‘could it bes’….

An igniting of hope that had been dormant since I was in my teens.

In reading Romans 5 this morning, and the only phrase that continued to stand out to me was, ‘rejoice in hope of the glory of God…’.

What an interesting phrase of permission.

That this hope of the glory of God and his sovereignty, grace, love brings excitement, anticipation, comfort and it is to be rejoiced in. To celebrate and live into the wonder and curiosity of the future and unknown.

To celebrate and live into the wonder and curiosity of the future and unknown.

In my dating years, I remember this same gitty excitement. Praying for Gods’ will to be done and for this to be ‘The One’.

At times I labeled it ‘Hilary just being a girl’, and then I began to give myself that permission as stated in Romans 5- knowing this amazing God we serve, who loves us, works miracles on our behalf.

The hope of what is possible, from the impossible.

The rejoicing in the hope, as well as the suffering, because it’s through these moments in life that we get to grow, change, experience and feel.

Today, I will rejoice in the hope of what is possible with God, even if it means becoming vulnerable to hurt and sorrow because this is how I can allow myself to fully live a life of faith and trust in the unseen and the yet to be revealed.

To Be Delivered in 5-6 Months…

Let me begin by saying this… I am EXTREMLY happy for all the people who I know are pregnant. I believe that Gods timing and plan is absolutely perfect and would never wish anything other than Gods plan for my life or anyone else’s.

I will continue to pray for the health and positive experiences for each of my friends as they walk down the road I hope to be on too.

Where I see my issues come out are when my sinful nature of jealousy, self-centeredness, and lack of trust are mixed with longing, impatience and fear.

As you can see, I’ll be the first to admit it and am quite aware of it, so as I write the following, I understand it comes from my own ‘stuff’ verses the love I have for those around me and the joy they are experiencing by growing their families.

It’s been quite trying for me this holiday season.  I was extremely excited when I heard the words come out of my husbands mouth that he’s ready and wanting to look into all options for us to grow our family.

In many ways, I feel we have ben given the green light, as we are both on the same page towards growing our family.

The way my mind naturally operates though, is when I see something or think about something, I want it… now. There are instances where this is a great thing, and I’m able to push through and work hard for something…

But there are also downfalls to this intense grip I have on wanting what I want, when I want it.

I’m just being honest.

Thankfully, I have learned various tools to help me curb this quick, insatiable response towards things in life, but I know how it affects me and how much more I have to go to God and pray for his protection around my own selfish desires.

Thus, this Christmas season, as I was on Facebook (which I rarely am anymore)- I began to see the picture roll of birth announcements… baby coming in April, May, June…

My honest reaction was, ‘oh my gosh, seriously? Another one?’

As though there was something in the water and all of a sudden, everyone became pregnant.

It seemed as though my entire group of married friends announced they are pregnant.

I will admit if I was pregnant, I am sure I would be right there, doing the same. What a fun Christmas present to revel to the world! Announcing a new life is a celebration of what’s to come and renewal, hope and opportunity.

More than anything the reaction of jealousy… why them and not me? When will my time come? Will it come?

Was mixed with doubt… do I even want a child? Am I ready to be selfless and give my all to another person?

And then came the root of it all for me… the fear of missing out.

FOMO.

This never goes away for me, it seems.

I have had this reaction a lot growing up. Thinking everyone else is on the fast train to somewhere wonderful while I’m left here just walking along, sometimes aimlessly stumbling.

When I was single and everyone around me was getting engaged, I felt this same mixture of emotions. Jealousy that they had found ‘theirs’, fear that I never would, uncertain of the timing or who ‘he’ would be. Doubtful that there would be anyone left for me…

Mostly though, I was scared to miss out on all the opportunities these married friends were experiencing and I was the outsider looking in the window on a fabulous party, that I was not invited to.

And so again, I sit in this FOMO.

If I am not able to conceive my own child then I am scared to miss out on all the wonderful experiences women have when carrying a child. The highs and the lows associated with growing a baby. The connection a woman feels when the little one is growing inside, the kicking and the movement, the incomparable connection to a true miracle growing and changing inside another body…

Don’t get me wrong; I know this miracle comes with major discomfort, body changes, stretch marks, sickness, etc. The means of carrying a baby in their infant growth is no walk in the park, but for the opportunity to take the not so fun… with the incredible.

  • The fear that I would not be apart of the “Mommy” group if I don’t experience carrying an infant and then delivering and bringing a baby into this world.
  • The inadequacy I might feel for not having a body that is ‘normal’ to be able to house such wondrous miracles.
  • The less than I could experience for not being able to relate to the majority of women when it comes to labor pains and childbirth. Not to mention that leverage I would not have over my child when he/she is upset and I could say, “I brought you into this world and suffered the pains for it!” (Ok I don’t really see myself saying this, but I know people who have).
  • The left out feeling of not being able to experience what women are created to do with our bodies and not being able to be ‘in’ the mommy club because I didn’t carry a child and deliver.

Now I am very well aware that these are just the fears, the uncertainties, and the hypothetical feelings of what could happen if…

The reality is, I am not sure these are really necessary to entertain because I am not 100% certain that I won’t be able to carry my own child.

There is a very real possibility that all this thinking and now typing could be for nothing if by God’s miracle I’m able to conceive and carry. Which is why I’m not dwelling too much on this… and in fact am grateful for the process of my feelings.

So what do I do…

  • I get into gratitude about all the things I DO have in my life.
  • I write down all the things God has blessed us with and I thank God for all the wonderful opportunities we have to experience TODAY.
  • I let myself become aware of my feelings as I react to another friends’ birth-announcement.
  • I trust that I am right where I am supposed to be, today.
  • Pray for God’s will and His timing and for my thoughts and wants to be aligned with his.

As I scroll Facebook and see all the exciting announcements of the new generation to come in 2017… I am scared to miss out on the opportunity to experience what I believe all these happy faces and pictures lead me to think.

Yet with recognition of my feelings I am hopeful and trusting that everyone has a story to live out, and this is just mine.

Looking forward to seeing how God is going to work this one out for us!