For this we have prayed...

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him." 1 Samuel 1:27

We are overjoyed to be able to share with our family and friends that Margo is a big sister! I am due April 11th and we are beyond thrilled!  If you aren't aware, we have been struggling with secondary infertility since having Margo.  (I wrote a little of this in a previous post here.) I had gone to a few doctors and they weren't sure exactly what was the matter as tests came back normal and I just didn't have peace about the care that I was getting.  So, I went to my most recent fertility specialist and he took one look at my records and diagnosed the problem (luteal phase defect).  I took one month of medication to help and the Lord allowed us to get pregnant that month!  I share all of this because the four years feeling unsure and hesitant to walk down the path of infertility has made us more sensitive to the struggles that couples can go through.  I believe that God gives us children not to make us happy, but to make us holy - Gary Thomas talks about this in Sacred Parenting.  And the path that families walk through God bringing their "quiver full" can be a path of sanctification and pursuing God's will for each family.  We didn't know how far we would have to walk on this road and feel strong convictions about what we would do medically to conceive again, so we feel a little relieved and blessed as we look back to the relatively short time that we had to face this challenge.  I am grateful that the Lord allowed me to see a peek into the other side of "hopeful" parents and the grief and silent pain that can happen - especially in this stage of life that I am in where "everyone" is starting to have little ones.  There were days where it was hard to be around those juggling multiple children, participating in MOPS, and even reading posts on Facebook!  I want to share our small story so that couples know that God meets you in your pain, no matter what it is, and as you keep releasing it back to Him, He gives the grace to continue.  We pray, grieve and remember with many of our friends who have had more difficult roads to walk down.  Thank you all for rejoicing with us as we celebrate the new life that God has entrusted to us!