1,525 Days of Parenting

We prayed for 1,095 days before we saw our first positive pregnancy test {but unfortunately, we miscarried}.

We got another positive pregnancy test on day 1,294 {and thankfully BOTH babies were born healthy!} 

It was day 1,345 before we made a public announcement.

We met Eli and Maddie on day 1,524. {And we met Aiden on day 2,186}.

And today marks day 1,525 of parenting.

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I know it seems crazy that I count days like this, but these numbers mean something to me. They represent a season of our lives where we struggled, and we labored, and we prayed. A season that we were not sure would end in the way we were hoping. It was 4 years of our lives; 4 years that challenged and changed us.

And while it was a long hard road through infertility and loss, we got our rainbows at the end of the storm! The Lord was faithful to walk with us through the valley, and He has brought an indescribable joy in our 3 little ones. We have been in the messy chaos of parenting, and sometimes it's still hard to believe that we're finally here, finally parenting the babies for which we prayed and longed.

We will forever be thankful for Embryo Adoption, and how the Lord orchestrated our story. It's how the Lord chose to make us parents, and every time I share our story, I am still amazed at all that the Lord has done.

Today marks "the other side." We have officially been parenting longer than we struggled to become parents. It reminds me of how long our original journey was, but also reminds me of how the Lord takes us through seasons. In the midst of the heartache and the uncertainty, it was really hard to imagine being on this side of it. I dreamed of today, but it was really hard to see how it would actually happen. And yet, here I am. On the other side. In an entirely new season.

So on the hard days {because parenting is amazing, but parenting is hard!}, I can remind myself that the Lord is just as faithful now as He was 4, 6, and 8 years ago. That what I think is hard now is just part of this particular season. I will look back on this time at some point in the next season, able to see better all that the Lord has done. Because in every season, He is always working, always faithful, and always good.

I really love Nichole Nordeman's song Every Season. It's a reminder of how the Lord works in various seasons. I pray that I can always keep my eyes on Him, in every season, submitting to the ways He is making me new for His purposes.

Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer

And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn

And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter
You are winter

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring

So here's to being on the "other side" of infertility and loss. To this season of parenting 3 little ones {in the middle of a pandemic, while not feeling well, in a new state}. May I trust the Lord with all He has to teach me, and may I learn to offer thanks for what has been and is to come.