A Future and A Hope



Kelley said... "How Has Love Changed Your Life?":

I am a 30 year old woman living in Bothell, WA with my husband Jeremiah, my Labrador Chief, and my white and black cat Abbey.

Jeremiah and I met in October, 1997 at a friend's "Welcome back to Campus" party. The instant we met we knew that God had something special in store for us. Our romantic connection was instant, whether it was "Love at First Sight" I'm not sure; but I knew in my gut that he was "The One". We each found in the other a best friend; someone in whom we could trust, be authentic with, and goof around with. Not to mention the amount of "Things" we had in common: Interest in Sports, movies, similar taste in music, and most importantly a common belief in Jesus Christ and His teachings.

We were married in July of 1999, I was 21 and Jeremiah was 22. We were young and we knew it, but we also knew we were "right" for one another. We had planned to wait five years to begin our family, and did just that. We began "trying" passively in 2004, but we didn't actually pay attention to anything until we realized that we'd been two years without results. So we began to keep track of when things should happen, and tried for another year. When nothing came of that, I went to my doctor and was diagnosed with PCOS. (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) My doctor and I discussed the fact that I may never conceive without some form of medical assistance. We discussed the various options and decided that we'd try a Clomid regimen. Indeed the Clomid made my ovaries "work" but the follicles were never large enough to be very effective. And I gained 22 pounds from the medication as well.

My 30th birthday approached, and there were things I had always thought I'd have by the time I was 30 one of which was to have already had two children. I was the heaviest I'd ever been, the most unhappy I'd ever been, and I hadn't written a novel. In my mind I was failing at life and I wanted to change things. I moved my "Due" date to age 35. But I decided I wouldn't be the heaviest I'd ever been on my 30th birthday. I stopped the Clomid, and hit the gym. We filled out the preliminary adoption application with Bethany Christian Servies www.Bethany.org. I lost 10 pounds before my birthday and got back into my Jeans.

We decided that biological children just wasn't the plan for us and put all of our energy into our Adoption Process. We were approved and put on the BCS website on our 9th anniversary. Our Adoption profile is Jeremiah and Kelly - Seattle Washington. (view by clicking)

I began swimming laps in June of this year and began keeping track of our "Waiting time" in "swimming distance" which for me, created a productive project for me during this very strange time of waiting to be chosen by a birth mother. Jeremiah and I are both dealing with our waiting process differently, Jer wants to know every time someone looks at our profile in the office, and I'm more of an "Ignorance is Bliss" type person. We've had some interest but so far no interviews. The rollercoaster continues but the light at the end of tunnel approaches. The two of us with the help of our Lord are tough enough to weather this storm; no matter the duration or severity.

We look forward to being parents and are trusting that the "Great Architect" has our best interests in mind.

"For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD,....

plans to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

3 comments:

Scott said...

Know that Love is on your side. My prayers are with you. Keep up the faith and let me know when your prayers come true!

Love,
A Happy Dad

Anonymous said...

My brother and sister inlaw, recently adopted an older child. They had tried to have children,and they could not. My mother said something to her about adoption. My sisterinlaw said that she didn't think she wanted to do that,( this was over Christmas Holidays). When she went back to work at her school, she met the sweetest little blonde headed boy who DHR had brought to school. God spoke to her heart immediately. She went home and talked to my brother, they started the process of applying for foster care and adoption at the same time. They became his foster parents over a year ago and his adoption was finalized last Oct. it went very quickly. They had a few set backs in the beginning. But they never gave up. He is a thriving 7 year old little boy. His birth parents are in jail, he prays for his parents when we are together for Holidays, and it just breaks our hearts. This little boy has a chance, he has 2 stable God loving parents who are there for him.

Star*Spangled*Eyes said...

Well, we have about the same story, as far as the baby issues. I'm 31 now and have been trying for 6.5 years. I had a miscarriage 4 years ago at 2.5 months and haven't been pregnant since. It was 2 years of trying, just like you, when I realized, hey, things should have happened by now. The difference is, no cause has been found. I've sent away for info on Bethany as well. I'm not on any list now though. I'm kind of at that point where I don't know what to do. I've made this 10th anniversary deal. In about 2 years, if we still haven't gotten pregnant, then we will fill out the adoption application. In the meantime, I need to save money because I feel like it wouldn't be in God's will to incur a ton of debt in order to make this happen. I know about the tax credits, but things have to be paid upfront, so I want to kind of have more money in the bank. I don't know what God's will is, but I'm trusting in it anyway. In the meantime, I just keep praying.