I'm twelve weeks pregnant, incredibly thankful and completely overjoyed.
This news came as a big surprise in mid-September as we were fully engrossed in our upcoming move. The day after we announced our resignation and transition to the church staff, I took a test. Positive. We were both in shock. I was cautiously hopeful.
The morning of my very last day of work at the church, at seven and a half weeks pregnant, I had an ultrasound and we experienced the gift of seeing the baby's beating heart. In early 2009 I wrote a post about my ultrasound history, one that made this particular visit especially meaningful. Last Friday, at eleven weeks, we heard his heartbeat loud and clear. Today at twelve weeks I finally feel able to enter into the celebration of this news and ready to receive this gift from God.
Josh and I are thankful for God's presence with us four years ago as we ached and waited and wondered after a painful miscarriage. We are thankful for His gentleness as he prompted us to release the pursuit of a biological baby when it became an idol. We are thankful for His voice two and a half years ago as he spoke prophetic promise over us in the midst of a healing season marked by movement from fear to faith. We are thankful for God's goodness as He revealed His plan for our family meant adopting our first baby, not our last as originally planned. We are thankful for God's merciful sovereignty, matching us with and giving us the joy of being Mercy Michael Fikir Mann's mom and dad (or her "De-De", as she calls both of us). There are no words to articulate how profoundly significant and overwhelmingly sacred it was to have our beloved first-born daughter with us at the ultrasound.
By God's grace, we will welcome Mercy's little brother or sister to the world in the middle of May, about two and a half months shy of her second birthday.
We know many of you have prayed for us continuously; from miscarriage to infertility, from grief to healing, and then to hope and the gift of adoption, from paperwork to referral, and from homecoming to moving away. Lots of you have prayed not just for favorable outcomes, but that we would grow and be transformed along the way. Thank you.
I am also aware that many of you are longing, praying, trusting, waiting, hoping and wondering how your family story will be written. You are on my mind and in my prayers every day. Truly.
26 comments:
Hi!
I just want to leave one quick word to the wise related to this post:
Please avoid saying things like, "It always happens this way- first you adopt and then you immediately get pregnant!". Even with the best of intentions, these comments are neither statistically factual nor helpful. In fact, they can be hurtful to both children who have been adopted (like their adoption was a means to an end, or less important than a bio baby) and to those for which this is not the case.
A while back I read a good post that articulates some of these things well: http://themummerts.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/oh-the-things-people-say/
WAHOO!!!!!!!!!! Super excited for you guys. Love, Reebs
Becca - so exciting! Congratulations to all of you!
So stinking excited for you three!
So stinking excited for you three!
This post made me cry! I am SO SO SO happy for you, Bex! The Lord is so good and faithful! Seriously, what a joy! So excited for you!
Wow! What a blessing. Congratulations to all of you!
Unreal. Can't wait to meet this new little one. Mercy's going to be an incredible big sister!!
amen on your disclaimers and congrats!! i pray you have peace and that this little one gets to come to your family. i know the fear of miscarriage never leaves...
Thanks Staci! :-) I sincerely appreciate your comment.
I'm crying. I love the story of how your family is being formed and how each member has been carefully and thoughtfully placed into your care by our God. I'm rejoicing with you and will be fervently praying for the health and safety of this new little Mann. Such a time of celebration!
Kaytee, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for your wonderful words and well wishes. :-) Can't wait to see you again and meet your newest addition! Hugs.
Hi! We've never met, but we love Josh (friends from college), and therefore all of you! I've been reading your blog for a few months, learning from your story of adoption as much as I can (we are starting our own adoption journey now too). I love every post. I love how you write, I love what you share, I love hearing your story. I've never commented, but today I just had to. I'm SO happy for all of you! Your post is, as always, beautiful. It's so awesome to know that before time God designed your family just the way he wanted it. Looking forward to "following" the rest of His story in your life! :) Please give our congratulations and hugs to Josh for us too!
You already saw the tears;) but once again because I'll never be able to say it enough; God is so good. I'm ecstatic for you and Mercy and Josh! Love to the Manns. When can I hold miss m again?
And the story continues to be written. So perfectly. My heart is so full of joy. It's so much fun to be part of a family where we get to rejoice together and cry together.
God said it so well in His Word.
1 Corinthians 12:25-26
The Message (MSG)
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
You are continuing to flourish! As a result we get to enter into the exuberance (which I looked up to get an accurate understanding of..."joyful enthusiasm" :)
Oh...your disclaimer...PERFECT!
So true. I am praying you do not get those comments and if you do that you are able to express yourself appropriately to them.
Happy tears roll and shouts of praise and joy continue!!! We love the Mann fam so much!! May He continue to lead and strengthen you as He grows your family in His way and His time - may you continue to experience His peace, grace, and love in such powerful ways as you trust Him more and more each day!!! Big hugs to all the Mann fam (all 4 of you!)!!
Scrolling through facebook when I should be making dinner and I see a post from your sister that makes me double-take. I fly to your blog and immediately start to cry. Abby says, "What Mom?" and I am speechless. God truly is so very, very good! I'm thrilled for your growing family and I celebrate with you!
I am so happy for the three of you! God is so amazing and good! Praying for your family as you go through this wonderful experience!
Wonderful news! Excited for you all!
We are overjoyed for you!! God's blessings to you as you enter this new phase of your lives together! Mercy will be such a lovely big sister :)
Beyond happy for all 3 of you! Praying for you!!!
first i gasped. then said NO WAY. then was so excited. oh my gosh. i am soooooo happy for you guys :)
Speechless for so many reasons! Very, very happy for your family. Tears spilled over reading this post. God is so very gracious and good.
Congratulations! So very happy for you guys!
Congrats! :) And I love your disclaimer. I have heard that comment too many times to count, and it is a comment that stabs at my heart every time it's heard.
So happy for you and your family, and how exciting that Mercy is going to be a BIG sister. :)
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