Our Story / Our Testimony

We know that many of you are reading this blog to keep up with our triplet pregnancy, but we wanted to give the back story to the current craziness for anyone who doesn’t know.  Many of you will understandably want to skip ahead to our pregnancy updates. 

Brian and I would consider ourselves planners.  We like the predictable and are most comfortable when things are moving along the way WE have it planned.  Thankfully God has a better plan for our lives and we have been fortunate to have a front row seat to see His amazing plan play out.  Just as He promises it ISN’T always the easy road to trust in Him, however, He is always working for the good of those that love and serve Him. 

Approximately two years after we were married we decided that it was time to add to our family.  Things didn’t play out exactly like we had planned.  After trying to conceive for over a year we were referred to the specialists at Nashville Fertility.  Many, many, many tests and a surgery later it was discovered that I have stage 4 endometriosis (a painful, chronic disease that affects at least 6.3 million women and girls in the U.S.).  I can’t speak for Brian but this was a relief to me.  It explained so many things and gave us a place to start.  I personally like to know what I am dealing with.  I am not a fan of the unknown, so if I know what the “problem” is I can work on finding a solution.  We tried some less invasive procedures before realizing that in vitro fertilization (IVF) was our best option.  After several months of consideration and prayer we decided to move forward with our first cycle of IVF.  This is not an easy process and takes a toll on both the husband and wife emotionally, physically, and obviously financially.  Brian and I were so fortunate to have so many friends and family praying for us.  There was a real sense of peace about what we were doing.  We had a very successful first cycle and have our four year old son Brock to show for it.  At that time we were able to freeze 20+ embryos (an almost unheard of number). 

Around the time Brock turned two I began to feel like I was ready to go through the IVF process again.  Since it worked so well for us the first time we were confident it would work again.  This time around we once again transferred two embryos.  We felt like we really wanted to surprise people with a pregnancy so we shared the process with very few and hoped we would have exciting news to share with our families.  Our second cycle didn’t work and we mourned that loss.  We were heartbroken but soon felt a peace about it and were able to enjoy our family of three. 

Approximately a year later I told Brian I was ready to try again.  This time we told most of our family and friends and asked for them to shower us with prayers.  After transferring two embryos we received exciting news that we were indeed pregnant.  This excitement was short lived and on my first day back to school after summer break I received the results of my second blood test…we were no longer pregnant.  This would be called a chemical pregnancy because it was lost so early but we felt the pain of the loss just the same.  I can't believe how much you can feel God's comfort and peace when you feel the saddest. 

Once again it took me about nine months to feel ready to give IVF another try.  Brian has always been very supportive and has allowed me to really decide when we should try again.  Without his continued love and support I would have never been able to make it through these challenging years.  Before this cycle started I really felt, in my heart, that this was the last time.  I had a peace about it (as I always did, even in the failed cycles).  I was completely comfortable being the mom of one child or even considering adoption down the road if this IVF round was not successful.  My body was telling me that I physically and emotionally could not continue with more cycles after this one.  In the spring of 2011 we began the process of what I believed to be our fourth and final in vitro transfer.  As we prepared we discussed with our doctor the idea of transferring three embryos instead of two.  She agreed and we proceeded.  As with two of my previous cycles, I also had a weekly acupuncture appointment with an amazing acupuncturist.  He was not only sticking me with needles but he was also an advisor in many ways.  During one session I asked him what he thought about transferring three embryos this time.  His response, “Well, would you want zero babies or three babies?”  At the time it wasn’t even a question…I wanted a baby and if they came in threes I would take it.  God heard me loud and clear and 11 days after transfer we received the news that we were indeed pregnant.  Feeling a little gun shy from our last cycle we only shared the news with our parents and waited to tell our friends and extended family.  After our second positive pregnancy test on July 4^th we shared the exciting news with our friends and family.  At seven weeks we returned to have our first ultrasound.  We were thrilled to get our first look at the little girl or guy growing inside of me.  Because of some bleeding we were also preparing ourselves for the worst.  I stretched back on the table closed my eyes and began to pray that everything was okay and that our little one was still growing strong. Brian on the other hand was leaning in watching the screen intently.  He later shared that he very quickly saw that there were two little sacks; which was a total shock to him since he was convinced that there was only one baby.  I finally began to open my eyes and look towards the screen when the ultrasound technician said, “Congratulations, you have three babies!”  Brian's smile expanded and I began to cry and shake a little, not because she said THREE but because everything was okay.  I felt such a sense of relief!  As minutes passed and we got a good look at our little guys reality might have started to sink in but mostly we were thrilled to be blessed in such a huge way. 

So here we are 23 weeks into our pregnancy with triplet boys and believe me, reality has hit us, but we are still feeling the enormous gift that God has given us.  We are thankful for this twisted journey that has not only brought us closer to each other but we have always felt the arms of Christ securely surrounding us!