Our Miracle (Part 4) ... The Conclusion

Read Our Miracle (Part 1); (Part 2); (Part 3)

“ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

{Isaiah 43:19, NIV}

“Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

{Joshua 1:9, NIV}

The Lord gave me two words for 2019: SEE from Isaiah 43:19 and COURAGE(OUS) from Joshua 1:9. I really felt like the Lord was asking me to exchange my expectations for His promises this year. He promised a baby and now I needed to take a backseat. Allowing God to do what He does best meant willingness to release my control, my expectations, and my timeline to His will.

I'd been feeling sick the majority of January, but pregnancy was the furthest thing from my mind. I continued working with a naturopath doctor to normalize my hormones, but the evidence of normal wasn't there. I was certain I couldn't be pregnant because biology wasn't on my side. One particular day my sweet husband tried to serve me eggs for breakfast, but the smell alone made me nauseous (which happened when I was pregnant with Evangeline). That was enough to convince him and he immediately bought me a pregnancy test. It took a week to muster the courage to actually take it.

On January 27th, I woke up at 6 AM, preparing myself to receive a negative result. To my surprise, the test turned instantly positive. The rest of the day was full of joy as we shared with family and friends this amazing miracle. On January 28th, I called my OBGYN because we honestly had no idea when I would have gotten pregnant. Without evidence, I could not predict how far along I was. The doctor asked me to come in immediately to date the pregnancy.

We saw TWO heartbeats that day. I was 6 weeks 2 days along with twins. Even more shocking, was the doctor telling us we were pregnant with an extremely rare and high-risk set of Monoamniotic-Monochorionic or "MoMo" Twins, which meant they shared both an amniotic sac and placenta. I almost fainted as she described all that awaited me in this pregnancy, how dangerous it was, and how we should seriously consider aborting one of the babies to give the other a fighting chance. At that point my husband and I looked at each other, knowing these little miracles shouldn't exist at all. We told the doctor we would not chose between the babies. If something happened, then so be it, but we'd do everything in our power to keep them. So the doctor referred us to high-risk specialist.

February was spent waiting and praying. I'll be honest, I was scared. What did this mean for our family? For our babies? For returning to Thailand? I knew God had promised another child, but none of this made sense. I kept going back to Isaiah 43:19 and Joshua 1:9 ... the Lord was with us and He would make a way through this wilderness, even though I didn't understand it. On February 20th, we nervously went to see the high-risk specialist. What happened next still remains a mystery ...

We were shocked to discover one baby miscarried. The specialist seemed very confused because she said that actually it was impossible for me to have a MoMo Twin pregnancy. The remaining baby was completely untouched and "looked pristine!" That could not have happened with a MoMo Twin pregnancy. She then proceeded to tell us that all the risks and complications no longer existed, so I should return to my OBGYN because now I was a completely "normal" pregnancy. Even more surprising was the call I received the next day from my OBGYN asking for specific details regarding my appointment with the specialist, because she knew she had seen MoMo Twins the day of the ultrasound. I have no answers, but I was certain a miracle had taken place.

In the midst of both joy and loss, we are confident that the Lord's hand rested on both our babies even before conception. Yes, we experienced loss, but in a way I felt like the Lord prepared me for it. I had complete peace when we walked out of the specialist's office, knowing there was only one baby. A little miracle. The fact is we shouldn't even be pregnant at all right now, but God! I cannot deny His plan and grace, even throughout our years of questions, difficulty, and struggle. He has remained faithful through it all.

---

Big sister Evie is SO excited!!

In the first part of our miracle story, I had mentioned I never wanted our daughter Evangeline to be an only child. My greatest fear in all of this was that she would be isolated and alone, knowing we would be living in a foreign country. What I never considered, however, was how God would use our struggle to instill faith and joy in Evie's life at such an early age.

Our daughter has specifically prayed for a baby sister over the last 3 years. After the first year, her prayers turned into questions: "Why isn't God answering me?" In those moments, my heart broke because I was asking the same questions and had no idea how to answer our girl. My default answer was: "I don't know, but God hears you and knows what you need."

On October 21th (the night I returned from the Designed For Life Conference), I was so certain of God's promise of another baby that I didn't hesitate to tell Evie what God had done in my life. I told her God had heard her prayers. There would be another baby and even though I had no idea when that would be, God would give us one. Every step of the way, we have included her in the loop and conversations, even when we lost the twin. The most incredible day was when Evie found out she was getting the baby SISTER she'd been praying for.

On May 6th, we were told another little lady was joining our family. What a day of celebration it was! God specifically answered our daughter's prayers - she got her baby sister. When we walked out of that appointment, Evangeline said, "Mom, I'm going to tell my little sister that I've been praying for her even before she was born!" Melt.my.mom.heart. The Lord must have something very special in store for Evie to spend all this time cultivating such faith in her heart. I can't wait to see what's in store for both my girls!

We chose the name Eloise Pauline for our newest little lady, which means "humble, healthy warrior". Her nickname is Ellie, meaning "God is my light". The miracles that have already surrounded this little life is so apparent. I have been hiding away every moment and treasuring every promise in my heart. I know Jesus has a great plan for Baby Eloise because He's clearly prepared the way for her to join our family. He heard every prayer, even in the moments I felt completely alone and abandoned. I was not forgotten!

Being on the other side of this journey, I don't know that I would change a thing. I wholeheartedly believe God wasted nothing in our waiting. He paved a way when there was no way. He showed us grace, love, and mercy. Now it is our turn to extend the same to those He brings into our lives.

I guess I can't really say this is the conclusion of our miracle story. Only 11 weeks or less until Baby Eloise joins our family and the beautiful Thailand life we lead. I am looking forward to it, knowing Jesus has a plan and purpose for our family, even when we don't fully understand His ways. Get ready, the best chapter is about to begin!