by Jen Crowley
August 21, 2019
Every life is, of course, a miracle. For those who have struggled with infertility, pregnancy loss, early infant loss, and the process of adoption, the realization of that gift is not lost. To at last become a parent or welcome a child into your family after having suffered through periods of loss, in one way or another, brings indescribable joy in its unique way.
We are starting a blog series highlighting the ones in our ministry we claim as our ‘Little Miracles‘ — the children we have brought into our lives through conception or adoption after having experienced infertility, pregnancy loss, early infant loss, or the process of adoption. In each post, we will highlight the story of how a couple’s ‘Little Miracle’ came to be a part of their family.
Today I want to introduce you to Baby Kate…
I’ve been blessed to know Anne and Timberon for about 13 years now — before any of us were married to our own spouses. Timberon actually grew up with my husband, and my husband was even Timberon’s sponsor when Timberon was confirmed in high school. Anne, I met as part of my parish’s young adult ministry. It wasn’t too long before the two future spouses would befriend one another and start their beautiful journey together.
Needless to say, this couple holds a special place in our hearts, and when we discovered that they, too, were struggling with fertility issues at the same time that we were, our hearts ached for them.
Related: How to Support a Friend Struggling With Infertility
We’ve witnessed Anne’s and Timberon’s family-building journey from the start, and we’ve been so grateful for the miracle babies with whom they’ve been blessed over the years. They most recently had their third little miracle baby — a baby girl, Katherine (or Kate).
Below Anne shares their story, which offers inspiration to those who find themselves currently struggling with infertility. They journeyed from disappointment and heartache to gratitude and openness to God’s plan for their lives. We never know what gifts God has waiting for us….
Anne’s and Timberon’s Story
Infertility definitely came as a surprise to us. There was no history of it in our family, and we even waited a couple of years to start trying for children, enjoying our time together as newlyweds. When we decided to add to our family, I charted my temperature, but we figured it would happen soon without much effort.
After six months of trying, I had an ectopic pregnancy that resulted in a trip to the emergency room and the loss of a Fallopian tube. I was then misdiagnosed with endometriosis, which a laparoscopic procedure thankfully refuted.
My husband and I then decided to use the Creighton Method of Natural Family Planning to aid us in conception, and two years later we were blessed with our first miracle baby, Gabriel, whose name means “God is my strength.”
After a year of raising an energetic boy, we were ready to expand our family and started using the Creighton Method again to help us conceive. This proved challenging yet again as my husband inevitably seemed to be traveling whenever I was fertile, and the stress every month of not conceiving was hard for me to accept.
Related: Waiting to Bloom
Thirteen months later our efforts were rewarded with the conception of another child, Jude, who arrived just in time to be the best Christmas present we could ask for. We chose the name Jude for Saint Jude, the patron saint of desperate causes.
After the blessing of our two boys, my husband and I wrestled with whether we should attempt to have a third child. I didn’t want to go through the same stress of the previous pregnancies, charting my mucus every day and ending the month in disappointment when the pregnancy test was negative.
We eventually decided to just let go and let God — if it happened, great, but, if not, we still had two beautiful boys.
Two months later we got pregnant, much to our surprise.
Ten months later, Katherine arrived, named after my sister who died almost 12 years ago.
This journey has been a challenge, both for ourselves and our marriage, but with the help of our family, friends, and faith, we have been able to not give up hope and have grown from a family of two to a family of five.
Pray for a miracle and be open to surrendering your plans to God.
The Sarah’s Hope & Abraham’s Promise team offers up prayers of thanksgiving for precious baby Kate, and the Vanzants’ two boys, Gabriel and Jude.
We pray that wherever you find yourself in your own family-building journey, that you are blessed with witnesses like Anne and Timberon who can offer you hope and encouragement when you feel lost.
If you enjoyed this post, please share!
& If you aren’t a part of our Bands of Hope Online Infertility Support Group, we’d love to have you join us! It’s a community filled with those who seek and offer spiritual and emotional support to anyone struggling with fertility issues!
May God grant us each peace and openness to His perfect plan for our families.
Check back next month when we continue this series of sharing the stories of our ‘Little Miracles’!
Hey! I’m Jen Crowley!
I helped co-found the ministry Sarah’s Hope & Abraham’s Promise, where we seek to offer spiritual support for those struggling with infertility or pregnancy loss, as well as support for those touched by adoption. I’ve been the proud wife to a great man for over 10 years, and I’ve been blessed through the miracle of adoption to be a mama of four beautiful (and very active) children! I come from the South and love cooking, a glass (or two) of wine, and Jesus. Throw in a movie marathon coupled with snuggles with my kiddos or deep conversations with my dearest loved ones, and you couldn’t find me happier! You can find my humble thoughts on journeying through infertility and adoption here!
