“’Meet your son.’ Weeks later, we brought number 3 home. I noticed I was having mood swings. I joked to my girlfriends on a group text, ‘I‘m probably pregnant.’”
‘I took a test, saw a line. ‘What’s ONE more?’ he laughed. I already had 3 under 3.’: Couple surprised by pregnancy while adopting brothers, ‘It’s exactly what I dreamed’
‘Your to-do list will keep growing. The emails will continue to flood in. The texts will sit unanswered.’: Mom urges ‘everything else can wait, you only get one chance to raise your kids’
“But your children, they grow right before your eyes. Their tiny voices change overnight. Their giggles and tears start and end with you…until they don’t. Everything else can wait. Parenting is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
‘Dear husband—I love you, but I don’t like you. Not all the time.’: Woman pens appreciation letter to husband, ‘I love you even in those I-don’t-like-you moments’
“I just hope you know how grateful I am for you even when I’m tired, worn down, and I don’t show it. Most of all, I hope you know I love you big even in those I-don’t-like-you moments.”
‘The officer said, ‘There’s been an incident at the pool.’ I expected stitches. ‘I’m going to get right to the point, Jason died tonight.’: Woman diagnosed with cancer after husband’s death, ‘I’m choosing to LIVE’
“We sat in a circle on a bedroom floor. ‘Last night daddy went swimming. His body died. He won’t come home ever again.’ One week after the funeral, I received a call: ‘You have cancer, and not the run-of-the-mill kind. It travels distantly and doesn’t always respond to treatments.’ The rubble of my life had just caught fire.”
‘He was arching his back and screaming for air. Literally, panting. We were stuck. All we could do was pray and pack.’: Family returns from Guatemala after almost losing son
“I wanted to scream, ‘This baby strapped to my chest almost died last night. Our world is falling apart.’ Our dreams were shattered. We found ourselves back in our hometown looking for purpose.”
‘Your dad and I, we didn’t work out. We failed to keep us all under one roof. We tried, but I am so sorry.’: Single special needs mom says ‘I hope I can be what you need’
“My boy, you looked so young tonight. So small, so little, and so baby-like. I couldn’t help but worry about how you will feel—how you will cope—when you aren’t so young. I hope I am enough. I hope I can be what you need.”
‘Her birth parents wanted to spend time with her. I wasn’t sure if I would see her again. All I could do was pray.’: Mom describes emotional adoption, ‘She is our greatest joy’
“The birth parents might want you in the labor room.’ I started bawling and was so nervous. I prayed we’d all end up okay.”
‘There’s a second sac…and a third.’ My heart stopped. ‘Oh my God, triplets!’ All my plans were quickly whisked away.’: Mom births triplet rainbow babies after miscarriage, infertility, ‘It takes a village!’
“All of a sudden, I was terribly confused. ‘No way,’ I told the sonographer, half smiling and fully hoping she was joking. We left the OBGYN that day not knowing just how much God had in store for us. 27 weeks into my pregnancy, I began experiencing early contractions.”
‘I’m really sorry.’ I had 2 babies at home! I soon wondered how staying alive could feel so much like dying.’: Woman beats invasive breast cancer, ‘All we have is today’
“I thought I knew what was coming. But really, I didn’t. My mouth felt dry and tasted oily, my stomach churned, my scalp prickled and my bones ached. I hovered in a depression for weeks. My kids needed any precious energy I had.”
‘Of course he doesn’t, he’s absolutely fine!’ Everyone laughed it off. My little boy wasn’t going to talk, EVER.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘acceptance starts in the home’
“He can’t count, point, or wave. There are days he cannot look into my eyes. Days where I can only guess what might be causing his tears. But I could not imagine my world without my son.”
