“If you asked me if I’d care for a newborn while 30 weeks pregnant, I’d have thought you were crazy. I’d sit at night, feeding our foster daughter while feeling our little girl wiggling around in my belly. We’d been praying for her years before she was even born.”
‘Would you be open to picking up a 2-day-old baby girl?’ I’ll never forget my husband’s response. ‘I think this is the baby we’ve been praying for.’: Pregnant mom opens heart to fostering, adopts after ‘humbling’ 798 days
‘Brushing my hair for the first day of 1st Grade, my mom’s face grew concerned. ‘I’m fine!’ The lump doubled in size by the time I returned from school.’: Leukemia survivor creates foundation to inspire hope among community
“I was only 6 years when cancer consumed my life. Some people try to erase their history of battling cancer; I choose to embrace it.”
‘You’re a survivor, not a victim.’ BOTH CAN BE TRUE. The mixed messages surrounding this are dizzying.’: Woman advocates for mental health awareness, ‘It took YEARS to rebuild my trust’
“Before Casey left the state with me, before he promised me forever and before we said ‘I do,’ I explained the mental weight I carried. Somehow I knew it would be an added challenge. I wasn’t wrong.”
‘They will fight and argue, but they are forever protectors. Their specific hearts needed one another, and God knew it before I did.’: Mom cherishes sacred bond between siblings
“I planned the age separation between my two kids. I imagined their genders, I played out scenarios. I planned my pregnancy and c-section. And in true God fashion, all MY plans got tossed to the wayside. At the time it felt cruel. Now I know, God’s timing was, and is, perfect.”
‘You could have gotten rid of us because he’d be a burden. Your efforts are seen. You are heard.’: Twin to Down Syndrome brother writes beautiful thank you to DS mamas
“I had a hard time making friends. There were times I wished I had a ‘normal’ sibling who could talk, who I could share my secrets with. My mom showed me how much of a blessing it is to have Michael.”
‘When marriage gets hard, I picture myself old. Grayed hair, shriveled little body, with feet difficult to put in front of the other.’: Woman says ‘our love will be the greatest accomplishment of our lives’
“When my body begins to wear down from sickness or old age, I want you there with me. When I’m scared, resting in a bed, wondering if I’ll really make it to heaven, I want you there with me, looking me right in the eye, reassuring me that it’s okay to leave.”
‘She’s not asleep yet,’ I heard on the operating table. A needle dug into my arm with urgency as an oxygen mask was placed over my mouth.’: Woman survives life-threatening child birth, ‘Life is too short not to show love’
“The nurses wheeled me into the cold, brightly lit operating room. Two days later, I awoke in the ICU surrounded by wires, beeping machines, and a picture of my baby I hadn’t even met. The birth of our first child was also the day I almost lost my life.”
‘There are storms, but each night he hurries to ask, ‘Mom, will you sleep with me first?’ I give him a squeeze and a kiss, and ask God to comfort us both.’: Mom says ‘I am his security blanket, his calm after the storm’
“Each night, he fits his a-little-bit-bigger body into that same curve of my arm, just like he did years ago. I hear the same breath and feel the same warmth on my skin. And I can tell at this rate we’re going, he and I won’t ever get enough time.”
‘I’ve been the girl who didn’t fit in. I’m too much for some people and not enough for others. I’ve been the girl who wondered if she’d make it, and the girl who did.’: Mom loves who she is, ‘I won’t change for anyone’
“I’m the girl who is on time for this but late for that, and I’ll probably stop for an overpriced iced coffee on the way. I’m moody in the morning and in my best spirits when I know it’s Friday. I’m too tall for high heels and too short to reach the diapers on the top shelf at Walmart. I’m still not skinny enough to fit inside that crack between the washer and dryer. I’m that girl.”
‘Who is going to pay for them?’ The years brought 7 more kids. ‘Are you crazy?’ Maybe.’: Mom chooses to have large family, ‘We had less money, but more love’
“The amount of rude comments were astounding. ‘Don’t you know how that happens? How do you afford them? We couldn’t figure out why everyone saw having a big family as a negative.”
