After high school and upon starting college I was anxious to get married and start a family of my own. I dated quite a bit and was even engaged at one time, but that didn't work out and I was incredibly disappointed at the time. But had that worked out I wouldn't have met Lawrence and we wouldn't have the beautiful family we have now. Marriage didn't work out exactly when I wanted it to, but when I needed it to, and with the person that I need(ed) in my life. The Lord knew this even though I didn't. I am beyond grateful for Lawrence and our temple marriage. He is a hard working provider, a wonderful father, and my best friend. |
| G and I wrestling |
Growing up I was happy with my one brother, but I always thought it would have been fun to have more siblings. My parents considered adoption when I was younger, but it never felt right to them. It was finally right when I was a junior in high school and about 18 months later our family was blessed with my brother G. He is such a great example to my kids and a really proud uncle. Then they did foster care and went through a handful of children who were eventually reunited with their biological families until I came into our lives. He is a happy, busy (super, extra busy) boy who fits right in and loves my babies too. I is also a little younger than Ethne and I'm sure my parents had always thought that their kids would be older than their grandkids, but both Ethne and I joined our family when they were meant to.
When I was pregnant with Ethne my mom found out that she had a tumor on her pituitary gland and would have to have it removed. Travel was difficult, she was sick, and I was scared and a little helpless to do anything for her. Ethne was born four days before her due date. This allowed my parents to come see her and us to visit my parents for Thanksgiving, before my mom had to have her surgery. It was such a blessing to me to be able to see my mom and for my baby to meet her Grandma. My mom is fine now and the tumor was benign, but that was a scary time for all of us. Ethne's birth allowed us time together and gave us something else to think about when we were all consumed with worry about my mom.
Through my entire pregnancy with Baby J I was certain he would come early. Both my other two were early, so this boded well for me. I was determined that he would be born before Christmas. The last month or so I was done. I was tired, sore, big, and beyond ready to have this baby. It had been the most difficult of my three pregnancies with some morning sickness, soreness that I hadn't had before, and I was also battling with emotions that I hadn't experienced before. I prayed that he would come so I could be more comfortable and have less pain. So when contractions started coming pretty regularly on Dec. 21 I was thrilled. But it wasn't to be. After going to the hospital twice in 24 hours only to make very little progress and have the contractions stop, my hopes were dashed all over the floor. Little did I know that this was a blessing in disguise. Five days later, on the 26, my water broke and the contractions were unmistakable, Baby J made his entrance. I was excited to spend as little time in the hospital as possible and take my late Christmas present home to his brother. But you know how well that worked out. Again, I was beyond disappointed that my baby was sick and wouldn't be coming home on my schedule. It was also frustrating to sit around the hospital and wait for the holiday lag to pass so we could get tests done and find out results so we could know what was wrong with our baby. Had Baby J been born much earlier we would be paying a lot more for his surgeries and hospital stays, also if he had been diagnosed sooner. Our insurance last year wasn't the best, but it covered enough for the last 4 days of last year that we weren't left with too many out of pocket expenses. Our insurance that kicked in on January 1 had a reasonable deductible and not too bad of an out of pocket max (both of which we have met). Had Baby J been diagnosed sooner the other insurance had a higher deductible and no OOPM. While it meant that I was uncomfortable a few days longer than I really wanted to be Baby J came just when the Lord needed him to come. Even though there have been a lot of bumps along the way, I'm glad he came when he did and thankful that someone who can see the grand scheme of things knew when his arrival would be best for our family.
I'm sure that I will continue to be taught this lesson, and I will continue to look for the blessings that come from things happening in the Lord's time and not always in mine.
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