Steele's Bedtime Prayer

(as best as I can remember but I think this is almost verbatim)

Dear God,

We thank you for the babies in Mama's tummy. We ask that you would make them live. But whether they live or die, that's your choice. And we trust you to do what you want. But we hope they get to live. And we ask that you would give the doctor's wisdom to bring them out safely.

In Jesus' name, Amen.


There are so many things I loved about this prayer - it made my mama heart smile SO big. But my first thought was: That boy has some good theology!

Happy K.U. Day!

That's right folks. Today's the day I go get knocked up.

Crazy, huh?

I realized after I posted on facebook this morning that some of you might only read my blog - and surely I would appreciate as many prayers as we can get today. So, humbly, I ask that you might remember us at 3 p.m. PST.

Now, I truly don't mean to offend anyone by using the term "knocked up." Surely a bit of light-heartedness is in order for this bizarre circumstance, right? It's also a bit of an ode to our dear friend Mike who proudly announced some 10 or 11 years ago while we were leading worship together one Sunday evening that he had "knocked up his wife." I laughed. Others did not. I'm still laughing actually. Especially because he's done it 4 - or 5 - more times since. heh heh.

I'll let you know what I know - which isn't much. This morning the clinic will try and thaw two embryos that were frozen together. If those both survive thawing, those are the two they will transfer. If only one survives, they'll thaw the one single we have so that we can try and transfer a total of two.

At about noon, Justin and I will drop our kids off at Grammy and Groompa's and head down to Seattle. On the way, I am to drink 1.5 liters of water and take a couple of Valium. This is one part of the procedure that I would especially appreciate your prayers for. It might just be me, but for some reason the idea of medication intended to relax your muscles and a bladder full of water does not seem at all ideal. Add on top of that some progesterone shots which cause you to urinate more frequently? Certainly not ideal. So yes, prayers for self control are appreciated.

Once at the clinic I'm not sure of the details. We'll go into a special room that is climate and odor controlled. We were instructed to not wear fragrance aside from our normal deodorant - apparently embryos are especially sensitive to smells. And then they'll do the transfer. I'll let you know more about that later. For today and tomorrow I've been instructed to lay around and take it easy. For the next couple of weeks I think I am supposed to limit some of my activity and then on the 27th (the day before Steele's birthday) I will go in for my first blood test.

I'm feeling quite peaceful and well-rested. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep last night. We trust that God will bring just the right ones at just the right time. We are asking Him, even though we don't deserve an ounce of blessing, to preserve these little lives for His glory.

Stay tuned...

Things I Loved About Yesterday

1. Looking down the row at this girl as she sat in her movie theater booster seat looking so serious about the whole situation.

She's also very serious about birthday sundaes.

2. Trying to keep a straight face as this girl held my hand up over her eyes during the "scary" parts of Kung Fu Panda. To Adia, scary music = scary scene.


3. Visiting with my grandma, listening to her chat with Adia and seeing the two of them walking along holding hands on our trip down to the fertility clinic. Even the memory of it brings tears to my eyes.

Xochi outside on the morning of her birthday party.

A quick story about my grandma - Before Steele was born my grandma wondered aloud to me what it would be like to love an adopted child. I think she was nervous that it would somehow feel different. My grandma and I are very close and I appreciated her honesty and vulnerability at the time. After all, she was almost 80 years old and had not experienced adoption very often in her life. I think perhaps that is why it is so sweet to see how dearly and fully she loves my children now. Since then, she has often remarked at how wonderful it is to know and love them and shares with me how she tells her friends all about how beautiful adoption is. I could cry (and pretty much do) every time I see my kids running up the walkway to her house yelling, "Mimi!! Mimi! Hi Mimi!"


4. Hearing the doctor at the fertility clinic say that my uterus is looking "gorgeous" and scheduling an appointment to transfer those little babes next Thursday. (June 16) I'd say more about this topic but I'm still in shock.

To close, a cute little video of Xochi the day before her birthday. This shows her real personality - she is pretty much happy and fun 87% of the time.