Joy in the journey

Finding Faith In The Little Things

If you read my previous post I had made when I announced my pregnancy, you would remember reading my "rainbow" story. If not I will quickly share with you what I mean.

Since finding out we were expecting our "rainbow baby" I have been seeing a rainbow every single day, sometimes several times a day. Incase you're new to the term "rainbow baby" it's a baby that you have after experiencing a miscarriage. They call it a rainbow because after every storm comes a rainbow of hope.

Today I wanted to share with you an update. Some have asked are you still seeing the rainbows three months into this pregnancy? My answer is YES. Actually even more often now than I was in the beginning. Sometimes they are real rainbows up in the sky and sometimes they are silly things like a Halloween costume skirt or a piece of art in my sons school. It often comes when I am least expecting it each day.

I cannot tell you how much joy these little appearances bring me. It's my gentle reminder from the universe that all is well with my little one and to have faith that this is going to turn out okay.

At first I thought all of this was just a crazy coincidence but now three months in, I am starting to believe that these rainbows are being sent to me intentionally.

My husband thought I was crazy at first but now he believes I am seeing them for a reason too.

This is my first encounter with "signs" from God or the universe or whatever you want to call it but I am hooked. I love it and truly see each rainbow as a gift. It makes me curious how many other people see "signs" in their own lives as reminders to stay in faith.

I would like to think that my grandma has something to do with all of this. She passed away this August and I would have become pregnant shortly after her passing. She had 9 children and was what I would like to call the queen of fertility. I swear shes been assigned to watch over me and this pregnancy. Here's the cool part. Growing up my grandma had these beautiful crystals that hung in her dining room window. Every time the sun would shine you would see beautiful rays of rainbow light. It was a fun memory from my childhood. These rainbows make me think of her each day and it makes me feel closer to her.

While I don't photograph all of them I did want to share a few with you all to show you how cool it really is.

This announcement has been YEARS in the making. It's absolutely an answer to all of our prayers. 

This was my first encounter with the rainbows. Each of these long streaks is a rainbow. It's hard to see it from far away. They were in the foyer of my home. My son was the first to find it. He called me and was yelling to COME SEE ALL OF THESE RAINBOWS. It was a week after I found out I was expecting. Nobody knew yet except my huband and all I had been thinking about was how happy we were about our rainbow baby. It brought me to tears. I could have sat and looked at it for hours. Since that night I have continued to see these rainbows each day. It was a much needed sign for me.

A close up of what the streaks looked like in our foyer. Bright, brilliant and beautiful just like this miracle we are experiencing.

This one showed up in my kitchen on a day I was feeling uncertian and worried about the baby. I am sure it was shining this bright because someone knew I needed a strong reminder that day. I was in awe of the beauty of this one. 

This one appeared over our house the morning after announcing our pregnancy.

This showed up on my computer screen one day when I sat down to work for the day. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I kept looking around for the light in the room from where it might be coming from. I still never figured it out instead I took it as a sign that all is well today.

There are many more that I could share with you. It gives me hope and faith and helps to ease my mind each day. I can only hope that they will continue until my little one arrives in May. I hope you enjoyed reading this and sharing in the JOY along with me. 

After every storm comes a rainbow...

For This Child We Prayed... 

I cannot tell you how many years I have been dreaming about the day that we would get to share that our son would no longer be an only child. If I am being honest with you I will say that we finally decided to put that dream aside and move on from all the pain we experienced. 2 1/2 years of infertility and a miscarriage this past spring left us feeling hopeless, sad and ready to move on with our life.

Then God showed us he had a different plan.  We have since learned that we were getting another chance at this and that maybe, just maybe our rainbow baby is coming after all.

If you're not familiar with what a rainbow baby is, it's what they call a baby born after a miscarriage. Because after every storm comes a rainbow of hope and that's just what this baby is for us. It's hope.

While we contemplated not sharing the news with everyone until a few months from now, we have decided it was time to share the hope and excitement with others instead of hiding it.

It's been a long two months not telling any of our family or friends. If you follow me on social media you know that I share ALL of my life, so not sharing this part of our journey felt like I wasn't being me.

We have had two appointments so far and at both appointments everything looked great. Strong heart beat, perfect size and great growth. All very different than the last pregnancy we experienced. It's not to say we are out of the woods. I realize many people wait until after the first trimester to share, but we have decided that we need the prayers and that we are going to celebrate the gift of life we have been given for as long as we are able to enjoy it.

Pregnancy is a journey and a scary one at that. I wish I could go back to being as clueless as I was during my first one. I had no fears. After our first ultrasound we told everyone, started picking names, planning the nursery and picking out clothes. In our minds we were getting a healthy baby in a few months and that's exactly what happened. Now that I am older and wiser I realize that next few months will be scary, but I also realize that motherhood and life is also very scary. I have made a choice to put my fears aside and believe that God has a plan for our family, and maybe just maybe this blessing that's growing inside of me will get to be a part of our plan.

I want to wrap this up with two things that I think are pretty special.

The first is that they say when a loved one passes away God often gives you another one in return. This past August my grandmother passed away. She was what I would like to call the queen of fertility. She had nine children and was literally a saint. I became pregnant shortly after she passed. I would like to think that she's looking out for me up there. I told my husband shes my guardian angel for this pregnancy. It brings me comfort thinking of her this way.

Lastly I talked about how this baby is called a rainbow baby. I want to share something pretty amazing. EVERY SINGLE DAY since the day I found out I was expecting this baby I see a rainbow. Sometimes a real one in the sky, sometimes in a store or on TV or even on an art project in my son's school. It's amazing but it's my daily reminder to take a deep breath and just enjoy this pregnancy and have hope that is will work out. I find so much joy each day when I see those rainbows.

So that's what we are doing. Taking this pregnancy day by day hoping and praying we make it to May. Thanks for all the support you have given us on our journey thru these hard years. Let's hope this year has lots of happiness in store for us.

ALL OUR LOVE

Kevin, Sarah, Carter and BABY GRIFFITH

"I will not cause pain without something new to be born says the Lord." Isaiah 66:9