This saying has been on our refrigerator for as long as I can remember. I remember writing it and I remember telling myself to read it everyday and believe in it and pray. Pray. Pray. Pray.

I can’t believe our prayers have been answered. We are now parents. And just like the challenges it took for us to get to this day, the labor went hand in hand. 22 1/2 hours of labor before Howie Christopher would come into our lives at 2:51am January 26, 2017. 9.9 pounds, 22 3/4.” Our big BOY!!  My water broke just before 4:30am on the 25th. After so many hours of labor I was progressing well and they thought I’d have our little embryo that could around 9 that night. But when they checked to see how far along I was around 8:30pm, they noticed my water was warm and I had a fever. They worried our baby would have an infection so told us they’d be taking it straight to the NICU for observation. This was one of the scariest moments of my life. Not knowing if our baby was going to be ok and there’s nothing you can do to make it better. You feel so helpless and scared. We started praying right away and other than a little fever at birth, luckily everything turned out ok. But getting Howie here was a hard challenge too! About 2 hours after finding out about the infection possibility I was dilated to a 10. I pushed hard for 2 hours but he just didn’t want to budge! We found out later he was just too big and couldn’t get past my pelvic bone. But they could see him! I remember then saying “it has a lot of hair!” So around 2:30 am they prepped me for a c-section. I felt so defeated, but when they pulled him out we realized why he wasn’t budging! All the doctors said “woah” right when they saw his head! And I’ll never forget when Laryen announced what it was. He goes, “it’s a boy” in the most surprising voice ever (he was convinced it was a girl!) I could hear just how proud he was in that instant. I’ll never forget that moment: him asking me if I hear him crying, hearing him cry and tearing up. Even though I was in pain, in shock, shaking because I was so cold and getting stitched back up, at that moment I felt so whole. Our family was finally whole. 

We were at the hospital longer than expected because of my c section and Howie’s time in the NICU. Thank goodness our parents were there to help us get through the difficulties at the hospital. We can’t thank them enough. They did so much to help take care of me and love on Howie; we are so incredibly lucky. So much love from the rest of our family and friends, too. Just thinking of how lucky we are and how many people help make our hearts so full brings tears to my eyes. Thank you just isn’t enough.

Now 2 weeks in to this new life, we’re getting in some sort of the swing of things. We’ve never been more tired in our lives but seeing Howie’s sweet face or snuggling with him makes all the difference. Laryen is such an incredible dad. Thinking of how much love he has for Howie is enough to seriously make my heart burst. I can’t wait to see them do everything that he’s already planned for them (including dressing in matching overalls). This is going to be fun. 

More than a year of standing in front of this fireplace. So many different emotions, trying times, happiness and sadness and SO MANY steps to get to right here. And I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite picture of them all! 

Welcome home Howie Christopher, our little embryo that could!