Baby Dedication, Christmas, and Hello 2012!

Abel and Belle were dedicated to the Lord on November 27th. My mother-in-law has some pictures on her camera, so I was waiting for those from her before I updated the blog. However, she has had some computer trouble, so who knows when I will get the pictures. More important, though, is the fact that we are aware of what a great responsibility God has given us in shepherding these little children to know Him. We pray that He would convict their hearts of sin and save them at an early age and that they might live for His glory early in life... and be spared the heartache that living in rebellion against God can bring. Please join us in praying that they would be saved as soon as God wills.

We flew to Memphis, TN for Christmas with the babies. They did great and had lots of love and attention from our extended family. They also got lots of toys - Yeah! :) Aaron and I long decided we didn't want to teach any of our future children about Santa Claus being a reality. They will still get gifts from us (though we didn't this year, because they are so young and got plenty from family), but will know that they are from daddy and mommy. They will still take pictures with Santa in the mall and watch the Christmas classics on t.v. We plan to teach them about Santa as a fun, fictional character (such as Mickey Mouse). Our heart in this isn't to be legalistic, but we want Jesus and His incarnation to be their focus and not fantasy.

Lastly, as a New Year's resolution, I have started Weight Watchers and exercising. My goal is to be back to my pre-pregnancy size and weight by the summer. Pray for grace.

As I reflect on this new year, I'm amazed and grateful for God's grace in 2011. 2011 will forever be a special year because it was the year that Abel and Belle were born. But, I'm excited to welcome 2012.

And for fun, I put them in their highchairs for the first time this morning!

2010 in Review

2010 may very well have been the most eventful year of our marriage (or our lives) thus far! Here is what God did over the past year in the Wilson home...

1) Got a call on January 14th from the NEDC to schedule our mock transfer for March 29th.

2) Started taking meds and had the mock transfer in March.

4) In June, we looked through embryo profiles and chose the ones we wanted to adopt.

3) Found out that Aaron was being transferred to Gastonia, NC on July 19th.

4) Had our 1st embryo transfer on July 20th. Received a negative beta on July 29th.

5) In August, Aaron took on his new store in Gastonia and we looked through more embryo profiles and chose new embryos to adopt. He stayed in an extended stay while looking for housing and I stayed in Columbia with his family.

6) Bought our first house in September.

7) Had our 2nd embryo transfer on September 19th. Got 2 positive HPTs at 10 and 11 days past transfer. Very weak beta on 12 days past transfer. Entirely negative 2nd beta.

8) In October, we chose more embryos to adopt.

9) Had our entire house painted in November.

10) Had our 3rd and final embryo transfer on November 16th. Took my first HPT after my beta was drawn on November 29th. HPT was positive and the beta result was 1123! 2nd beta on December 1st was over 3000!

11) Had our 1st ultrasound at 6w0d on December 9th - saw TWO fetal poles and yolk sacs, but no heartbeats yet.

12) Had our 2nd ultrasound at 6w5d on December 14th and saw TWO heartbeats!

13) Had our 3rd ultrasound at 9w0d on December 30th and saw TWO growing babies with beautiful heartbeats!

Aaron and I have experienced more grief and joy combined this year than I can even begin to explain. Through the loss of our 8 children, we learned to trust His goodness and sovereignty while we just didn't understand... And like I previously posted here, this song rings more true now than ever...truly "behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face!" And I know that we are by no means "out of the woods" yet with this pregnancy, but we're praying and hoping that 2011 will bring the birth of TWO healthy babies!

Hello 2010!

Happy New Year! I have been meaning to blog for awhile now, but life has been too busy! We spent Christmas with my family in Atlanta and New Year's with Aaron's family in Columbia. Nothing has progressed with our adoption at this point...we continue to wait for the NEDC to call and schedule my mock transfer. Since I know that they book appointments MONTHS in advance, I would think that if I were to have it scheduled during the summer, that I'd know by March. If we don't hear from them by mid-late February, we will probably call and touch base to see where things are. But, for now, we are just waiting...which is SO HARD! I hope and pray that 2010 will be the year that our babies are transferred to my womb with a successful pregnancy!

Below are some pictures that we took on New Year's Eve - Aaron's family bought a murder mystery game, taking place in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. He was Chef Cayenne Pepper and I was Maid Elise St. Gresch - and neither of us were the murderer. :)