Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Asking a Favor
This post has little to do with "beauty," thought it is beautiful news to my ears. My book, Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Adoption Loss has been nominated by the oldest, and one of the largest, infertility support networks in the nation, as one of the top four "best" infertility books for 2010. Their selections are now open for public vote and I would so appreciate if if you would take a moment and visit www.resolve.org/vote to cast a vote for Hannah's Hope in the "best book" category. Thank you so very much!!!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Infertility and New Life
Last night Melody of Hope of my Heart Designs gave you a chance to win her SpringTime Hope bracelet. If you missed that give-away, go back and look through yesterday's Virtual Spa Weekend posts because you can still enter to win unitl midnight tonight!
Now here's a bit more of Melody's story and God's working in her heart through the grief of infertility, adoption, pregnancy and miscarriage.
We got our PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) diagnosis 3 months after we were married, and started trying to conceive immediately. We tried Clomid after a few months, but it didn’t work. I was such a wreck while on that medicine that we decided that even if we tried with medical assistance later, we would NOT use the Clomid again. We lost our health insurance though, so we stopped trying to conceive for a while.
A year later, we pursued adoption. Nine months after we started the process, our son was born six weeks early. We were allowed to be in the delivery room with his birthmother, and after a week’s stay in NICU, he came home with us. We were thrilled.
Unfortunately, something was still missing. I didn’t know what it was, but I was miserable. Two months later, I finally admitted my problem – I was lost. I never dreamed that God would use infertility and adoption to bring me to Himself, but He did. On July 10, 2004, I finally accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Finally, that void in my life was filled!
When our oldest was two, he started praying every night, “Dear Jesus, baby please.” I’d never been pregnant and wasn’t really convinced I would ever be. After a year, we were shocked to discover that I was indeed pregnant for the first time!
After our surprise little guy was born, we wondered how God was going to continue to grow our family. Once again, our oldest son started praying for a sibling. It didn’t take as long as we thought it would, but almost as soon as I suspected I was pregnant, I realized that I would never hold that little one this side of Heaven.
Our son kept praying, and we kept hoping for another pregnancy. Two months later, we discovered that I was pregnant AGAIN! We were surprised again at God’s timing. I was much more cautious that time, trying to guard my heart. But now I’m almost 19 weeks pregnant, and so far, baby is doing quite well.
I never dreamed that God would use infertility in my life the way He did, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Hope of My Heart bracelet
Melody of Hope of My Heart Designs has created a beautiful Springtime Hope bracelet for one Virtual Spa Weekend reader. It is made from solid sterling silver, Swarovski crystal, and Czech druk beads and measures 7.5 inches long. To enter this contest simply leave me a comment with some way to contact you, such as a working email address. For extra entries, promote Melody's give-away link on your own site or through social media, then come back and post a new reply with a link to each promotional outlet you have posted. :)
Melody says, "I named it Springtime Hope because the little butterfly beads remind me of the new hope we have each spring with all the new life that is beginning and growing. It is a symbol of the hope we can still have even when going through infertility."
Melody officially started Hope of My Heart Designs when their oldest was about a year old. "It really started when we were in the adoption process – I wanted a bracelet to wear while I waited. People wanted bracelets just like it, and shortly after that, my business was born. I started with infertility bracelets – my hope was that women going through infertility would have a piece of jewelry they could wear that would offer them some hope. Later, I added miscarriage bracelets, adoption bracelets, and mother’s bracelets. Now, I sell a variety of jewelry, but the vast majority of it is still infertility and miscarriage bracelets."
Check back tomorrow morning for more from Melody and the story of how God changed her life through her infertility joureny.
Melody says, "I named it Springtime Hope because the little butterfly beads remind me of the new hope we have each spring with all the new life that is beginning and growing. It is a symbol of the hope we can still have even when going through infertility."
Melody officially started Hope of My Heart Designs when their oldest was about a year old. "It really started when we were in the adoption process – I wanted a bracelet to wear while I waited. People wanted bracelets just like it, and shortly after that, my business was born. I started with infertility bracelets – my hope was that women going through infertility would have a piece of jewelry they could wear that would offer them some hope. Later, I added miscarriage bracelets, adoption bracelets, and mother’s bracelets. Now, I sell a variety of jewelry, but the vast majority of it is still infertility and miscarriage bracelets."
Check back tomorrow morning for more from Melody and the story of how God changed her life through her infertility joureny.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Welcome to Virtual Spa Weekend!
What an exciting weekend ahead of us! I pray that this Virtual Spa Weekend will be a blessing to everyone who visits and that you will be encouraged and refreshed. We have over 20 posts scheduled over the next 50 hours, including books, chocolate, jewelry, video clips, beauty tips, and lots of great give-aways! In between all that blog reading, I challenge you to find some quiet time this weekend to draw a warm bath, light some candles, grab your Bible or a good book, and curl up for some self-parmpering. I'll do my part in encouraging your "spa experience" by posting a series of give-aways, beauty tips and devotional reflections from now through Sunday afternoon. (The give-aways will all remain open for comments/entries until midnight Sunday and prize winners will be announced by Wednesday or sooner.)
Some of you already know me, so you are welcome to skip this introduction and just scroll down to my embarrasing video at the end of the post (but you might want to read the paragraph directly above it for context). ;) For those who are new to InnerBeautyGirlz, please allow me a moment to share a little about myself before we get this Weekend rolling.
My name is Jennifer (Jenni) Saake, also know around the internet (check Shoutlife, Twitter, Facebook, and a slew of message boards) as InfertilityMom. I'm 36 years old and coming up on my 17th wedding anniversary this summer. After a long infertilty journey, Rick and I are the blessed parents of 13 children, 3 of whom we are very thankful to share our daily lives with, 7 whom we will always carry in our hearts though they never officially joined our family through adoption as we had prayed they would, and 3 more who await us in Heaven after their physical deaths in my womb. Through this journey we were able to help establish Hannah's Prayer Ministires nearly 15 years ago and my first book, Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Adoption Loss was published by NavPress in 2005.
I have struggled with health challenges since I was about 8 years old, including Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia in my early teen years. My freshman year of college I faced the dramatic onset of CFIDS (chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome), leaving me almost totally bedridden for about 2 years and facing an uphill battle ever since. My health has become progressively more fragile again over the past few years with my immune system now functioning at only about 5% and the possible diagnosis of a-typical MS on the horizon. The next book I hope to write will be about the life of Paul and his "thorn in the flesh," a book of encouragement to those living with chronic pain and illness. In the meantime I'm keeping a blog called Harvesting Hope from Heartache™, offering hope and resources for a variety of life's challenge and losses (loved ones, health, jobs, marriages, depression...)
In order to live and stay as healthy as possible, I am constantly looking to make wise choices from everything as basic as the air I breath and the water I drink to the food I eat and the cosmetic products I apply to my body. This quest has opened up an amazing world of natural beauty alternatives that I am excited to pass on to InnerBeautyGirlz readers. I am an affiliate with Mountain Rose Herbs and a consultant with both Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and Gurrlie Girl™ Christian Jewerly.
So now that you know a little bit about me, let me get the personal humilation out of the way and kick off our Weekend with this YouTube message I recorded from my bathroom just last week. This video was created specifically for the ladies of Hannah's Prayer Ministries who are gathered in Ohio this weekend for an infertility and pregnancy loss support retreat, so as you think of them I ask that you would lift them in prayer this weekend. But I pray the message of the video will give you a reason to smile, maybe even make you laugh as you see me with no makeup, unbrushed hair and sitting on the side of my tub in a bathrobe, or be an encouragement to you in whatever season of life you find yourself tonight.
Click here to tour the entire Virtual Spa Weekend (so far) or go directly to InnerBeautyGirlz.com to view all resources available through this blog. :) Even after the Weekend officially ends at midnight on Sunday, May 3, the Spa resources will remain here to offer you encouragement and information. Check back on May 6 for our Weekend give-away winner's list and subscribe or "follow" me now in order to receive future updates.
Some of you already know me, so you are welcome to skip this introduction and just scroll down to my embarrasing video at the end of the post (but you might want to read the paragraph directly above it for context). ;) For those who are new to InnerBeautyGirlz, please allow me a moment to share a little about myself before we get this Weekend rolling.
My name is Jennifer (Jenni) Saake, also know around the internet (check Shoutlife, Twitter, Facebook, and a slew of message boards) as InfertilityMom. I'm 36 years old and coming up on my 17th wedding anniversary this summer. After a long infertilty journey, Rick and I are the blessed parents of 13 children, 3 of whom we are very thankful to share our daily lives with, 7 whom we will always carry in our hearts though they never officially joined our family through adoption as we had prayed they would, and 3 more who await us in Heaven after their physical deaths in my womb. Through this journey we were able to help establish Hannah's Prayer Ministires nearly 15 years ago and my first book, Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Adoption Loss was published by NavPress in 2005.
I have struggled with health challenges since I was about 8 years old, including Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia in my early teen years. My freshman year of college I faced the dramatic onset of CFIDS (chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome), leaving me almost totally bedridden for about 2 years and facing an uphill battle ever since. My health has become progressively more fragile again over the past few years with my immune system now functioning at only about 5% and the possible diagnosis of a-typical MS on the horizon. The next book I hope to write will be about the life of Paul and his "thorn in the flesh," a book of encouragement to those living with chronic pain and illness. In the meantime I'm keeping a blog called Harvesting Hope from Heartache™, offering hope and resources for a variety of life's challenge and losses (loved ones, health, jobs, marriages, depression...)
In order to live and stay as healthy as possible, I am constantly looking to make wise choices from everything as basic as the air I breath and the water I drink to the food I eat and the cosmetic products I apply to my body. This quest has opened up an amazing world of natural beauty alternatives that I am excited to pass on to InnerBeautyGirlz readers. I am an affiliate with Mountain Rose Herbs and a consultant with both Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and Gurrlie Girl™ Christian Jewerly.
So now that you know a little bit about me, let me get the personal humilation out of the way and kick off our Weekend with this YouTube message I recorded from my bathroom just last week. This video was created specifically for the ladies of Hannah's Prayer Ministries who are gathered in Ohio this weekend for an infertility and pregnancy loss support retreat, so as you think of them I ask that you would lift them in prayer this weekend. But I pray the message of the video will give you a reason to smile, maybe even make you laugh as you see me with no makeup, unbrushed hair and sitting on the side of my tub in a bathrobe, or be an encouragement to you in whatever season of life you find yourself tonight.
Click here to tour the entire Virtual Spa Weekend (so far) or go directly to InnerBeautyGirlz.com to view all resources available through this blog. :) Even after the Weekend officially ends at midnight on Sunday, May 3, the Spa resources will remain here to offer you encouragement and information. Check back on May 6 for our Weekend give-away winner's list and subscribe or "follow" me now in order to receive future updates.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
