When we were married, we decided to wait a year before we had children. Two months after our wedding, we were at church and both had a very strong impression that we needed to start trying to have a family. About three months later, we found out we were pregnant! It was a shock that it happened so soon but we were very excited. We set up an appointment to see a doctor and we planned how we were going to tell our families--our baby was to be the first grandchild in both of our families. At around 12 weeks of pregnancy, right before our first doctor appointment, Emily had a miscarriage.
While the miscarriage was hard, we were confident that we would be pregnant again soon--and we felt a lot of peace about the situation. Well, we were wrong. Emily never became pregnant after that. After about a year of trying, we went to a doctor and had a few tests done. We were told we had "unexplained infertility" and were assured that the problem would most likely correct itself.
After two more years of no success, we decided to see a doctor again. Emily started taking fertility drugs and soon learned that there were more problems than just "unexplained infertility." After about a year of unsuccessful treatments, we moved to St. Louis where Kameron was attending graduate school. We decided to consult with one of the country's leading fertility specialists who practiced in St. Louis--we were very optimistic about becoming pregnant soon.
We again began fertility treatments and found that there were even more problems with our fertility than we knew before. Just as Kameron was graduating and we were about to move, we were advised that the most likely way we could become pregnant was through in-vitro fertilization. We decided that we would wait to decide about the procedure until after Kameron found a job and we moved to a more permanent residence.
After we moved, we found that God had a different plan for us. As we were discussing and praying about in-vitro fertilizaton, our church was hosting a night with LDS Family Services. We decided to attend because Emily was interested in services that she could offer her clients as a social worker. As the presenter began talking about adoption services, we both got the feeling that in-vitro fertilization was not what God wanted us to do. He wanted us to look into adoption. After months of praying about in-vitro fertilization, we received our answer. All of a sudden the surgery we were excited about felt wrong to us. We called LDS Family Services the next day about adoption. We have never questioned that decision since.
Even before we were married, we discussed adopting children. We know this is not a coincidence, but Heavenly Father preparing us for the unique way our family would be formed. We know that God has a plan for each of us and that sometimes, in order to become who he wants us to become, he gives us trials. If we handle the trials well, we know that great blessings will come. Although struggling with infertility has been difficult, we know that adoption will bring us more joy and happiness than we could have ever imagined.
