This is a post I’ve been wanting to write for a while! And there is NO better time than Mother’s Day weekend!

A little over a year ago, I blogged about Hope & Kip. I’ve known Hope for most of her life. Her mom has been my best friend for over 20 years. Our families are “framilies.” Friends that are family. Last year, Hope & Kip shared on THIS post about their struggles with infertility. They tried to have a baby for many years, but it just wasn’t happening for them. They both came to a place of surrendering their plan to God’s will. Here’s an excerpt from what Kip shared last March:

There was a chasm between our plan and God’s will. We have been unable to conceive a child. And that was God’s will for us. We are commanded to give thanks for this and to be joyful. We knew it would be painful to move away from our desire but we rested in this verse because we were moving closer to God. And today we feel joyful. We are incredibly thankful for God to have put us on this path.

Now we wait. We joyfully prepare our hearts to be matched with a birth mother. We wait to meet the child God has chosen for us – our child. We are truly joyful that we will have the opportunity to love and support a child. We know that without adoption this opportunity may be lost to us. And while we are joyful, we are also aware of another loss. Our hearts ache for the mother of our child, who will experience profound loss when she places her child for adoption. We pray that she too will find joy. We are profoundly thankful for her because she will shepherd this child through the most vulnerable time of its young life. She too is an integral participant in God’s plan for our child. And now we wait – joyfully.

Fast forward later that summer. I was at an event in our Georgia listening area. I had a sweet listener come up to me and say, “you tell your friends that I am praying for them and their future baby every. single. day! It’s happening for them. I feel it. They’re never far from my thoughts. I’ve adopted three children myself.”

Fast forward to Fall. I am sitting at my kitchen table returning email one afternoon, and THIS text pops up on my phone:

The emotions that were felt that day are simply indescribable! The season of waiting was over. I remember calling Caroline, Hope’s younger sister, and just crying and screaming into the phone. We had prayed and waited and prayed and waited. For years!

Hope & Kip were now the proud parents of a sweet baby girl! We celebrated last year with a huge baby shower. I kid you not, I’ve never seen so many women at one shower. Just proof positive of how incredibly loved this family is. We prayed a blessing over this child, and it was a moment that marked each of us. They have both said on multiple occasions they now understand the wait. They had to wait for her! All the puzzle pieces fit. And the hole that was in their hearts is no longer there. They both just beam with pure joy! It’s so heartening to witness. They are incredible parents! Just the other day Kellie sent me a video of Kip playing with his daughter. It was the cutest thing ever. It’s a small glimpse of this side of heaven.

I asked Hope if I could share this full circle moment here for Mother’s Day weekend, and she said, “Yes, absolutely! And please let everyone know how much we appreciate everyone praying for us. Their prayers were surely felt.”

Happy FIRST Mother’s Day, Hope!
{And, Kip, Happy almost FIRST Father’s Day to you, too!}
I love y’all so so much!