It’s been a few months since I have updated and it has been a crazy few months at that! The day before Thanksgiving Kristofer accepted a job offer and we began the process of relocating to South Carolina. We moved on December 30 and have now - for the most part - settled into our new home. I still have a lot of painting to do as I am not a fan of white walls in my house, but we are getting there. I do miss my family and friends but I know there is a reason why God has moved us up here and I am doing my best to adjust accordingly.
Now onto more exciting news in the Ranström house - God has changed the path that He wants us to take in regards to our infertility problems. Our original plan was to start IVF by the end of the year but God showed us another route He wants us to take. Back in the middle of October God started putting adoption on our hearts and minds. We attended an adoption event on November 1 and left the event knowing that God had called us to adopt!
We are now focusing on private adoption rather than IVF. Lord willing, we will try IVF in a year or two but for now we feel that adoption is what we need to do. We have not started the adoption process as of yet but we hope to start in the next couple of months; with the move, we were set back a little bit on our plan. Another aspect that is slowing the process is due to the high cost of adoptions - it can range anywhere from $15,000-25,000. We are hoping that as soon as our house sells in Florida we will be able to use some of the money from that to go toward our adoption costs. Now we just need our house to sell!
We are so excited about this new path and are so looking forward to having a sweet baby join our family. Our longing for a child has only grown stronger over these past few months. There are times where I still struggle with the fact that we still don’t have a child. I still have sad days, or even weeks as I long for my baby. I have moments of sadness and annoyance in knowing that either way we go in order to have a child - whether IVF or adoption - it is incredibly intrusive. I have moments of jealousy that a lot of people can conceive a child on their own without having to go through treatments or home studies. However, through these moments of struggle God shines through and reminds me that He has a plan. We are so very excited for His plan. This is our personal journey that He is molding together and through the dirty and ugly moments that I have, His beautiful plan always shines through.
Thank you again for all of your love and support during this journey of ours. We are so thankful to those who have donated and for those who continue to pray for us. Thank you!
Thank you again for all of your love and support during this journey of ours. We are so thankful to those who have donated and for those who continue to pray for us. Thank you!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
