Happy First, Miles Dietrich! / Grateful and Rejoicing

A year ago (almost to the minute as I write this), I walked into the labor and delivery floor at OSF St. Francis in Peoria. A couple hours away from home, back in the hospital where Clive was delivered.  We felt more assured that the connected Children’s Hospital would be able to handle any unexpected …

Tools for Coping in Crisis

The last month has been a whirlwind! Not only do I have a newborn, the coronavirus has hit the world with crazy force. I spent the first couple weeks just soaking in all the information. I'm interested in the science behind it, the societal impact, and figuring out how to stay safe. Then it had …

another baby George!

We’re grateful for the children God has given us to love. Our first baby would be five, Clive would be four, Winnie would be three, and Corrie is two. For being a household with just one crazy 2 year old running around, we carry the unseen fullness of more. Sometimes our hearts feel spent with …

Adoption is an Over-Simplified Answer to Abortion

The legislation in NY allowing for full-term abortions has caused a variety of reactions: disgust, anger, indignation, judgement, sadness, silence, even validation.  Many people have reacted with a simple and heartfelt response: “adoption is the answer.” While I agree it is part of the answer, I believe it is an extremely over-simplified response to this …

motherhood and mother’s day

It's Mother's Day 2018, and I'm thinking of the past few mother's days:One waiting for pregnancy.One grieving a baby lost in miscarriage.One in the NICU with Clive.One grieving Clive and growing Winnie.One grieving Clive and Winnie and awaiting adoption.And this one, missing Clive and Winnie deeply, holding Coralie, and thinking of my unique version of …

meet Coralie!

 Hello, I’m back after quite a long hiatus!   We have exciting news to share that we have a sweet baby girl named Coralie in our home. Coralie Marie George joined us on July 20, 2017.  We’re in love.  She’s so sweet, and huggable, and kissable.  And we got to take her HOME!  She’s now four months …

happy birthday, winnie.

Sweet Winnie.It’s your first birthday.  I can’t even believe it.This year has been different than last year in many, many ways.  I’ve had to remind myself that it is okay that I’ve had trouble remembering you without the pain associated in losing you.  I’ve had to remind myself that I don’t owe it to anyone …

Adoption Update + Fundraising

It’s been a few months since we last updated about our adoption.  We’ve had a lot of time waiting, and unfortunately our homestudy (approval to adopt) is not yet complete.  We’ve gotten caught in the midst of some staffing changes at the agency we are using for a homestudy, and it’s taken quite a lot …

the in-between, the saturday, the long wait

We were at our finally-met-in-person (!) friends’ church this weekend in NYC.  David and his band, The Brilliance wrote a beautiful song for Clive 2 years ago while we were in the hospital.  It was so good to finally connect with them.  Their music has been such a gift to us.  From the crying out …

struggling to pray | by Sam

This may come as a surprise, or this might be the most obvious thing in the world, but Rachel and I have both struggled with anger at God, and are in the midst of struggling with anger at God. Except, (and I’m speaking for myself here) I’m not even sure anger is the right word, …