Our story is not totally unique in that we wanted to be parents, but after six years of marriage, we had not been blessed with children. Then, as now, we truly couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to end the life of a child when all we wanted was to have one ourselves.
My wife and I chose to seek help and after nearly a year were able to achieve a pregnancy. To say it was easy would be a lie. My wife spent the first two weeks of the pregnancy in a hospital two hours from home due to overstimulation of the drugs that were used to make her ovaries produce eggs.
At 20 weeks, due to different medical issues, we and many prayer warriors throughout the country were on their knees praying for the pregnancy to sustain until 36 weeks.
At 29 weeks, 6 days, Jennifer was placed on strict bed rest.
At 30 weeks, 4 days, Jennifer was admitted into the hospital and placed in the labor and delivery unit where she would be confined to bed rest for the next nine days. During this time period she would also became sick with pneumonia.
At 31 weeks, 6 days, on Feb. 11, 2009, my wife delivered two babies…a boy we named John Colvin and a girl we named Sidney Elizabeth at 2 lbs., 12 oz. and 2 lbs.,10 oz respectively. They were delivered by emergency C-section and were rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of our hospital. We weren’t able to hold either of our children until three days later. Six weeks later we brought them home for the first time.
I remember vividly attending the first ultrasound and listening to a baby’s heartbeat and then being overjoyed and overwhelmed at the same moment when we realized there were in fact two heartbeats. After the next ultrasound I was so excited that I posted it to my YouTube account to share with everyone our exciting news. (video – http://goo.gl/owCP4)
Today we have two perfectly healthy children. In a few weeks we will celebrate their 4th birthdays with their friends and family surrounding them. Both are so different. Sidney is our tiny cheerleader. Her vocabulary and reasoning surprise us everyday. She has such a heart for other children and looks forward to one day being a mommy herself. J.C. is our rough and tough, soccer-playing little boy. He always wants to help in anyway he can, from physical chores to snuggling up with you when it’s been a hard day.
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of our United States handed down a controversial and still often talked about ruling simply known now as Roe v. Wade. With this ruling women had the “choice” to abort their baby.
I thank God every day for my wife and for the fact that in her mind there was no “choice.” Despite how sick she was throughout the pregnancy, despite bed rest and pneumonia, she knew that she was already a mother and that her job was to protect our children at ALL cost. Life is precious and as parents God has entrusted us to raise our children we are blessed with.
We understand and will celebrate now more than ever the Sanctity of Human Life this Sunday, January 20, 2013. Join with us.
