On June 14, 2023, I delivered our third child, stillborn.
These past six weeks have held some of the deepest pain I have ever experienced. And while writing, for me, has always been therapeutic, I began to sense God’s leading to share our story. I just hope a mom out there - somewhere, anywhere - feels less alone about miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and/or stillbirth upon reading this.
Read MoreIt’s been ten months since I’ve shared anything on this blog. Ten months, too long. No blogs about Josiah and his cleft journey, no further pregnancy blogs, no baby Abner blogs (though he most certainly is now out of the womb, praise God, and growing like crazy), no ministry-related blogs, travel blogs, or recipe blogs. Nada.
I was on a flight to London in late June and I found myself looking around wondering…
Read MoreOn Wednesday, October 27th, Calvin and I headed to the medical imagining facility my OB/GYN sends all her patients to for their in-depth anatomy scan. Not only would we be finding out the gender of baby #2 during this visit, but also making sure baby was growing well and no cleft lip/cleft palate was detected.
Read MoreHave you ever thought about the fact that while in the water in order to drift all you have to do is. . .
nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do nothing and you drift.
It may be slow. Probably subtle. A little wave here, another wave there. But nonetheless, if you do nothing, you’ll drift. The same thing happens to us spiritually. When we do nothing, we can drift away. And that is undoubtedly the resounding heart beat of Christine Caine’s new book, “How Did I Get Here?”.
Read MoreBe advised, Josiah’s palate repair was the hardest thing we’d done on this journey so far. This read may seem heavy, really heavy. But by the end you, parents to cleft warriors or faithful reader, will find hope. As we have. Because as dark as the night may be, the light always overcomes it. Now, let the hour by hour breakdown of this surgery day begin.
Read MoreI’m just going to get right to it, over the past holiday season our family experienced a big transition. And I’m excited to finally talk about it with you all in this way! Often times we only talk about God “opening doors” in the sense of a new door to walk through. But have you ever considered God may open a door in a way of communicating, “that was it” “you’re done here” “let’s move on to the next thing” “time to go” “walk away” “you’re work here is done”?
Read MoreWhat a crazy time, right?
Life has changed for many of us, for some in more drastic ways than others, but we are all still doing our best to get adjusted. Whether we like it or not, this is our current reality. I, like I’m sure many, sometimes have to combat negativity and the temptation to just sit on the couch with the news or Netflix running 24/7 and wait for everything to end and then go out and do all the things like normal. But instead of giving in to laziness, I have challenged myself to at the very least implement some healthy daily habits to help me make the most of every day. Yes, Carpe Diem during a global pandemic!
Read MoreI wanted to share Josiah’s lip surgery a little more in detail for those interested. My hopes with this blog post is to enlighten any of our friends and family or future cleft parents curious about how surgeries go for cleft cuties. I’ve included pictures and video, as well as a packing list and tips for any parent of a cleft baby.
Read MoreHis birth story was nothing like I had imagined or planned. [Disclaimer: I plan to share it ALL. The good, the bad, the unforgettable. You’ve been warned.] And I think I’ve put off writing it out because perhaps it has been haunting me in a way. I mean, when you drive past the hospital you labored and delivered at and you start to get emotional 4 days postpartum, something may be up. And I don’t mean the happy emotional. . .
Read MoreHelloooooo 9 month of pregnancy (and swollen feet)!! We’re in the home stretch.
Odds are that you may be reading this while we’re in labor! We’re scheduled for an appointment with our doctor at 38 weeks, 6 days to see how I’m progressing. For the last two weeks I’ve been dilated 1 CM and we’ve agreed with our doctor to induce if I have not progressed any. So chances are….. we’re inducing TONIGHT! (6/20/19)
Read MoreI am officially in my 8th month of pregnancy and I can’t believe it!! Sometimes just the fact that I’m pregnant and that we’re going to be parents baffles me. But Praise God for His goodness and answered prayers! As promised, a cleft lip and cleft palate Q & A can be found at the end of this post. I am answering your questions regarding baby’s diagnosis.
Read MoreAt 19 weeks pregnant, Calvin and I headed to my doctor’s office for the anatomy scan. This is where we are able to see the baby through an ultrasound and where we’d normally find out the gender of our baby. However, just minutes after our ultrasound, our doctor had other news for us… she told us the ultrasound tech suspected a cleft lip on the right side of baby’s face.
Read MoreGet the matching outfits, prep the roast, plan for family coming in, clean the house for Easter lunch, get the baskets ready, hide the eggs…
We fall into the Hallmark holiday musts that we hardly observe the true meaning of a sacred holiday. And how on earth is GOOD Friday even actually good? How do we observe or yet, celebrate a day when the Son of man was beaten, hung on a cross, crucified and left to die?
Read MoreHere we are again! Four more weeks have passed and it’s time for the next bumpdate. I’m officially at the 28 week mark, also known as, THE THIRD TRIMESTER! Wowza, time just flies. In this post I’m also sharing YOUR tips and advice for mamas entering their third trimester! I can’t believe we are just 2 months from meeting baby Williams.
Read MoreFriends, I’m going to go ahead and start this off by asking y’all give your girl some grace here because this is my FIRST EVER recipe blog post! It is seriously ridiculously easy. You can go crockpot style and allow everything to slowly cook throughout the day, or if out of nowhere a cold front comes through or the rain begins to pour and you are instantly in the mood for something warm and savory, just throw all of it in a big pot and within minutes the soup will be ready to devour! Trust me, you can make it.
Read MoreA lot has happened since the halfway mark (20 weeks). Calvin felt the baby kick for the first time! We took maternity photos and I’m including a sneak peek of them in this post! :) We also got a start on our registries and I was able to attend The Mother of All Baby Showers event in Houston with my sweet mama. Now, time for the rest of this bumpdate:
Read MoreMy halfway point #bumpdate is finally here! I can’t believe I’m halfway done with this pregnancy. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m pregnant to begin with. I’m excited to answer questions I’ve been getting about the pregnancy, baby, Calvin and I and our journey into parenthood, as well as, share products and resources that have been game changers. Here we go!
Read MoreNovember 28, 2016 my husband and I began trying to conceive. October 26, 2018 I took a pregnancy test at home, alone, and it was positive!! That day was a Friday. I held it inside for ONE WHOLE DAY. How? I have no clue. But I do know I wanted the moment I told Calvin to be special…
Read MoreI DON’T HAVE THIS DOWN.
Hear me out. I still struggle to understand every single day that my identity is God given, not self or others given. Let me explain…
Read MoreCrystal Williams is a writer, speaker, and mentor focused on delivering honest stories to encourage others in their walks of faith.
