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 MoreHardest secret to keep from y’all but n0w it’s out so let’s TALK about it! I figured a timeline may help break it all down and help keep me on track. (I’m prone to ramble, ha!) But whatever you do, please read until the end. I have something important to share down there.*
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 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 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 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 More That’s right! In case you didn’t know because you aren’t on social media or I haven’t seen you in person lately: WE’RE PREGNANT!! I have a lot to say about this so I hope you’re ready for some good reads that will be broken into multiple blog posts! ;) But before I start. . .
To anyone on the journey to parenthood I want to say: I see you.
I 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 MoreFriend, I get it. I've been there.
I was horrible at it, too. Reading the Bible was not my forte. I thought this struggle would go to the grave with me.
My last day as a 27 year old I was blessed with a sweet gift, the opportunity to share my testimony of faith with women of different ages, backgrounds, professions and denominations. We all gathered together for the Social Share Unplugged event hosted by Danelia from Beautiful Purpose. The room filled with amazing ladies from all over the Houston area and though most of us didn't know one another well...
what united us was our faith.
Read MoreI mean because if you're not listening to podcasts while you're cleaning, cooking, DRIVING, working out or whatever else, where you been, friend?!
My round up list of podcasts I'm enjoying are informative, mainly faith-based, and presented in a conversational type of way that makes it easy to follow while being challenged and inspired.
Read MoreEver lay in bed, starring up at the ceiling and questioning EVERYTHING? Yeah, me too. And while eventually I may overthink myself to sleep like little kids that cry themselves to sleep, I end up waking up feeling defeated. God's been working this out in me and I'm praying this is a timely message for SOMEBODY out there, too. Maybe you.
Read MoreI don't know what this is. Honestly, I struggle in being a perfectionist AND indecisive. Lord, help me. So providing that as some context, you could see why I wouldn't be lying to you when I confess that it takes me WEEKS to finish and PUBLISH a single blog post. But this one, this one just sort of spilled out. And then I hit publish (within the same hour)!!
Read MoreCrystal Williams is a writer, speaker, and mentor focused on delivering honest stories to encourage others in their walks of faith.
