It's Here!!!!! (Book Ordering Instructions)

When we look back one year ago, it is unbelievable to see where God has brought us. Everything that we are celebrating today and looking forward to in the future is because of the journey He has brought us on. We never would have imagined in a million years to be where we are today.

• Expecting a baby in October, carried by amazing couple whom we never would have met otherwise.
• The opportunity to be able to talk about our Dani Grace with thousands of viewers because a news station wants to cover our story.
• The messages and notes we've received from people all over the world who have heard and been encouraged by our story.
• And now, after a year of writing, correcting, proofing, working with the publisher, our book has finally arrived. MarySusan's dad (with the help of MarySusan) has finished and published the book. 

God has done, and is continuing to do, sooooo much with us! We are so excited that we will now be able to share Dani Grace's little life with people everywhere who will read about what God has done through us and our little girl over the past year. This book captures that story.

Ordering information: 

The cost of the book is $10. If you are non-local and need us to ship it to you, it will be an additional $4 (for up to 5 books) to help cover some of the shipping cost. We're not in this for the money. The purpose of this book is to help and encourage people who may be going through their own rough journeys and to glorify God by sharing how He has brought us through ours. So, if you can't afford the $10, or you just want to give this book to someone who is struggling and could really use the encouragement, please let us know and we will be happy to provide you with a copy anyway.

People with whom we have regular contact - MarySusan and I (as well as our parents) will be carrying books with us, so just ask us for one.

Local friends and family who we may not see on a regular basis:

• Email us at: danigracefoundation@gmail.com
• Give me your name, contact info and number of books you'd like.
• We will try to work out a plan to get books to you without you having to pay for shipping.

Non-Local friends and family:

• Click on the "Buy Now" button to the right at the top of blog (under the picture of the book, may not show in mobile version)
• That will take you to our Paypal account:
• Enter the number of books you wish to order on the left side and click "update". it should calculate shipping.
• On the right, either click "Pay with Paypal account (if you have one) or "Pay with debit or credit card" (or "bank account, but having worked in banking, I don't recommend that). 
• Enter your card information, name, adress, etc then click "pay now".
• PLEASE NOTE: Shipping is only a flat $4 for UP TO 5 BOOKS!!!
• That means if you are in a location where several of you will be ordering books, consolidate your order and you can order up to 5 books and only pay $4 shipping. Order 6-10 books and it's only $8 for shipping, etc...

After reading our book, please feel free to send us a message, email, or comment here any ways that it may have blessed you. We look forward to seeing how God will continue to use our little girl's story to bring glory to Him!

See You Soon!!

We have some big news to share and we couldn't think of a better day to share it!! We have the hope and assurance of seeing Dani Grace again because of this day. This day on which Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death, and giving us that victory. Because of that, we KNOW we will hold our little girl again........

So it is on this day that we'd like to announce the soon-coming book:

MarySusan and her dad started writing this book about our story last summer. It's been complete since December and is at the publisher RIGHT NOW!!! It should be released for sale in the next few weeks. We were going to wait until it was out before announcing it, but MarySusan and I were talking about it today and thought what better day to announce the book about the hope we have, than the day on which we celebrate that hope!! 

Don't worry, we will post details when the book is ready for sale, so keep your eyes open for that.

Happy Easter Everyone!!! :)

It takes a village....

 

You've heard the saying "It takes a village to raise a child." Well, in our situation, we could adapt that and say it takes a village to CREATE a child. But it doesn't. It only takes our GOD. Psalm 139:13 says, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb." So while we may have had a small village of people who worked very hard to do a lot of things to give us this dream....we know that our baby (or babies) wasn't made by any doctors in a lab, medicines we took, or special procedures that were done. Our baby was "fearfully and wonderfully" knitted together in the womb by the hand of God. Please don't misunderstand me.....we are so so so so so thankful for all the doctors and nurses that have used modern medical science to get us to this point. It has been a small "village" of people that have helped us along this journey. But MarySusan and I know that while human doctors can do everything in the world to make life possible......they still can't create it. It's God who knits the baby in the womb and breathes into it the breath of life, and so we have to praise Him for what he has done.

My point is this:

WE'RE EXPECTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know......maybe I should have led with that??? :) We don't have an exact date yet, but sometime in October (maybe September if it's multiples) Autumn will be "Delivering Hope". :)

Extreme Babysitting

Well....it's done!! Today was Phase 2 and we were in Charlottesville bright and early this morning with Autumn and Donovan. Once again, God was ahead of us and already working......everything looked even better than we hoped and the transfer went without a hitch! We will keep you posted on the results!!

 

We have been so blessed by this couple. Their willingness and desire to "babysit" our child for the first nine months, leaves us stunned. Such a gracious and selfless act, wanting nothing in return other than to change our lives.....we are so thankful for the way God has brought them into our lives and are so excited to be on this journey together!

 

 

Here we go......

Well, it's time. After months of praying, planning, and paying (see what I did there??), it's here. The moment that 1 year ago was the absolute farthest thing from our minds. Something we never would have thought we'd even be considering, much less doing. But God has a different plan sometimes. And sometimes it's different, unconventional, "out-of-the-box", even crazy......but that's how He likes to do things sometimes. He's so much BIGGER than we think. Not just in size, strength, and wisdom.....but BIGGER in thought, and plan, and dream. He's got an enormously HUGER (I know that's not a word, but I was overusing "bigger") plan than we can even begin to see. Hindsight is always 20/20, and we may not even be able to see everything until we get to Heaven, but I know that when we get there, and we look down on our lives from His viewpoint, I think we're going to have an "ah-ha" moment. We're going to say "oh.....wow.....I see what you were doing there…..." Because He's wiser, remember??

Sorry.....I got sidetracked. (Obviously MarySusan isn't writing this….:) Anyway, I was announcing something........oh yeah. It's time!!! Starting today, we will be going through the medical procedures we’ve been working towards and we would appreciate your prayers over the next few days! After next week, it's just like any other pregnancy....NORMAL…..and we should know soon if we're having a baby!!! Or two........or three.......or four.............we’ll see. :)

So please be praying with us that all goes smoothly for MarySusan and Autumn. We are very excited to see what God is going to do through all this, and check back for updates over the coming weeks!! :)

Moving Forward: Our response to a gift

Note: If you are new to our Journey, or have just recently started following our story, I would encourage you to go back and read this blog from the beginning to fully understand the journey God has brought us on.


"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known MY name."  Psalm 91:14

GRACE. That is how I sum up the last few months. By His grace, God has allowed us to continue to heal from our separation from Dani Grace. And He has allowed me to feel His love deep in my heart. I have graciously become aware of how my Lord has drawn me closer to Him, when I could have so easily strayed by own choice. It is a little overwhelming sometimes to look back and remember the dark days immediately following our loss...and to look at how God has protected my heart and become my true HOPE in the midst of pain. I am naturally a pretty private person. But when it comes to our journey, I must admit that my desire to share what God has done ultimately wins out. 

"Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make HIS power known."  Psalm 106:8

During our recent Missions Conference at church, I was struck by the view from my seat.  BY FAITH...For Generations Yet to Come. How fitting for our current situation.  When I was told in February that I would no longer have the ability to carry children, I would have never thought that the Lord was already working out our next step in our journey of faith.  But as my mom has said so often...the Lord goes before us.

A friend from college came to visit me in the spring and said she had an opportunity to share with me. One of her friends from her church had heard our story and had been praying for us.  AND she wanted to offer to carry our child for us since I no longer could. I sat there in complete and utter disbelief. All I could think was -- why would someone give that much of themselves to a total stranger?
Interestingly enough, the doctors had suggested that to us previously. But that was too "out of the box" for me, and I had told Brandon then that I would not even consider it unless...and I went on and on listing things that could never happen -- at least in my mind. Well, Autumn checked off EVERY box.

In her own words:

     Have you ever had a desire in your heart to fulfill a need for someone? Have you ever known here was a bigger purpose for your life but you weren’t sure how it would fall in to place? I have. I have known for years now that there was a desire in my heart to change someone’s life, to be a key partner in a life altering sequence of events. I have told my husband, my family, my dear friends and relatives for years that I really felt drawn to be a surrogate. After several years of wondering who it would be, how I would know, and being blessed with my own two children, it all fell in to place. I had spoken to a dear friend about being a surrogate for her, but she wasn’t ready, and it just didn’t quite fit. Little did I know that in the next few weeks a prayer request from our women’s group would open the doors for me. MarySusan and Brandon were placed on our prayer list as they dealt with the unfortunate circumstances surrounding their sweet baby girl, Dani Grace. My heart was burdened for this couple and I just felt this overwhelming pull towards their story and understanding their situation. I contacted a mutual friend of ours, and pretty soon I felt in my heart that this couple was my “match”. I waited a while for MarySusan to reach out to me. My offer was known, but her heart was unsure. After a few short emails I let my family know that I was going to offer to be her surrogate. They all thought I was just making conversation and sharing empty promises. I think MarySusan thought that too. My husband didn’t take me seriously either. A few weeks later we planned to meet at a local pizzeria and on the way Donovan reminded me he just wasn’t so sure that this was my best idea. I assured him that I wasn’t in it if he wasn’t in it, but I also knew that God would change his heart if this was his will. Needless to say, just a few minutes after meeting them and hearing about their story and how we seemed to fit so well in to it Donovan stated, “God wants us to help you have your baby”... and there you have it! We are so excited and blessed to be part of this journey. God has made it evident that this was His plan.
    
     How do I know that this is God’s plan? He’s made it clear with every step we take. You need examples you say? Here are just a few, the best day for us all to meet with the counselor was October 24. The counselor answered the phone telling me how hard it would be to match our schedules and reminded me that it may take months. The first date she offered me was October 24, exactly what we needed. That isn’t enough? The results were to take two weeks, and we received our official results in less than one week. These results opened the door to schedule our medical exam. The medical exam usually takes months to orchestrate. I called on a Thursday, they saw me that next Wednesday. We completed our medical exam and counseling in less time than usually just the counseling takes. And there have been other confirmations as well. God’s timing is always perfect, and He has made it evident through every step that his hand is in this. Jeremiah 29:11 states,” 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.” And we cannot wait to be a part of MarySusan and Brandon’s future.
 
-- Autumn and Donovan Anderson

So, after praying for months and literally taking ONE STEP at a time, we are sure of the Lord's leading.  He has confirmed it all along the way.  It has been beyond our wildest dreams, but so amazing the relationship that has unfolded between the Andersons and us.  This will be our genetic child, yet brought into the world with the help of an amazing woman.  What an extroardinarily, beautiful gift.
We are letting you know of this with the purpose of asking for your prayers.  Please pray specifically for the health and protection of Autumn, and the development of our future child.  Please also pray that God would provide the financial resources.  This is a complicated process with many moving parts. But as I was reminded in church during our conference: "When God creates a need, He always provides the resources to meet that need."  We move forward...

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                                 "In quietness and trust is your strength."  Isaiah 30:15

Remembering and looking for blessings

One year ago today, I sat down, weak-kneed at the sight of "plus sign."  After 3 years of waiting and healing after our first baby, God had granted us a "yes." I hurried out to get a card for Brandon...a "Daddy" card. An instant feeling of fulfillment and deep joy took over my heart for the next 5 1/2 months. It felt like coming to the end of a very long, hard journey.

But the journey is never really over until we get to heaven, is it? Next week will make 8 months of travelling down another path. A fork in the road of learning to live without our Dani Grace here.  God is granting healing and beginning to answer my prayer to restore my joy.  I still have hard days when the tears won't stop flowing.  (Just sit beside me in church and you'll see the evidence of that!) And I miss my girl every day. My thoughts are constantly with her.  But she has caused me to think more about how wonderful heaven must be. Beyond anything that words could adequately describe. 

I've been blessed to get to know other special people who are learning to walk this same path. Somehow hearts are instantly bonded by knowing others understand the deep level of grief you have had.  God's complete grace has protected me from allowing this part of our journey to drive me away from Him. And it very well could have. So today brings bittersweet memories. And requires a little more of a fight for that joy I long for. But thankfully, one day, all these tears will be wiped away. And I will see the face of my children and our Savior. Revelation 21:4.