Our Story....

For those who may have missed it or just want another opportunity to view, here is the story as it aired on WSLS last week. Lindsey did an amazing job and we are so grateful to her and WSLS for allowing us to share our story!

Colin Anderson Williams 9/25/15

October 17th, 2013.  The day we found out that we were expecting Danielle.  I remember sitting in the recliner looking out at our beautiful maple in the backyard, its leaves aglow with gorgeous hues of deep crimson. The fall season has always been my favorite.  But that morning especially, the crisp air went straight to refreshing my soul. I had such a feeling of contentment. Fulfillment. Of something -- someone -- long awaited and prayed for. Fulfillment that would still leave a longing in my heart.

                                           

Two years later to the day.  This is my view. A view that literally causes tears to well up in my eyes.  Because now I actually have that fulfillment WITH me. In my arms. I have his beautiful eyes and smile to look at. And it absolutely captures and overwhelms me. I have gone to the passage above hundreds of times in the last year. I began praying it even before we were pregnant with Colin. Isaiah 64:3-4. "...when YOU did awesome things which we did not expect."  Enough said. This whole chapter in our lives was not expected. God completely unfolded it right before us.  "...WHO acts in behalf of the one who waits for HIM."  I marked this passage in November of last year. We had met the Andersons at this point and felt it was God's leading to move forward in this process. So I asked God to continue to work on our behalf. And He did in a marvelous way.

It's been 3 weeks of absolutely soaking in this precious bundle that God has loaned us. There are so many emotions that I have experienced in the last few weeks. I haven't written a lot yet about our precious one, because quite frankly...I still cannot comprehend it or put it accurately into words. (And of course there's that "no sleep" thing which makes it a bit hard to write coherently!)  I still have moments when I hear something about parenting a baby, and all of a sudden realize --"Hey! I'm included in that now."  My heart spent so long being guarded and wishing to be part of that mommy club, who could talk about sleepless nights and midnight feedings. I still miss our 3 in heaven (our first baby, Dani, and Colin's twin), and my heart still hurts for those friends who are still waiting and asking God to fulfill their heart's desire.  I want you to know that I still pray for you in the middle of the night. Our past journey has made holding this sweet Little Man that much more joyful. To the point of tears and the realization of...

Sacrifice. While we were waiting as Autumn endured a very LONG arduous labor, I had gone to the waiting room...completely overcome with tears at what was happening. We had sacrificed so much to get to this point. The Andersons had sacrificed so much. We've had to put a lot of trust in each other as couples. But I stood there thinking that this is one of the clearest pictures on earth that I have been given of what sacrifice is. Completely and totally God's love to me poured out through someone else. As  I looked at a gorgeous sunset out the window, I could not help but think of Jesus' love and death for me. I hope you get the gift of seeing such a clear picture of this in your life. 

We kept Little Man's name a secret till his birth...because I was pretty adamant that I wanted Autumn and Donovan to be the first to hear it. 

Colin. Meaning "People's Victory." He is a victorious chapter to our story. (And also the only name Brandon and I finally agreed on.) 

Anderson. Pretty self explanatory. After I cut the cord (an amazing experience), Autumn instantly asked his name. I got to tell her and Donovan that Colin would forever carry their name in honor of what they had done for us.  Yes, he is biologically ours. A precious, precious thing that every day we get to look at him and see the resemblance he holds to Dani Grace.  But he will also know this amazing family and their part in his life. 

Headed to the hospital!

 Up all night waiting for Little Man

 Siblings

The following photos courtesy of Mary Wall -- Because It's Joy Photography

 On Sister's blanket

We love you Colin Anderson Williams.

Mommy and Daddy

TBT (video version)

People love doing this "Throw-Back Thursday" thing every Thursday. As I was looking back at where we were a year ago around this time, I came across something that I had never posted publicly. Mostly because of me and my insecurities and that feeling of "I can't believe I did that in public..." that would come over me every time I watched it. But as I came across it again today, I realized that none of that matters. None of those reasons are good reasons to hide it. Because this Journey we're on isn't about ME. It's about what God did, and has done, and is continuing to do THROUGH us. I thought back to when I sang this last year....We hadn't even met Autumn and Donovan yet. We didn't know if we would ever have kids or not. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that only one year later we would be 23 weeks pregnant with our little boy. That a book would be published detailing our story and sharing the reason for the hope we have of seeing Dani Grace again. That a news crew would be following us around and letting us share what God has done with thousands of viewers. That we would have just filed paperwork for our non-profit organization, The Dani Grace Foundation, Inc. which is someday going to help other struggling couples start their own families. I mean...wow. A lot can change in one year!! But should I be surprised?? Should I really be this shocked?? After all.....isn't that simply What Faith Can Do???

So. Here it is. The one (and only) time you'll ever catch me singing outside of the shower. Please don't hold my very gifted and musically-inclined mother responsible....she tried. :)

(Posted with permission from Kutless...since it's their song and all).

It's a..........................

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words.......well here is a 5,000 word post!! :)

Autumn's reveal to us

His Easter outfit for next year

Our reveal to our families

We are sooooooo thankful for our "Little Man"!!! :)

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!! :)