This year has been unbelievably full with so many wonderful things! Through newsletter snippets, and social media posts, lets recap all that has happened.

1/22/16

So looking forward to getting HOME!
Our biggest news we are thrilled to share is that God has miraculously sustained the life of our precious baby, and for two whole weeks now there has been NO bleeding or leaking of any kind! The large blood clot in Marie’s uterus was passed two weeks ago (surprising us all!) and things have only gotten better since. This last Tuesday evening when we went in for a follow-up ultrasound, the tech placed the probe on Marie’s stomach and immediately exclaimed, “Wow!” We all held our breath for a minute hoping it was a good, “wow.”  There is no more clot or bleeding, the womb has tightened back up to support baby as it should, and we are cleared to look into flights home within a couple of weeks.

As our 1 week of “vision trip” here in Thailand has extended to 7 weeks, we have had the opportunity to get to know the ministry in a whole new way. It has been a joy to serve in small ways, get to know the girls, pray for situations as they come up, and see the project from a multitude of angles. Even in this, God has continued to show us that He has a purpose for us being here longer than we expected.

We have also enjoyed magnificent amounts of family time! When we are home in our routines, Chris works all day of course. Lincoln has thoroughly enjoyed having Dad around at all hours of the day and we are so grateful for this extended time together.

2/3/16

God has sustained us through so much, and we have safely made it back to our home in South Carolina! Late last week we “snuck” back to this side of the globe to surprise Marie’s siblings by joining in the festivities as her brother, Luke, proposed to our new sister, Kim. This God ordained timing also allowed us to spend the weekend with Chris’ parents, here from Italy! As if all that is not enough, we were also able to celebrate Lincoln’s 1st birthday with BOTH sides of the family.

2/6/16

“Fain family Christmas!!! It was SO fun to finally get to celebrate with alllll the traditions and family time. Yes, we realize it’s February, and yes we LOVED finally getting our Christmas. Thanks to a wonderful family for waiting till we could get home to celebrate!”

 

 

In March we celebrated Easter, and the fact that we had made it well into the 3rd trimester: a feat no one had expected! At that point all we knew was that we had prayed our way through till 28 weeks, then to 30, and even to 32 whole weeks of keeping baby safe on the inside! God’s grace overwhelmed us yet again. And April brought an even bigger celebration when we realized we had made it to 35 weeks when doctors had been convinced we wouldn’t make it past 20 weeks.

“Can’t believe #babyvictory has already made it to 35 weeks! Figured it was probably time to get the essentials ready, so we have clean burp cloths, socks, blankets, and towels all ready for you kiddo! Not to mention your cozy cradle and teensy tiny diapers.😊 We love you baby cakes and the sooner you decide to get your little head down where it belongs, the better. Please and thank you!”

May was a month full of prayers yet again as we waited for Elaina to decide she was going to turn around. Endless exercises, contortions, appointments, and hoping finally got her out of breach position at 39 weeks. And then of course, she breezed right past her due date (after convincing everyone she’d be quite early) and made us all wait some more.

“Well, 1 day late but “baby victory” has thrived inside all the way (past) his/her due date! We honestly thought we’d have a preemie and God has seen fit to continue the miracles. Around here we have started praying this baby evacuate soon cause… Mommy is tired and we’re ready to meet him/her! Yet, we are overwhelmed with gratitude that we have made it this far. Happy 40 weeks, baby cakes! Now hurry up on out here and show us your sweet face!!!!!!!! (Please 😁)”

When June made it’s appearance, and we still didn’t have a baby, impatience kicked in.

“Castor oil smoothies and a big brother who likes to pull all the birth supplies out of the closet… These are the things 41 weeks of pregnancy have brought me. 😊 Praying for a baby this weekend and praying desperately we don’t see 42 weeks!!!”

This was posted at 9pm. Contractions started at 11pm. and Elaina was born at 1:30am on June 4th, 2016! We couldn’t believe we actually had a girl!

July was jam packed with family in and out of town, a wedding we participated in, a couple of trips, and a reunion weekend with dear friends. We’ve spent August preparing to launch into support raising in our “spare time” and we continue to stand amazed at how quickly both kids are growing and changing. Lincoln is starting to talk which is hilarious and so fun! He’s convinced he’s telling stories and “talks” his way through each day. He does say quite a few words clearly, but then fill in with a lot of gibberish. Elaina just started to roll over, and has held her head high since she was just a couple weeks old. She finds Lincoln quite entertaining and smiles huge grins at anyone who is willing to make eye contact. The two of them bring us so much joy!