Our Journey in Faith Continues

Hello family and friends!  It has been almost 3 years since posting to this blog.   Emily and I are celebrating our 6th anniversary and God has placed it on my heart the last few months to start writing to this blog again to share where our journey has gone and continuing to go.

Emily and I both have used FaceBook to share joys and struggles alike over the past three years.  I've been very much prompted over the last few months to start sharing again on this blog not just about a point in our marriage that started this blog, but to continue it as a way to share our faith and grow even more.  Our adoption of our wonderful son Shane was a huge faith builder in our Savior Jesus Christ as we learned to trust His guidance, provision, and love starting our family.  Since then we have grown in so many areas of our lives.  As Christians we are called to tell everyone we can the good news of the Gospel.   Just living our lives for Jesus has transformed us both so much on our faith journey both individually and now as we have become one under God in our marriage.  I pray when you read this that you are encouraged and your own faith in Christ is grown or even started if you don't have a personal relationship with Him!

Catching Up!!
So much has happened in three years since last writing to this blog.  Our son Shane kicked off our family growing as we had such struggles with fertility and being able to get pregnant.  What a joy he has been in our life and grown us personally as we are now parents.  Shane was named after my own biological brother who passed away to be with our Lord as an infant.  He would have been older than myself and it always struck me growing up when my family celebrated memorial day that there was something missing by my brother Shane not being around.  I understood that he was in Heaven with Jesus but that comfort didn't truly come until much later in my life.  Emily had the great idea of naming our son after him and it was a surprise to my family when we were matched with him.  My brother's memory now lives on in our son and I'd like to think his personality is what I would have imagined of my brother!

After we came home with Shane in the fall of 2012, Emily and I celebrated Thanksgiving that year with our families in a special way!  Christmas that year was also very special as we began to raise this young baby boy.  In the spring of 2013 Emily and I prayed about and decided to look back into fertility.  We explored with another doctor the possibility of having children.  God lead us to new Doctors that suggested we try doing an IUI.  All to our surprise and gratefulness the first time we tried it the timing was perfect and we were blessed with a pregnancy!  We couldn't believe it!  So the journey of that pregnancy lead us to natural child birth classes and adding space in Shane's room to have a 2nd child join our family.  On October 23rd Shane's little sister Ella Grace greeted us and our family grew.   We've been blessed to learn about God's design not just in child birth but parenting as well since then.  Shane and Ella have taught each other and us both.  Joy and peace was very much given to us from Jesus.

As our family grew I personally started having a lot of struggles with my job and health.  I was sleeping very sporadically and became very stressed.  There were a lot of self imposed causes for that now that I look back.  Much of it was once again a journey in my personal faith in Jesus to trust Him and surrender more of myself and my life to Him.  Being a new parent brought much of this to my attention.  I couldn't dig into my job the way I used to and needed to prioritize my roles as a husband and father appropriately.  However, the demands and changes in my job lead me to more times of sleepless nights due to being on-call and just lack of enjoyment of what I did.  I was given a burst of trying to improve and enjoy my job more and then it happened.  On June 16th of 2014 while at work I had a grand maul seizure and woke up to paramedics at my desk.  I was in shock as the EMTs took me to a local hospital here in Wichita.  My wife was called and came to the hospital after dropping our kids off at a friends house.  I could tell Emily was worried.  That very morning I had spoke with an old boss of mine and a co-worker from Cargill IT in which I asked about a position that was open at NetApp as Technical Support Engineer.  I had been getting up the courage to get my resume updated months before this.  After the conversations I had with them that morning I had decided to apply.   Having the seizure that afternoon was a culmination in years of working up the courage to make a change.  It was very much a trust factor that I could do something new and still provide for my family.  Having the seizure that day in June just confirmed the spiritual warfare that was going on.  Once again our family's faith was grown and God provided during that time.  I applied for the job from the hospital bed, got an interview, and accepted a position in a 2 week time frame.  So much stress was relieved when I left and started a position that was a good fit for me.  Due to the seizure I wasn't able to drive for six months and slowly found gracious people that gave me rides to and from work and being was dependent on them to help me get to and from my new job thus providing for my family.  During that time I developed a closer relationship with friends and family that helped with giving rides.  I especially was blessed by a friendship with Napoleon (Toby) Austin who faithfully and by himself got me to work every morning while I found 5 people to spread out the load of bringing me home.  We had such faith bolstering discussions as Toby took me to work every week day morning during those 6 months.  My family was so appreciative of his faithfulness and friendship that continues today.  I found out that the light headed episodes I was having 2 years prior to my grand maul seizure were petite maul seizures.  The doctors never could find a reason for them and thankfully a good friend and brother in Christ, Kelly Hansen, came to the hospital and prayed with me.  We both felt the presence of the Holy Spirit was strong and I believe firmly to this day that a miracle happened during that prayer and by many prayers lifted up by others.  After that the doctors have never been able to find anything wrong that would cause the seizures.  The best prognosis they could give was stress and sleep deprivation.  Regardless I got better and began driving again!  I continue to enjoy learning and helping others at my new job as they train me and I get experience working with a great team.   Most importantly I only work Monday through Friday 7am to 4pm.  No more night and weekends has relieved a huge amount of stress and allowed me to fulfill my roles as husband and dad so much better.

Yesterday October 15th was pregnancy and infant loss awareness day.  Emily's dear friend posted to Facebook about their journey having a family and the loss of infants through miscarriage.  It has been something that they shared openly along with other friends of ours.  We've prayed for them and it has been a testament to other couples.  With that in mind brings me to the next point in our journey that we haven't shared much outside of our biological and church family.  After adopting our son, Emily having surgery for fertility, and a successful IUI we were blessed to be able and get pregnant naturally without any medical intervention!  In December of 2014 it happened and we were so pleasantly surprised to find out in January 2015.  We let both sides of our family know that a 3rd child was coming and they rejoiced with us!  Emily and I decided to delay celebrating our 5th anniversary in October of 2014.  A trip to Disney World was planned for February 2015 for just Emily and I.  Before we left on that trip Emily was concerned and a 5 week sonogram appointment was scheduled.  It was early in the pregnancy and a sonogram revealed a little heart beat of our baby.   We were given the precautions to take and Emily did a great job at her pre-natal care as with our daughter Ella.  We prayed and said good bye to our children as they had some quality time with nana.   Emily and I left on our 5th anniversary trip early in February to Disney World rejoicing the wonderful changes in our lives and seeing God work in so many ways through us and the Church.  We had a wonderful time in Florida and got to reminisce on our last five years of marriage and life together.  It was wonderful that we were together, as on Sunday before we returned home Emily came out of the bathroom crying.  She said she was bleeding heavily.  Her pregnancy symptoms had gone away the days before.  She knew that the baby was mis-carrying.  We held each other tightly and cried.  We prayed for comfort and peace during that time.  We know that our child was received home to Jesus and that God was not the cause for it.  Grief did strike us and fortunately our faith once again got us through that time as is promised.  We were welcomed home and loved on by those that we shared the loss with.  Emily's OB doctor confirmed what she knew to be true.   We were both numb for awhile and grieved differently.  It lead us to some Christian counseling with a pastor at our church.  We trusted in the Lord and stepped forward as a husband and wife determined to not forget our child.  We were blessed to be able to get pregnant naturally and that gave us hope for the future.  So now we have been blessed to be the parents of 3 children and will never forget our baby.  We will see our child again someday when we are received into Heaven as well and look forward to the day.

So now shift forward a few months.  We've worked on healing our marriage through the only one that can.  Jesus used many people in our life to do that.  He grew our faith and as it says in Romans 8:28

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

That is so true in our case.  The loss of a baby led Emily and I to love each other deeper and renew our faith in Jesus deeper.  We've become better parents for Shane and Ella.  We have a renewed passion for our roles at Hope Christian Church along with gaining a better vision and understanding in what it means to live a balanced life.  What's important to us and how we prioritize things has definitely changed since the miscarriage.  So low and behold after only a few months Emily was pregnant again with our 4th child!  Wow what a confirmation and validation to prayers lifted up and answered.  This time the pregnancy has been very healthy and we are celebrating the births and arrivals of not just our 2nd daughter but the children of many friends.   So as I write this Emily and I are celebrating our 6th anniversary, the birthdays of our children, and the coming of another daughter joining the family.  We are passionate more than ever in our relationship with Jesus which overflows into our marriage, parenting, friendships, and our roles in spreading the Gospel through Hope Christian Church and our daily lives.   I  personally have a renewed passion to grow my faith deeper than ever and spread the fruits of the Holy Spirit to others.  Looking forward to what is in store next!  Stay tuned.

God bless,
Shannon and Emily Wiedeman

Introducing our son Shane Jaycen Wiedeman!!

It's official! Today papers were signed, and what a praise! We cannot thank everyone for all your prayers!  The birth mom contacted the social worker today in Michigan.  They made it to the hearing at 2:30 pm and it went well!  There is now a waiting period for ICPC (Interstate compact of the placement of Children) to clear between Michigan and Kansas, a process that can take anywhere from 5-10 business days.

We can now introduce to you our son Shane Jaycen Wiedeman born 9-30-2012.  Here are some pictures from our time taking care of him during temporary custody. 

Thank you all for the prayers and support!

Love, Shannon and Emily Wiedeman

Court hearing update!

Great news in response to the recent prayer request.  Over the last two days a process server was able to physically get in touch with the birth mom.  She is still wanting to continue with the adoption.  Our social worker here has enough information to submit to the court and is hoping to have a hearing next Tuesday!  Please continue to pray for that all to work out according to plan.  Praise God!

Trusting daily,
Shannon and Emily

Waiting on the court hearing

Family and friends.  It seems like just yesterday we got the call and packed up quickly to head out of Wichita.  We can't believe that it's already been over a week!  Emily's brother Jake and his wife Lauren have been the hosts with most.  It's been great spending time with them and the accommodations have been perfect to take care of the little guy.  Shannon has been working when he can remotely and using vacation when he cannot.  Emily has also been working remotely for Hope Christian Church when she can and taking care of our son full time when Shannon is working.  Together we've been learning to take shifts at night for feedings and diaper changes.  It has been a pure joy as we get to know our son better day and night!  :)  It was mentioned last time but we just want to reiterate the location of this adoption has been just another perfect provision from our heavenly Father.

Our son to be has been great!  He passed his doctor checkups and a visit from a nurse to our location with flying colors!  The doctor we spoke with at the children's clinic said he is definitely a miracle baby.  She has worked at the Detroit children's clinic for 5 years and has never seen an infant that has gone through that much respiratory trauma after birth and appear to be developing so well this quickly.   We've been warned he may have some learning disabilities but he also may very well develop fine neurologically.  All one month indicators are showing he is developing great.  The doctor said to get him enrolled in an early developmental program with a pediatrician back in Wichita as soon as we get back.  So huge praises for that miracle and we will be willing to deal with whatever is needed to take care of him.

So that brings us to our current update on the adoption.  We still only have temporary custody.  The court date for the birth mom to terminate parental rights has not happened yet.  The earliest the court date would have taken place is Monday, Nov. 5.  Social workers have touched based with the birth mom last week but that was before Thursday.  Since then the court contacted our social worker on the ground here in Michigan and wants more information than was provided on the birth father.  Until that is done a court date will not be set.  The birth mom is busy getting back into college classes and has not given any indication that she will be able to parent.  Nor has the birth mom given any indication that she will change her mind on the decision to place this baby boy up for adoption.

With that said this is a very tough time for us right now in that we are in a limbo state with this adoption.  It has some similarities to our last adoption attempt but yet at the same time very different.  We have the joy this time of actually being discharged with our little boy and taking care of him full time while waiting rather than visiting the NICU.  We were not here for all that happened while he was in NICU for 3 weeks.  That was very much God's protection as we could not have handled the stress while he was in NICU.  On the other hand taking care of him is also very tough in that we don't want to leave him here as we had to do with baby Hope.  As with baby Hope we fell in love with our son day one that night he was discharged to us and that parental love for him grows daily.  So still knowing that we only have temporary custody is difficult and we continue to hang on to God's promise to us that we will be parents.  That has been very evident the last 3 months since our last adoption attempt is that His promise will come true.  We promised and discussed before we got married that we wanted to adopt and we are so close to realizing that dream!

Please pray that the birth mother gets back in touch with the social workers soon and gets them the information they need to set the court hearing date.  We can't imagine what she is going through right now and would like to ask for prayers for her as well in peace for her decision in continuing this adoption.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

Thanks for the continued prayers,
Shannon and Emily

Update and prayers requests

Family and friends,

We have been having some requests for information and want to let you know where we are at in our adoption journey.  Friday late afternoon around 6:30 we made it to Childrens Hospital of Detroit.   There we met the nurses and a baby boy that was born Sept. 30th and he has had a hard road in the NICU.  However after various procedures this baby boy is now breathing well on his own and feeding.   The birth mother selected us as the adoptive family and he needed to be discharged from the hospital soon.   So Friday night we were discharged with him after speaking with the attending doctor of his treatments the last few weeks.  The nurses were excited to see us and sad to see the little guy go but happy that he has made such a miraculous recovery.

We were arranged to stay in a Ronald McDonald house next to the hospital.  Saturday involved meeting with the attorney and social worker here on the ground in Michigan.  They are working with our social workers at American Adoptions.   All the paperwork has been filed and sent to the court house to arrive Monday morning.  So as of now we have temporary custody until the release of parental rights hearing with the birth mother.   We are excited and yet cautious. The earliest a court date would be set is sometime next week (November 5)  There will be work to do this week and we must stay in Oakland County Michigan until that hearing is complete.  God's provision is out of this entire country that just so happens to be where Emily's brother and wife live!   So we are staying with them as our journey continues.  We are grateful and thankful to them for this.

After the parental rights hearing we then have full custody and parental rights. Finalization will occur 6 months from placement (this is very common of all adoption). Once the court date happens and the birth mom signs over parental rights she cannot go back on that.  Right now that hearing is the next hurdle.   We are not going to be able to share much more information except with immediate family until then.   We ask just for prayers and understanding during the next week until we know more.   Thank you so much.

God bless,
Shannon and Emily

Next leg of the journey

Hello family and friends!

We apologize for not posting much since we have been home from Virginia.  The last 3 months have been tough with a roller coaster of emotions.  We have gone from being angry to extreme sadness.   We have also had good days in accepting where we are at and trusting that God is in control having the bigger plan in store for us.  It's definitely been tough not knowing what kind of day each of us will have.  Fortunately each of us is normally opposite the other so we can support and help each other through the tough days.  We have been praying and growing closer to each other during the grieving process of not bringing baby Hope home with us.  We are thankful for the family and friends that have been there for us.   Now the next leg of our adoption journey begins!

Since we got back, we have been approached to be shown to other birth families.  Nothing has moved forward until this week.  On Tuesday we got a call about being shown to a birth mother who had a baby boy Sept. 30th.  She did choose us and currently we are on our way to Michigan to explore this blessed opportunity!  We are asking for prayers as this next couple weeks comes with excitement and yet some guardedness since our last encounter.  We are leaving the details in God's hands and taking it a step at a time.  Stay tuned for more to come.

Love,
Shannon and Emily

Recovering and moving on

What a better day to post this than on Sunday.   Even though we are not worshiping today with our Hope Christian Church family, we know they are with us in spirit.  We truly have been encouraged and glad to have so many people praying for us and lifting us up.   I (Shannon) do understand now why over the last week or more there have been many promptings from God through devotions about forgiveness.  Little did I know that this first round of heading to adopt our first child would end in loss and that eventually forgiveness would be needed.  Are we instantly forgiving people and being completely understanding right now??  No that is not the case.   As has been pointed out to us by so many family and friends we are going to go through the stages of grief as in loosing someone physically.   We definitely fell in love with that baby girl and loved her instantly as any parent would.  Now we must pray she will be taken care of and loved.   We must accept that we will not parent her and that God had us there for another reason.   We will get back on the horse and God will guide us to the next opportunity for adoption and/or birth of a child to begin our family.  We are thankful for having a deepening faith to move on otherwise in these stages of grief we could ge stuck in a pit.  That WILL not happen and I ask for continued prayer in healing for Emily and I.

In Christ's love,
Shannon and Emily