Free pregnancy tests are a perk of this event! Those things are expensive! We hope that God will bless us with another miracle baby after the first, and I picked up extras for the ladies in my local TTC community.

This was our third year of walking with Resolve (the National Infertility Association) at the DC Walk of Hope. The first year I learned about this walk, my husband and I joined as a step forward to connect more with the infertility community. The second year I decided to talk with the fertility specialist representatives at the event. Two major fertility clinics represented that day, so I spoke to people from both, and at the end of the day had made a decision about which one to pursue.

That was the beginning of a series of events, both physical events as we worked with a clinic, and spiritual events. Those included prayers, whispers from God, testing, procedures, medication, trying and trying and trying again. Then this past summer, as the calendar marked 7 years and 2 months of trying to conceive, we discovered that we were expecting a baby. Finally! In spite of the past and future medical interventions we had planned, this baby came on a cycle without medical intervention! Because God wanted everyone to know that He could do it! And He did it! (I’ll link our story at the bottom of this post.)

With a baby on the way, this year’s walk felt different. I didn’t dread attending the event. I didn’t have to hide tears behind my sunglasses. Instead, I found my nurse from the fertility clinic and chatted with her. I thanked the kind young woman from the clinic who had made a good impression on me last year. I told the woman at the registration table that it was one of those pregnancy tests that that they gave us last year that gave me my very first positive. (Read the full story here: Jesus said YES!)

My husband and I were joined by another couple, a friend I met through an online support group who is also part of my local group. It was fun to chat with them as we walked!

As hard as it can be to attend something like the Walk of Hope, I find that it’s a tremendous visual reinforcement that we are not alone in our struggle to grow our family. Here are my reflections from the DC Walk of Hope in 2015 and the walk in 2016. Let me know if you’d like to join us next year

As promised, here is a summary of our infertility journey: Our Story Part 1 and Our Story Part 2.

Hi, I’m Betsy, and I live in the Washington, D.C. area with my husband, Mike. We have been married since 2008 and are expecting our first baby in 2018. We enjoy exploring cities together on foot, eating at our favorite Italian restaurants, and doing life as a team.

I published my first book Embracing Hope During Infertility in January 2015, and Seasons: A Picture Book in November 2016. Although this book is intended for children, if you’re still in a barren season like I am, I think that Seasons will encourage you with a glimpse of God’s goodness.  

I would love for you to connect with me by following my Hope During Infertility Facebook page and my Betsy Herman, Writer Facebook page. I occasionally tweet as well.

Thanks so much for reading my posts!