Shining through the Sorrow

If you've been following along, you know that as soon as we found out baby #5 was a girl, we already had her name chosen.  We announced the name Lily Marie about six weeks ago, but have since changed our minds. Let me start by saying, it's not easy to pick a Dingle baby name.  We decided years ago that we'd only want biblical names, followed by a family middle name.  So first came the boys, Joel and Gabriel.  And then our girls, Zoe and Ruby.  To answer what everyone asks - Yes they are both biblical, even if they aren't names specifically.  Zoe is the Greek word for "life," and is found all over the New Testament.  Ruby, a precious gemstone, is described in both Exodus and Proverbs. I'll also add that there are so many more biblical boy names than girls.  Which makes this more difficult.  So had baby #5 been a boy, we were set on Isaac Joseph.  Isaac meaning "laughter" which was so fitting considering how we found out we were expect...

Finding out we were expecting baby number five was quite the surprise.  If you haven't heard already, my hubby had the little Snip Snap Procedure done LAST October, because we were very sure our family was complete.  Then God laughed from the Heavens at our attempts to control things once again.  Kyle never did any follow-up appointments, assuming if we waited long enough that we'd be safe.  Insert nervous laughter here. Over the summer I distinctly remember trying to keep up with my workouts, yet my stomach was growing by the day.  One evening in particular, on June 19th, I put on a tight running tank and went for a jog.  With each step I took, my eyes were drawn downwards at my belly that clearly looked "with child."  When I was done I came inside and announced to Kyle that I was SURE I was pregnant and that he needed to go get a test immediately.  He laughed at the absurdity of such an idea but agreed, knowing that seeing a negative test woul...

Kyle and I had the honor of speaking at an Infant Loss Conference last month.  It was so great to share Gabriel with people who had a heart to hear about our journey and the various ways God has shown us His love along the way. We're also beyond thankful that our talk was recorded, and that we've been able to share it with other grieving families.  You can watch our speech in its entirety below.  And as always, please feel free to share it with anyone you feel it may help.  Thanks, friends. https://vimeo.com/143517631 Our beautifully decorated table. With the Event Creator, Branda Yeargan. Kyle and I posing before we got started.