Sienna (100th post!)

Some of you know the story of Sienna. Some of you may not.

A year ago, we were on vacation in San Diego. I went on a hike by myself. I got to the top of a tall mountain (well, a large hill actually). I pulled off my headphones. I leaned my head back to the sky. It was a cloudy day. I closed my eyes. I asked, out loud, "God, will we EVER get pregnant and carry a child to term and get to experience labor and delivery?"

Then, the clouds parted and the sun came out. A soft breeze just brushed across my face and I heard, almost audibly, "YES."

I smiled.

At that moment, I didn't believe God was saying we'd get pregnant on our own, or we should do any more fertility treatments. Instead, I felt God leading us to pursue embryo adoption. We had done some initial research, and this was my confirmation to keep pursuing it.

I got back to our room and told my husband. That was December 2009.

The following spring, there was a few day period when I was bombarded with the name "Sienna". It kind of came out of nowhere. And I just felt a strong impression that we were going to have a girl one day, and I was to call her "Sienna".

One night, I told the women in my Bible study group that. One of the girls asked if I knew the meaning of the name. I said I didn't. She suggested I look it up. I agreed.

The following week, the same girl asked me if I had looked up the name. I said I had forgotten. She said she had looked it up. It means, "promise of God."

I got chills.

Yesterday was our 20-week ultrasound. We asked the technician to find out the gender, write it on a card, and seal it in an envelope.

Later that night, with all of our family either present or on Skype or on cell phones, I opened that envelope.

We are having a girl. And we shall call her Sienna.