How did you two meet and when did y'all get married?
Laura Jean: "We met in fourth period English class in eleventh grade. He was the new guy at our highschool. We ended up dating towards the end of our senior year and married a little over four years later!"
Did you have "plans" for you and Cody once y'all got married? How has that lined up with your reality now?
Laura Jean: "OH YES! We had lots of plans. I was planning to be a youth minister in Memphis, TN. Cody wanted to do something along the lines of accounting, but wasn't sure what that looked like at the time. I ended up not getting the job in Memphis, and Cody ended up with a desk job doing audits and renewals. Needless to say, after a lot of 'no's' we just dove into what we could get and made side plans of our own. When it comes to me and Cody, the side plans just keep brewing. Never did we think we would run a sidewalk coffee cart or renovate houses or even still live in Montgomery. Honestly we are not doing anything that we thought we would be doing. I seriously cannot make up some of the crazy stuff we have done, and the opportunities we have encountered that all kind of grew out of a place of not getting what we hoped for. God is interesting like that."
Tell us about your journey to begin having children.
Laura Jean: "I think having children was one of those things that I just thought, 'Oh, when we are ready, it'll just happen.' That is not our story. I am very open and willing to share that I have stage 3 endometriosis. Throughout college, I dealt with unbelievable pain that just was never explained. We were told after my first surgery (after they discovered my case) that we needed to have children ASAP. And we just... well— couldn't. The pain returned, and the same story: surgery, doctors said, 'have babies' and we, again— couldn't.
Through a long story and series of events, we ended up at a different practice outside of the city. This doctor was able to hand more attention to my case and find better solutions to what I was dealing with so that I could see that there was hope to have children.
But honestly, I know it was the Lord.
My doctor in town looked at my records when I was 14 weeks pregnant and said, 'This is truly a miracle that you have conceived. Praise God that this has happened." I know we talked to good people who prayed. We believed and hoped and cried and got offended by people— we did all the steps that so many walk through.
...But there is nothing our God cannot do, and I know this baby is a product of who Jesus is and the faith of so many who believed FOR us to have a baby.”
What's a piece of advice you'd give couples who are desiring to have children?
Laura Jean: "Something Cody and I used to say to each other was, 'Someone else's story is not mine, but my story is GOOD.' It was a way for us to stay focused on what we needed to pray for and not hear terrible stories and doubt what God was able to do. It was a way to not sink into self-pity when someone, 'accidentally got pregnant and we were told, 'This might not happen for you.'
More than anything, give yourself some grace. Give yourself patience and know that there is so much to lean into and pour your life into while you wait. The Lord is in the beginning, the journey and the final result. Try to just find the Lord in every step. He is there and good and showing off every single day."
What's one thing you are most looking forward to once Emmy Lou arrives?
Cody: "It's exciting being able to know that you are about to raise a human and have a tremendous impact on the way she see things— and also how she will help us see things. I can't wait for all the change and learning how to adapt with her in our lives.
I cannot wait just to meet this little person— to see her face and think of how many people prayed her here. I can't wait to see what traits she inherits from us and how she makes the world brighter. I know Jesus knows her so well already and I am excited to know her too."
