FRIEND FRIDAY | KARI DOBBS

Well folks, we are finally here. To the end of the summer and the end of my Friend Fridays!

What a bittersweet moment.

I have enjoyed all the moments shared with the wonderful women featured on my blog this summer. I hope and pray that you have been inspired, touched, and encouraged by their stories.

A huge thank you to the women who have allowed me into their homes and hearts and allowed the world to see into their lives. I am so grateful for you all.

So now I have the honor and privilege to introduce my friend, Kari!

I met Kari even before I moved here and she was actually the friend that helped me find an OBGYN when we pulled into town and delivered Scout 4 hours later :).

Her story is touching, her heart for education is inspiring, and her love for her family is something to be admired.

Enjoy reading a little bit about my friend, Kari.

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

Waiting is weighty stuff. If I’m honest, I kinda hate it. But during this season, God has asked me to do it. Wait. Not sit still necessarily. But be patient. And trust Him. These are not new concepts. I’ve heard about them and read them in Scripture my whole life. But when I’m faced with a timetable that doesn’t line up with my own plans, it trips me up. It makes me feel like an immature child again because I haven’t learned how to master it yet with grace and a positive attitude. I whine and complain and grumble.

What am I waiting for? A baby. A baby girl to be specific.

But I suppose you want to know a little more about me before I get into my story. So let me introduce myself. My name is Kari Dobbs, and I am a songbird who loves the beach and crossword puzzles – and babies. My husband Jared and I got married twelve years ago and have three beautiful boys who are 4, 6, and almost 8. We homeschool and play sports and lead worship at our church and love spending time with our family and friends.

Now back to the story. I’ve always wanted a little girl. Prior to becoming a mother, I taught school. And my first grade boys were wild and wiggly and I didn’t have a clue how to handle them. I remember telling God pretty clearly that I did not want boys. A few years later we conceived and miscarried our first child. It was early so we didn’t know gender yet. Then after several months of doctor appointments and fertility meds, we got pregnant with Boy #1. Twenty-two months later we had Boy #2. And twenty-two months after that, yup you guessed it — Boy #3. God’s sense of humor is something, isn’t it?

In 2015, we finally conceived a baby girl. The desire of my heart was finally going to be realized! We decided on a name: Adelyn Faye. Our boys were so excited. I immediately went out and bought her some cute dresses and bows and modge-podged a big letter “A” for her nursery. Then at 16 weeks she was gone. No heartbeat. No explanation. We had just seen her on the ultrasound screen a few weeks earlier and were told she had no genetic abnormalities. My first miscarriage was at home, but this time, I was far enough along in the pregnancy that I had to deliver her at the hospital. It was a terrible but holy moment. My heart ached as I heard other newborn babies crying in the rooms surrounding me in the labor & delivery wing. I was not there to welcome my precious miracle into my arms and feed her and bundle her up and take her home. I only got to see her barely developed face and tiny body that fit in the palms of our hands before we told her goodbye.

The doctors and hospital staff handled the situation beautifully and my husband and I went to see our counselor a week later to make sure we were grieving properly – if there is such a thing. The counselor was very helpful. He said there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. The only thing to avoid is denying your feelings. He said that GRIEF = EXPRESSION. If you SUPPRESS your grief, you’ll become DEPRESSED. So you must EXPRESS it.

I cried a lot for the next two weeks. Then we went to visit some friends in Austin. While we were on this little weekend getaway, the wheels in my mind started turning and I figured out how I was going to express my grief: I would create a children’s book series about my Addie Faye.

This idea made me feel alive again! I brainstormed titles and then shortly after wrote the first installment. I figured I’d find an illustrator quickly and have the book published within the year. No one told me how long it takes to get a book illustrated and published. I guess I didn’t really ask. I just didn’t envision it taking this long. I know it’s not the end of the world. It’s just that I thought I’d be pregnant by now. I mean, the only thing better than having the book in hand would be having a baby in my arms. But I have nothing to show for. Nothing to redeem the loss I experienced. No book. No baby. Not yet at least.

So here I am. Waiting. Still praying for the outcomes and doing my part to make them happen. But so much of it is out of my control. I can’t snap my fingers and make anything happen overnight. It’s a process. And a painful one at that. But I am not hopeless. We never grieve or wait as one with no hope.

Therefore, I continue to hope and pray for our future while doing what God has called me to do today: love our boys and educate them. I am a lifelong learner and am passionate about empowering parents to educate their children at home. So if you have any interest in this or believe God may be asking you to step out on faith and homeschool your children, feel free to reach out to me. I am the director of our Classical Conversations homeschool community and would love to talk with you about how this program blesses our family.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. And thank you, Terra, for providing me with the opportunity to share it. I pray that it resonates with some of you. God is good, and I will wait on Him because I know that what He has in store for me is infinitely better than what I can imagine. Lord, please refresh my perspective as I’m in this waiting room. Fill me with grace, patience, perseverance, and gratitude to endure the journey ahead.

#friendfriday