Love What Matters

‘We had made a place in our homes and hearts for the child we were going to adopt. It hurt like someone had died.’: Mom’s miracle births, adoption after infertility battle, failed adoption

“I remember sitting in the nursery almost every night, rocking in the glider and smiling. I have experienced multiple physical miscarriages, but they did not hurt me as much as this news did.”

‘I lost my capacity to bathe. Drowning, my depression took a dark, deep turn. And then came the muffins.’: Trauma survivor touched by friend’s kindness long after ‘world moved on’

“The meals stopped. The last sympathy card was sent. People stopped asking about our challenges. As the world moved on without me, my circumstances remained the same. But every year, you remember us.”

‘No, this is not my husband holding our newborn daughter. He is not my brother, cousin, or a friend I’ve known a lifetime.’: Mom thanks neonatologist for kindness through loss, birth of child

“This is the same doctor who I looked up at in between deep howls as we kissed our son goodbye two years ago. The same doctor who attended our son’s funeral. The same doctor who called and reached out countless times after our son’s passing, just to check on us. This time, these were tears of joy.”

‘I’m seeing something.’ My heart sank. This is it. I’ve lived a good life. She pointed to the screen. ‘That’s a yolk sac.’: Mom’s ovarian mass ultrasound turned surprise baby discovery

“I shot him a text: ‘Brace yourself. I have news.’ Would he be mad? Excited? Scared? He called immediately.”

‘I’d lie on the bathroom floor and tell God I was ready; he could take me. I’ll never be fully healed.’: Mom loses 6-day-old son to rare metabolic disorder, shares reality of grief

“One of the worst parts of all this is how gravely mistaken society is on what death and grief are actually like. As horrific as it is to simply imagine the loss of a child, it still doesn’t even graze the surface of what this pain is truly like.”

‘How could this active, healthy boy need surgery? How could I care for him after major surgery of my own?’: Mom shares ‘blessings’ after kidney donation, son’s open-heart surgery

“I struggled with the idea I scheduled his surgery in the middle of baseball season, and he may never be able to play baseball again. I felt like I was taking the joy from my son.”

‘I had no one who could relate, no one I could talk to. I needed to help women like me, to make their voices heard.’: Endometriosis warrior becomes nurse, fertility coach to advocate for others

“The women I saw in the clinic needed more. They needed someone to help them navigate their journey, a listening ear. You never think something like this could happen to you, until it does.”

‘From birth, he began growing in length and weight. Judgement was cast from others who’d never seen anything like our boy before. Doctors were hitting dead ends.’: Bardet Biedl warrior diagnosed after 5-year quest for answers

“One day I went to grab the mail, only to find a surprise letter that took me off my guard. I immediately scanned the letter with my phone app and emailed it to his primary care pediatrician. ‘Am I reading what I think I am?’ Literally in shock, after over 1826 days, I was holding a letter that confirmed Joshua, our boy.”

‘It’s tears one minute, big kisses the next. Stares from strangers who think they know better. Every day, you wrack your brain wondering where you went wrong.’: Wild child mom urges ‘they are nothing short of incredible’

“It’s hard. Like, really, really hard. But do you know something? That wild child of yours. They are every good part of your soul and every brave bone you are missing.”

I’m 43 And I Think I May Be In Love With Harry Styles

“I thought I was doing my daughter a favor. I thought I was along for the ride. Then, within minutes of stepping on stage, Mr. Harry Styles did this little shimmy dance move and my jaw quite literally dropped.”

‘As I snapped photos of our barely 1-year-old twins, I jokingly said to my husband, ‘Maybe I’m pregnant!’: Woman births twins, third child after infertility battle, navigates Eosinophilic Esophagitis

“My husband looked shell-shocked with a one-year-old baby in each arm. ‘How are we going to do this? We already have two babies.’ I was feeling nauseous and extremely hungry. I also couldn’t stop sleeping.”

‘Don’t you want a child of your own?’ I do have a child of my own. She’s our child in every sense of the word.’: Mom shares grief and anxiety in international adoption journey

“It was hard being in the dark, but it was even harder thinking over and over again we weren’t good enough to be chosen. Grief and anxiety cause irrational fears and feelings of unworthiness, which was exactly what I was tackling. My poor husband felt powerless to help.”

Husbands wearing matching shirts and blended family with two dads

‘What are we…? What is this…?’ I immediately felt safe and cared for, and, for the first time, completely loved.’: After coming out, gay dads share beautiful blended family journey

“After years of marriage, we each found ourselves in a very dark place. I called him the first time he dropped his kids off at their mom’s house; he walked me through coming home to an empty apartment. Suddenly, we weren’t alone.”

Woman shows surgery scars and brain disease survivor with daughter

‘How am I 21 and this sick?’ The pain was excruciating. I saw the ER staff more than I saw my child.’: Single mom, abuse survivor shares battle with rare Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

“I was at Walmart with my daughter, and I went completely blank. I lost all vision, and everything turned dark. My shunt broke. My heart shattered on the Walmart floor that afternoon. I felt absolutely hopeless.”

10-Month-Old Forms Sweet Bond With Swim Instructor Amid Lonely Pandemic

“Love knows no bounds.”

‘You are bold, you are brilliant, you are beautiful!’: 2-year-old captures hearts with adorable positive affirmations

“I need to do it for both of us.”

rescue dog who was starved and unwashed that also had skin sores

‘He was beyond putrid.’: Neglected dog with multiple infections transforms after adopted by forever family

“They nursed him from the brink of life when just his smell could have repulsed a person.”

‘One more time, just one last time,’ he said. And on our final cycle, we successfully had our twin girls.’: After 8 cycles of IVF, triplet loss, couple welcome twin girls with autism, ‘We love without limits’

“After losing our sons, I remember telling Andrew I was done fighting, I just couldn’t endure another round of despair. Pregnancy after loss is scary and it’s hard. I was constantly battling grief and gratitude, the hard days mixed in with hope for the future, juggling the fears and joys all at the same time.”

Woman prepares for surgery and woman with her grandparents

‘You’re just a whiny child.’ The doctor sent me home with pain medication. It was a miracle I survived through the night.’: Woman with rare chronic illness shares childhood spent in hospitals

“Before the doctor could even speak, I cursed and yelled at him profusely. I blamed the hospital, doctors, and my parents for the trauma I experienced. I just wanted to be left alone.”

‘SWAT, OPEN THE DOOR!’ Awakened into a nightmare, my husband was their suspect.’: Woman overcomes parental loss, abusive relationship, ‘I went from prison wife to purposed-filled life’

“Across the ages of 11, 21, and 31, abundant life did not seem possible. I knew after all I had endured in my life this would not break me. I would fight. I would fight for my children and my family.”

On the left teen couple take maternity photos in matching maroon outfits, on the right teen mom snaps a photo of her medically complex newborn in the hospital

‘The fetus has a condition not yet recorded in medical history.’ Only a teen, I was told I couldn’t care for a child with special needs.’: Teen mom says ‘my heart glows’ after birthing medically complex child

“I noticed the ultrasound tech go back to his head and neck to rescan it. I brushed it off as first time mom fears. Then I got the call. ‘You should seriously consider your options here.’ I was now a high risk teen mom, who didn’t have a mom.”