'He was shocked': Vancouver Island couple overcome odds to build growing family
Kathy and Mike are constructing a big Lego set together, which is similar to assembling a great love story.
The instructions suggest you begin by building a strong foundation, just as Kathy and Mike formed a friendship first.
“I really responded to her kindness,” Mike recalls with a smile.
“He was the funniest person in the class,” Kathy says with a laugh.
Then — like stacking brick on brick — dating led to proposing, and marrying lead to planning for a family.
“Both of us were on board for a big family,” Mike says.
Although they were doing everything right, it felt like things were going heartbreakingly wrong.
“Every month, hoping something would happen,” Kathy says. Their friends seemed to build their families effortlessly. “Going to baby showers was really hard.”
After six years of exhausting every option, Kathy and Mike applied to adopt and hung a hopeful picture frame ornament on their Christmas tree.
“We kept it empty,” Kathy says. “Because one day we wanted to have a baby picture in there.”
It hung empty for two years, until their one day came.
“We got to put a picture in there!” Kathy beams. “It was amazing!”
Kathy and Mike felt like their hearts couldn’t feel more full when baby Sera arrived in their lives. Until two years later, when they adopted Sam, and discovered hearts can grown even bigger.
“It was amazing,” Mike smiles. “Absolutely amazing.”
The fact that there was a lot of love to celebrate on Valentine’s Day (which is also Mike’s birthday) was no surprise, until Kathy gave him an unexpected present.
“I wrapped up the pregnancy test for Mike’s birthday,” Kathy recalls with a laugh. “He was shocked.”
After a decade of trying, Kathy was pregnant with Peter. Two years after that, Kathy wrapped up another positive pregnancy test to reveal she was expecting Emma.
“He just couldn’t believe it,” Kathy smiles.
Now they both can’t believe how fortunate they are that their family fits together so perfectly.
“It feels like everything works out for a reason,” Mike says.
Kathy and Mike are also grateful that, even during the most difficult days of trying to build a family, they never gave up hope and never stopped constructing their own love story.
“We focused on each other,” Kathy says. “If you take the focus off the hard thing, it’s not ‘the big thing’ all the time.”
And even when life doesn’t go the way you planned, you just might find you end up building it even better than you could have hoped.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly visits China
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is visiting China, according to China’s foreign ministry, in what was an unannounced trip.
Former safety minister wants 'protective zones' for MPs' offices as threats increase
Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino is calling for the creation of 'protective zones' around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff from a rising tide of threatening behaviour.
Vance's night but Trump's party, Jan. 6 curtain call, Trump health still under wraps: RNC Takeaways
Republicans welcomed JD Vance as Donald Trump's running mate on the same night devoted to blasting U.S. President Joe Biden's leadership on the world stage. Here are some takeaways from Day 3 of the RNC.
Two deaths in listeriosis outbreak linked to plant-based milk recall
Two people have died after an outbreak of listeriosis triggered a national recall of certain plant-based milks, the Public Health Agency of Canada said Wednesday.
Mississauga, Ont., nursing home evacuated of more than 100 residents amid flooding
First responders say it took nearly 12 hours to rescue more than 100 residents from a flooded Mississauga, Ont., long-term care home after torrential rain pummelled the Greater Toronto Area on Tuesday.
John Deere ends support of 'social or cultural awareness' events, distances from inclusion efforts
Farm equipment maker John Deere says it will no longer sponsor 'social or cultural awareness' events, becoming the latest major U.S. company to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures after being targeted by conservative backlash.
Rare photos reveal uncontacted tribe in Peruvian Amazon as loggers move in
Rare images of the Mashco Piro, an uncontacted Indigenous tribe in the remote Peruvian Amazon, were published on Tuesday by Survival International,
NEW 'No more barriers in CAF' as Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan to be officially named head of military
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will become the first female to lead the Canadian Armed Forces following a ceremony in Ottawa today.
Teens could face charges after homes damaged in 'ding dong ditch' pranks, B.C. RCMP say
Authorities are asking parents to speak with their teenagers following a "frenzy" of recent door-knock pranks in Surrey, B.C., that have escalated into property damage.