My husband Cliff and I met right after we both graduated college in Charleston, SC. He joined the Marine Corps six months after that, was stationed in Virginia, and we wed exactly a year later. He knew that I could not wait to be a mother, but given the circumstances, we chose to wait to try for children until we knew that he would be home.

Cliff first deployed on a twelve hour notice. We had only been married three months and I was terrified. We were fortunate that he was welcomed home safe three months later. He deployed again for nine months and decided that he wanted to become a reservist. Constantly being gone was a huge strain on our marriage and we both knew that we were ready to try for children.

I was so excited that our time to become parents was finally here! We tried for months and finally found out that we were expecting our first baby. I took the test in the grocery store because I could not wait to get home. I felt different this time and sure enough, I was pregnant! I immediately had to run outside and wait for Cliff because I knew people would wonder why I was crying. He came out and was so concerned. I could hardly get it out of my mouth and we both hugged and cried in that grocery store parking lot.

A few weeks later our worlds came crashing down as we lost our first baby. Devastation doesn’t even begin to describe the grief I experienced. Was it something I did? Did we wait too long? Am I not going to be able to have a child? Does God not want me to be a Mom? It hurt. A few months later we were able to try again and remarkably I conceived again! I was a nervous wreck the entire pregnancy and went on to have the most precious baby girl! Our dreams had come true!

We both come from rather large families, so I knew that we would wanted to have more children. Nineteen months later, we were blessed with another healthy baby girl. Blessed and grateful are understatements. These children are our world and we consider ourselves so incredibly lucky that God chose us to be their parents.

Cliff gave me my Tiny Tags necklace for my birthday. I had been begging him for one since I found out about them, but he wanted to wait until Claire was born to be safe. I have two circle tags with each girl’s name on it and I absolutely love it. To cuddle each daughter and feel their tiny little hands on my chest playing with my charms is the best feeling in the world. I prayed for these precious children and will always proudly wear their names on my heart!

— Sarah M.