The Ciciora Family
The Ciciora’s Story
John and Brittney Ciciora tied the knot in 2011 on the patio at The Vineyard Church in Urbana, Illinois. Before exchanging vows, Holy Spirit gave both of them prophetic words of who their future spouses would be. The saying, “when you know, you know” could not be more true with their love story thanks to Holy Spirit. Not dating long and making the decision to have a short engagement led the Cicioras to take their time to start a family and to focus on their marriage for a few years.
Four years later, Brittney got off birth control and she thought their fertility story would be as easy as you see in the movies, pregnant on the second or third try. To their surprise, months went by, even years before they would see a positive sign on a pregnancy test. Both of them were discouraged but held on to hope knowing it was a great desire of theirs to be parents.
Finally, in 2017, Brittney saw that positive pregnancy test. It was their time! They praised God and that same week found themselves mourning and lamenting with God after miscarrying at 7 weeks.
Another year had passed of waiting patiently for a baby. It was February of 2018 and by this time, John and Brittney had accepted roles at The Vineyard Church, John as the Creative Pastor and Brittney as the Events Director. They were attending a service, trying their best to worship even though it often felt to Brittney like she was going through the motions. She found herself once again crying out to the Lord asking why they haven’t birthed a healthy child. She was surprised when she felt like Holy Spirit asked her, “Can you wait until May?” She thought this was a weird word but shared it with John and they continued to pray and trust. God doesn’t play games. Why would he tease us like that? May arrived. In fact, it was Mother’s Day and Brittney wasn’t feeling so great. Her mom asked if she was pregnant and Brittney laughed. The nausea continued so she caved and took a pregnancy test to find they were pregnant a second time! She quickly made an appointment to get blood drawn to make sure it was a healthy pregnancy. HGC levels were increasing each day and things were looking good so John and Brittney didn’t waste any time, they announced their pregnancy at 10 weeks.
Just two weeks later, they found themselves weeping yet again after miscarrying a second baby. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Shame, embarrassment, anger, and confusion were some of the feelings they battled.
Several times Brittney wanted to give up on the idea of having a biological child and considered starting the adoption process. John would remind her of God’s faithfulness. They received a lot of prayer and felt like it was time to see a fertility specialist. In the past, Brittney struggled with the idea of fertility treatment.
“If God wants to heal me of infertility, why do I need a doctor’s help?” After much prayer, she felt at peace with it and realized that Jesus is for medicine when it’s needed.
The summer of 2019, Brittney went through several rounds of testing at a local fertility clinic. Blood work made it seem like everything was ok. The Ciciora’s doctor encouraged them to take the next step and try IUI (IntraUterine Insemination). Three rounds of IUI and no luck. Before moving on to IVF, the fertility specialist thought it would be good to try laparoscopic (a surgical diagnostic procedure used to examine the reproductive system) to make sure everything looked healthy on the inside. Hormone levels looked great but until they took a camera inside to check everything, they would not be able to be so sure. She had the procedure in August of 2019. Much to their surprise, the doctor found pockets at the end of Brittney’s fallopian tubes which were acting like a wading pool, stopping released eggs from traveling down the tube. The first two pregnancies were truly miracles! While the doctor was inside, he corrected the problem by burning the pockets away. After this procedure, the Cicioras were advised they would need to wait at least one month before taking the next steps for IVF.
But instead, it only took one cycle for John and Brittney to get pregnant! Praise God! Brittney struggled with the fear of losing another baby but was reminded time and time again that Jesus is a way-maker, miracle-worker and promise-keeper!
John found even deeper faith as he had seen God move the mountains (and believes he will see God do it again!) Maxwell Hope Ciciora was born on April 21st of 2020. Her name means living streams of hope.
But God wasn’t done! Shortly after the birth of their first child, Blake Love came into existence. And then, unexpectedly, was followed by “Tripp”: John Martin III, a son, named after John Jr. and his grandfather, John Sr.
While raising three children 2 years old and younger wasn’t always easy, John and Brittney consistently saw the goodness of God and continued provision in their lives. Today, John and Brittney regularly pray for couples: for their marriages, for infertility, and for being great mothers and fathers, and regularly see God move in miraculous ways!