MAITLAND | Hugging his daughter when he gets home and praying with her as she falls asleep are Mike Roche’s favorite moments of the day.

His wife, Laura, dreams of the faithful woman their little girl will become. Just like her mother, Ella, places rosaries under her pillow each night. The couple, committed to trust in the Lord, is tightly bonded after struggling for years to conceive this child.

The Roche story is filled with God moments and perseverance. Mike and Laura grew up in Kansas, 10 blocks from each other. Their families went to the same parish, but they didn’t meet one another until right before college. They both studied at Texas Christian University, had a few dates here and there, but Mike was older and eventually moved away. They wouldn’t reconnect until years later when his sister told him Laura was still available and he should call. After a year of long-distance courtship, they married and Laura packed up and headed to Florida.

“The day after our wedding was the first day we ever lived in the same city together,” Mike said with a laugh.

Like most couples, they discussed plans for children. “We said we will definitely do it the Catholic way. We won’t do IVF,” Laura recalled. “But in the back of our minds we thought, ‘We’re never going to have problems trying to get pregnant.’”

Laura wanted a big family. Mike was all for it, but both were open to God’s will. Six months into the marriage, Laura became pregnant and immediately miscarried. After a couple of years and another loss, they began to search for physicians and coaches who could assist with Natural Family Planning or NFP.

“The beautiful thing when you have Catholic doctors is, they’re not just talking to you about medicine,” Laura said. “They talk to you about what’s best for your marriage and your faith.”

Mike described it as “shepherding” them through the process. They also leaned heavily on prayer. Everyone prayed – friends, family, and their church community. The couple learned about the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, hit the road to investigate and found great hope, like many other pilgrims, in a sacred chapel.

They met with an NFP coach every other month learning how to chart, check temperatures and progesterone levels- doing all that was asked of them. They worked holistically to become as healthy as possible. Despite their efforts, blood tests revealed a bleak outcome.

Laura recalled a devastating message from a clinic. Remembering the nurse’s words, she shared, “I just want to let you know we’ve had no success with someone with your condition. And so, I’m so sorry to tell you, but you cannot have a child. You can adopt, but you cannot have a child.”

She refused to accept it, believing deep in her heart God would provide. Laura turned to her Catholic doctor who admitted it would be a miracle if she conceived, but who also prayed with her. He advised stopping all vitamins, medicines, everything for three months and to place everything in God’s hands.

Three months to the day, Laura learned she was pregnant. Both she and Mike felt different this time.

“My mother-in-law gave me this Padre Pio bracelet, ‘pray, hope and don’t worry’ right when we got pregnant,” Mike said, proudly showing off the bright blue band. “I haven’t taken it off since.”

When Ella was born healthy, they painted the words of Luke 1:37 on her bedroom wall – “For nothing will be impossible for God.”

“I think one of the greatest creation miracles I’ve ever seen was in that moment Ella was born,” Mike marveled. “They put her on Laura’s chest, and she inherently knew to go to the breast to feed.”

The experience strengthened their relationship with each other and with faithful friends at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Winter Park.

“Whether you’re newly married or not, it’s so important to be involved in the community because we help each other during those times,” Laura insisted. “We help carry each other.”

She calls the early years of infertility and miscarriage “a silent suffering,” but empathizing with other couples while proclaiming faith and hope gives her strength.

“It’s an opportunity to share with other people when they’re going through this, to bring about more life, maybe not with children, but life in other people,” she said.

Today the family loves praying the Surrender Novena, giving their family to Jesus, asking Him to care for their children, one on earth, two in heaven. Each time she draws her family for school projects, Ella proudly includes her brother and sister.

When asked what they hope for Ella’s future, both Laura and Mike agree they want her to love her Catholic faith and Jesus. Ella just received her First Holy Communion, something she said she, “waited her whole life for.”

Thinking more about what’s to come, Laura added, “We would love for her to get married young and have lots of babies.”

Mike quickly smiled and jumped in, “We were blessed with one, but if she wants to marry a good Catholic boy, remain strong in her faith and have lots of grandkids.”

“That’s our goal,” they said in unison, laughing.

To learn more about Natural Family Planning and other Catholic resources click here.

Watch a video of Laura and Mike’s story here.

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, July 22, 2026