'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton expecting her 3rd child — see the video announcement
Surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose life story inspired the popular movie "Soul Surfer," is expecting her third child, she revealed on Instagram Saturday.
The video announcement shows Hamilton and her two sons, Tobias and Wesley, playing on the beach. Her husband, Adam Dirks, also makes an appearance, smiling for the camera and spinning around one of his sons, while Tobias, 5, shows off his blossoming ability to shred the waves at the end.
"Grateful for more family fun to come!!!" the shark attack survivor, 30, wrote alongside the playful clip. She later added in the comments, "THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE ?????? We are grateful and the lil one on the way has sure lightened up this year for us!!!!"
Hamilton welcomed her first child in June 2015. Announcing the news on Facebook, she wrote, "He is named after his great grandpa Tobias meaning, 'The goodness of God.'"
She and Dirks welcomed Wesley into the world in March 2018. "It’s been a beautiful time getting life started with the four of us! We are thankful to God for our two lil guys!!!” she wrote on Instagram.
Hamilton was 13 when she lost her arm in a shark attack while surfing off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, in 2003. But less than a month later, she was was ready to pick up her board once again. She turned pro in 2007.
Hamilton and Dirks, a Christian youth minister, married in 2013. The day before Hamilton announced her third pregnancy, she opened up about her marriage on social media.
"I choose him everyday," she wrote. "I believe love can be a choice beyond just a 'falling in love feeling.' The beauty that our marriage has become was worth all the boundaries, which could be considered sacrifices, I set before I was married through the dating period. And even today, the daily commitment is a continual journey."
"You all have the choice to set out the life you hope for," she added.