IUI # 3 = Could it be?

I honestly have not posted much about this procedure.  I normally blog when we are 1 week away from going to the doctor however it seems like time is just flying by and honestly, we have been trying to keep our mind off of all of it.  Apparently, keeping our mind off of it is working because I didn't even realize when we were a week away from going to the doctor.  On Thanksgiving day, I realized we were only 4 days away from going and I was in shock.  We couldn't believe it was already time to go back to the doctor and start all this over again.

We have never requested what vial we wanted to use, they have always just pulled a random vial and that is what we use however, going into today, we knew we wanted to request what vial to use.  For the last procedure, we only had to use 1 vial and we had 2 vials from the same date so we had 1 extra left from that specific date.  For the last procedure, we had better motile sperm counts than what we ever thought we would have since the first time was low so we knew we wanted to use the other vial from that same date.  When we got there today, we verified things, told them what vial we wanted to use and then would have to wait for an hour and a half for the thawing process.  About 50 minutes passed and they called us back. 

Anyways, we get back in the room and Kristin sits the chart down on the counter so we could verify everything was correct and verify it was the correct "Donor name" on the vial.  Well, everything was correct and then I got a glimpse of the chart and saw the best news possible.  Now if you will remember, they like to see 10 million motile sperm and for IUI #1, we used 2 vials and had 2.8 million motile sperm.  IUI #2, we used 1 vial and had 8.3 million motile sperm and we were tickled to death to know our numbers were so much better for that round.  Well, today, when I caught a glimpse of the chart, I see 11.9 million motile sperm in 1 vial.  We were absolutly beside ourselves and ecstatic that our numbers were above 10 million.  We had 3.6 million more motile sperm this time than last time and 9.1 million more this time than IUI #1.  Whoa, this was wonderful news!!!  She left the room, we said a prayer and then I got changed.  She came in, done procedure and it was done in no time. 

We now have 3 vials left 1 of which has low numbers and will most likely be like the first 2 vials and 2 of which may have decent numbers but will most likely be less than 10 million post thaw.  We are figuring that we would have 2 tries left but we are praying that we don't need those 2 extra tries.

In waiting room waiting to be called back for IUI #3

Right after IUI #3.  These pictures like these will always be so precious
to me.  Especially the one that it actually happened after.

 They have told us to test on December 13th so hopefully God will Bless us with such a wonderful Christmas Miracle of being pregnant with a sweet little bundle of joy.  It being so close to Christmas, I don't know if we will post right away with the results because if we are, we may want to make our announcement a little more special than on the blog. 

Anyways, just wanted to update everyone and let everyone know how it went.  We are very excited about IUI #3 as everything went very smoothly and our numbers were great but we will try again not to think much about it until testing time so we hopefully don't get our hopes up.  That is very difficulty though saying everything went so well.

Kidney Stones Again

Well, we now know why Trent was so sick on Monday.  We thought he might have had the horrible stomach virus that is going around however, he woke up at 330 this morning with sharp knife stabbing pains on his left side and he then passed 2 kidney stones. 

I just don't know what we are gonna do with the poor boy to get rid of the kidney stones that it seems he gets so often.  I honestly don't think there is much he can do.  Doctor has told him he can try to watch his diet but his are hereditary therefore diet probably wouldn't stop him from getting them.

Since passing the kidney stone, he is feeling much better and is pretty much back to normal today. 

Anyways, just wanted to update everyone on Trent's "sickness"

Update - Including Ultrasound from Today

"Follicular Ultrasound and IUI" update at end of blog.

We have been extremely busy lately with Thanksgiving and all.  We got to spend Thanksgiving with both families.  It started with us going to eat with Trent's family for lunch and then we headed to Manchester to spend a few days with my family.  My uncle and cousin and her family was up from North Carolina so it was nice to get to see them and spend time with them. 

My mom has wanted a train under her Christmas tree for several years now and while we were in Manchester, she found one on sale for half price at Home Depot so she just had to have it.  We got it to her house and set it up and me and Trent loved it so we went went and got one for our tree.

Tree with Train added under it.  The track can get
much bigger but we ended up going with the
round track.
We also now have presents under it too not showing in
the picture.

We also got our 2 new ornaments in too.

Police Officers Prayer Ornament.  We LOVE this one.  It is way cute.

2011 Traditional Ornament ball I get every year since Trent's been a cop.

On Black Friday, my neighbor texted and said she found a Sock Monkey Police ornament and she got it for us.  They have 3 kids and when they brought it over, it was in a Christmas bag and said From: The Abbott Kids.  It was so sweet of them to think about us as those kids just adore Trent.

Police Sock Monkey Ornament from the Abbott Kids

Yesterday, Trent woke up sick as a dog.  The urge to throw up woke him from his sleep and it was all down hill from there with Nausea, Vomitting, and Diarrhea all day.  We were scheduled to go in for our "Follicular Ultrasound" today so as of last night, we didn't know if Trent would feel well enoguh to make it to the appointment with me.  I half wondered if we wouldn't just put off the IUI this month if he wasn't any better.  He was not having it.  He was going no matter how sick he was and we were NOT cancelling procedure this month.  Well, we woke this morning and he still did not feel the best and he was weak but hadn't been to the bathroom at all since about 1045 last night.  He slept half way to the doctor and part of the way home too but we made it.  The ultrasound went pretty good.  I only had 1 good egg follicle as we did last time too so that was no surprise but again, it was a pretty good size one.  Again, they look for it to be atleast 18mm and it was at 22.5mm.  I don't know if I have ever mentioned it before or not but everytime I have been, they have told me that my uterine lining is good also.  I honestly don't know a whole lot about that stuff and what the numbers need to be but I know the uterine lining has to be good for implantation and for the baby to stick if it does implant so it's definatley good to know that my numbers are good on that.  We will be going back in tomorrow afternoon for the IUI.  I scheduled the ultrasound the very first thing this morning and then we scheduled tomorrows IUI as late as possible tomorrow afternoon so that will give us a larger gap in time after having the shot and the IUI than what we have previously had.  This time we will be having the IUI about 30-31 hours after the trigger shot so that gives us a couple more hours that what we have had.  I am glad there is a bigger gap for the sake of my fears on me maybe ovulating closer to the 36 hour mark after the shot. 

Hopefully we will end up pregnant this month and will have a wonderful Christmas and Christmas surprise for family.  This is also our last month to try and fulfill our New Years Resolution for this year of atleast being pregnant in 2011.  If its not fulfilled this year, I am sure it will probably be next years resolution too. 

IUI # 3 = Good Luck?  3's a charm right?  Hopefully

Anyways, I guess thats enough rambling for now.  I am sure I will most likely update everyone on how tomorrow goes. 

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Welp, I can't believe it.  I actually did get in the Christmas spirit.  And before I hear it from anyone, I know, I should celebrate Thanksgiving first then deal with Christmas but this year, I better do it while I actually felt like it or it just wasn't going to get done and the next couple weeks are going to be very busy for me so I figured I might as well do it now. 

We are very excited about Thanksgiving though as we will get to spend it with family and some family that we haven't gotten to see in a while so we are very Thankful that we will have a family filled Thanksgiving.

This year, we aren't decorating the tree all pretty like we have the past 2 years.  My momma in law has came the past 2 years and helped us with the pretty blue and silver ribbon but this year, we aren't going to worry about it.  One because I am not good at it and I don't want to bother her with it and 2, We decided to just make it a police tree and not a fancy tree.  Last 2 years, we have done a big pretty tree and then a small police tree but not this year. 



Tree all decorated for now.  I would like to add blue
lights to it but Trent only wants clear.  It has all clear
lights, police ornaments, and blue and silver ball
ornaments.

 In 2005, the year Trent became a cop, I started a tradition for him and every year, I get him an ornament with the year on it.  I am slacking this year and just finally ordered his 2011 ball last night so we should be getting it soon.  

2005 Traditional Police Ornament

2006 Traditional Police Ornament

2007 Traditional Police Ornament

2008 Traditional Police Ornament

2009 Traditional Police Ornament

2010 Traditional Police Ornament

We also have other types of police ornaments on the tree (you can see part of one on the right side of the 2010 ornament picture) but the Traditional ornament I buy each year is always a big round one and then I randomly pick up other police ornaments when I see them and like them. 

I am so very happy I am starting to feel a little more in the Christmas mood.  Hopefully we will get some great news right before Christmas which will make it a WONDERFUL Christmas.  Our New Years resolution for this year was to at least be pregnant with our bundle of joy by the end of the year.  Hopefully December will be our lucky month and we can fulfill our resolution. 

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and is feeling the Christmas spirit. 

Hero Hallway

Our Hallway has always been full of Police stuff.   It has always been called our Policeman Hallway.  In the picture below, the hallway originally started with everything hanging on the wall except for the shadow box hanging over the black table.  It also started with all the things on the floor except for the table full of stuff.

In the picture below, you can probably tell that we have a fireman figurine on the table which we bought at Uncle Kenny's benefit auction and thought the table was a perfect spot for it to fit in with Trent's police stuff.  On the middle shelf of the table, we also have a picture of Uncle Kenny's funeral of him on the firetruck going under the American Flag.  After Uncle Kenny passed away, we got a set of his white work gloves and we knew we wanted to do something nice and special with them so we put them in a shadow box with a picture of him in his fireman uniform and hung it in the hallway.  I have another pair of white gloves ordered and we will then hang a pair of Trent's white work gloves with a picture of him in a shadow box on the other side of the wall to even the wall back up. 

Here is Uncle Kenny's shadow box with his picture and gloves.

This has also always been hanging in our hallway since we moved in the house on a different wall.  It is a plaque my Uncle made me after he got back from Iraq for supporting him, writing him letters, and sending him things while he was there.  This plaque has always been very special to me and I always knew I wanted it hanging somewhere in my house and it just fit in perfect with our Police hallway.  

Since we now have Police, Firemen, and Military things hanging down our Hallway, we will just rename it from "Police Hallway" to Our "Hero Hallway".

I would like to get a curio cabinet to put back in the hallway to put the things on the table in because there are more things that we would like to put on the table and there are more things on the table that are hidden and you can't see.  So, if we had a curio cabinet back there, we could nicely display everything we wanted. 

Just wanted to show off our changes because I think it's all cute.

November 23rd - Thankful Day 23

We are Thankful for Health insurance.  Its not often that we really have to use it but we are thankful that we have it when we need it.  And just recently, it has been paying for something that was unexpected so, we are truly grateful for saving some money in one aspect we didn't know about.

Thank You God for blessing us with Health Insurance to help pay for our Medical bills.

November 22nd - Thankful Day 22

We are Thankful for our love for one another.  Our love is truly unbreakable.

Thank You God for blessing us with unconditional love for one another. 

Making a heart with our hands.

Kissing and making a heart with our hands

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Please forgive me upfront as this blog is really random but just a few things I have on my mind about blogging.

My Trentie just gave me a great laugh. He is sitting over there playing Modern Warfare and I asked him if there was anything he wanted put on the blog and he responds with "That I love my wife". I said ok, is there anything else that you want put on there? He responds with "That I want to have a baby." I said, I assume that is all you want to put on there? He responds with "3rd times a charm". I guess it is time to quit asking him what he wants cause he is being silly. LOL. Boy oh boy. He sure is silly. I love that man so very much and I am blessed to just have him in my life whether we have a child or not. We have the perfect marriage!  What more could I ask for?  Of course, we want a child added to our family but as long as we have one another, we are blessed.

I don't think I have ever mentioned it on here but I did on facebook.  I am going to be an auntie again.  My sister has a little step son that is 8 but she is now a little over 18 weeks and due on April 22nd.  

Ultrasound at 7weeks 5 days.
Little "SueBob" as she is calling it for now.  We will find out in
December what she is having.  Hopefully a girl.

Well, the other day I had to go to Hobby Lobby to try and find a shadow box for something and while I was there, I thought about baby blankets so I went over to the crafts to see what I could find.  Not knowing what she is having, I knew I had to find something that would match for a boy or girl.  This is what I found, a Noah's Ark blanket to be cross stitched.

Noahs Ark Quilted Baby Blanket.  This is what it will
look like when it is done.

Almost everything you see in Blue needs to be done.
You can tell I haven't gotten much done yet.

I have totally finished the wording.  It is too cute.

I have done the sun, cloud, and part of the rainbow in
this picture.  The bottom line of the rainbow is
actually blue and I do have part of it done but you
can't tell to well since what I have to do is blue too.
I have it done though almost up to the cloud.

I only have 5 months to get this done if I give it to my sister but once I got the blanket and started on it, I thought it was just too cute and I thought that if I end up pregnant, I may just have to keep it for myself.  So, who knows who the blanket will actually be for.  She does know about it but she also knows that we don't know who's it is yet.  I really really want to give it to her but I also think it would be something very special for our child since we have tried so hard to have one. 

I am so bad about starting craft projects and not being able to finish them.  I right now have 3 cross stitchings started.  One almost done that I have been working on forever, this one which will take a lifetime to finish and another one that I have barely done anything on that will wait until I am totally finished with this and the other thing before even starting back on it.  I also have 2 crotchet blankets that I have started in which will probably never get finished either.  I really need to quit starting new things.

Anyways, on to Christmas.  I could not believe I had these thoughts but last night, I actually wanted to put up our Christmas tree.  We may do that tonight or tomorrow.  I have been very whiny about Christmas this year but for some reason, yesterday just gave me a whole new outlook on Christmas this year.  As everyone knows, I have really been dreading it this year due to this possibly being our 3rd Christmas trying without a child.  We will be testing so close to Christmas that this year could be great but could also be horrible.  Well, yesterday I went into WalMart and they told me "Happy Holidays"  This really irked me and I didn't say it yesterday because technically right now it is "Holidays" since we are getting ready for Thanksgiving and it's not Christmas yet but you better bet, in December, I will be responding to these people "Merry Christmas to you too."  There wouldn't even be such a thing as Christmas without CHRIST so why in this world is everyone taking Christ out of Christmas.  I just don't get it.  Well, in all of this thought process it really hit me.  Why am I whining about Christmas?  Christmas is about Christ and child or childless, we should be grateful to God for dying on the cross for our sins.  Of course the closer Christmas gets, I am still going to be down about not having a child.  After all, Christmas is about Christ and family time and we want nothing more than to spend a Christmas with a child but yesterday just really set in to me that I need to quit whining and be Thankful regardless because we truly are blessed. 

If I don't blog before then, I hope everyone has a Wonderful Thanksgiving.  We will have a good Thanksgiving with our families.  Thursday we will be spending it with Trent's family going to eat at Crocket park and then Thursday night we will be going to Manchester for the weekend.  Some of my family from North Carolina is coming in so it will be nice to spend some time with them.  Friday we are going to see Jeff Dunham in Nashville and we are very excited about that as we have been wanting to see him live for a long time.  Boy, we sure have a busy 2 weeks ahead of us as we have Thanksgiving, family, doctors appointments, and then before we know it, it will be Christmas time.

November 21st - Thankful Day 21

We are Thankful for means of transportation.  We are so thankful for our dependable vehicles and being able to drive back and forth to work or where we need or want to go.

Thank You God for blessing us with means of transportation.

November 20th - Thankful Day 20

Today we are Thankful for having such similar intrest in the things we love to do together.  Golfing, baseball games, chilling by firepit, and playing games together, etc.

Thank You God for blessing us in similar intrest for us to love doing things together.

November 19th - Thankful Day 19

We are Thankful for our eyesight and hearing.  My eyes may be horrible and I may have to wear glasses but Thank God, I can see with them on.  We all may have some selective hearing sometimes but Thank God, we can hear if we wanted to. 

Thank You God for blessing us with vision and hearing.

Here we go Again!

Well, yesterday was CD1 therefore I start my Clomid back tomorrow on CD3.  I will take it for 5 days as usual and then we go in on CD13 - November 29th for our first ultrasound to check the egg follicles. 

When I called the doctors office this morning, I actually talked to Lisa (the nurse who has been doing our IUI's) and in a sad voice she said "I got your message, I was just thinking about you the other day.  I knew I should be hearing from you soon."  You could tell that she was even disappointed to hear that I had started and it hadn't happened yet.  Anyways, I had asked her about sperm not living as long if it were frozen and thawed and she said that in the 8 years that she has worked at NFC that she has never heard of that or noticed it making any kind of difference.  I had then asked her about maybe doing what I suggested with back to back ultrasounds until we tell for sure that I have ovulated and she said that we could most definitely do that if we wanted to but she didn't think that it would help to time it any better.  We talked about a couple options and so we will just see how it all plays out after our original ultrasound on the 29th and we will go from there.  I figured the day we have ultrasound, I would ask someone elses opinion on the way I wanted to do it just to see what kind of answer I will get from them and that might help decide a little more of what we want to do for sure.  We are half tempted though to just do it our way regardless just to see what happens.  You never know.

Since things may be done a little different this time, I am assuming IUI#3 will be any time from November 30th - December 1st.  Possibly the 2nd but we will see. 

We are hanging in there and taking everything one day at a time.  I pray that this is our last cycle with IUI as it has been so very emotionally, financially, physically draining.  We are honestly doing pretty good and took the news of the negative very well.  Much better than expected since everything was so hopeful this month. 

On another note, I am noticing more and more the older I get just how Thankful for things I am.  Never take the small things for granted for they may be huge things to someone else.  Just over the past few days, things have happened that just overflow my heart with Thankfulness.  There are just some things in life that we will never be able to express enough thankfulness and appreciation for.  Over the past few days, I think the Lord has really been working on me and it is amazing to see how life unfolds. 

I feel like I get to preaching lately but here is Brother Mickey's sermon from last Sunday on Faith to Forgive.  http://www.mymarshill.org/media.php?pageID=23  It was a great sermon that really spoke to me. 

Hope everyone else is doing well.

November 18th - Thankful Day 18

We are SO Thankful for Our Strong Marriage.  If I have said it once, I have said it a million times.  I NEVER knew marriage would be so easy.  Through all that we have been through in the past year, it has only made us stronger.  I am truly blessed to have such an amazing man to wake up beside each and every day.

Thank you God for Blessing us with one heck of an awesomely amazing Strong Marriage

November 17th - Thankful Day 17

Today we are Thankful for Life Challenges / Our Journey / Hard Times - They've made us stronger and wiser and made the good times even better.  We have became better people through it all.

Thank You God for giving us Challenges in life to learn from and grow from.

BIG FAT NEGATIVE

Well, I still haven't started so we took another test today and it came back a BIG FAT NEGATIVE just as expected.  I am sure some are thinking well you haven't started yet so you could still be but I have cycles that range from 27-33 days and today I am on CD30 therefore I am still not late.  Again, I feel it coming therefore we pretty much know it is gonna happen.

We are preparing for IUI #3 and will be doing it again this month or beginning of next whenever the 2 weeks fall after CD1.  We have decided that we won't take a break.  We are just so ready to be parents that we are going to do whatever it takes to make it happen. 

I am going to suggest we do things a little differently this time.  I hope they will agree with me and I feel as a patient that it should be our choice and if we are willing to spend the extra money then that should be up to us.  I wanted to do it for IUI #2 however, I thought I was just being silly but the more I think about it, the more I really feel like I should atleast suggest it.  Usually the routine is go in on CD13 or 14 to check the egg follicles and if they are ready, get the Ovidrel trigger shot and return the next day for IUI.

Now, let me break things down a little.  After the Ovidrel shot, you should ovulate 24-36 hours later.  Thawed sperm does not live even half as long as fresh sperm does.  According to California CryoBank Lab Managers- Washed sperm is supposed to only live for 6-12 hours, but sometimes as long as 24 so the ideal window is really within 6-12 hours of the egg being released.  We have had IUI #1 approx 24-25 hours after the shot and IUI #2 approx 28-29 hours after the shot.  So, my question is are we not timing it perfect?  Am I actually ovulating more around that 36 hour window instead of 24?  Remember, I do have long cycles so this is very possible for me (in my mind atleast I feel like I am thinking straight). 

So here is my suggestion for them which I feel is totally legitimate.  Go in CD 13 or 14 as usual and if everything looks good, go ahead and get the Ovidrel trigger shot which should make me ovulate 24-36 hours later.  Go back in the next day, and instead of automatically having IUI, have another ultrasound to see if I have ovulated and if I have, go ahead and do IUI.  If I have not ovulated, schedule an appointment to return again the next day and do another ultrasound to see if I have ovulated.  Keep repeating ultrasounds until I have ovulated and then do IUI the day that the ultrasound shows ovulation.  I think the most we should have to do is 3-4 ultrasounds.  1 to check egg follicles and then 2-3 to see if I have ovulated.  Doing the numerous ultrasounds will GUARANTEE ovulation and a better timed IUI.

Please if I am thinking crazy, someone tell me but we feel like my thoughts behind all this is totally legitimate. 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as I know everyone has but we are just so ready for everything to happen and fall right into place.  We absolutely could not have a better Christmas present than to find out we are expecting right at Christmas.  Of course calculations are ranging because I don't know when CD1 is or what day IUI #3 will be yet but it appears we will be testing 5-10 days prior to Christmas.  We pray we will have us a wonderful Christmas instead of a miserable one.

November 16th - Thankful Day 16

Today as we get ready to face another round of IUI, we are so very Thankful that we have been able to financially afford infertility up to this point. We are not rich by any means but going through this journey with infertility has been VERY expensive and we are just blessed beyond belief that we have been able to have the funds to pay for it all thus far. We are Thankful and blessed that we are as young as we are and have still been able to pursue having a child even through the expenses of it all.

Thank you God for blessing us financially to have a child. Now, we just pray that we are able financially to give the child the life they deserve after the financial strain it has took to get the child here.

November 15th - Thankful Day 15

We are Thankful for the daily food and water that we are able to eat and nourish our bodies with. 

Thank you God for blessing our home with food and not having to go without.

Steak, Grilled onions, vegies, rice, potatoes and breadstick.

November 14th - Thankful Day 14

Oh what a silly thing to be Thankful for but we are Thankful for Laughter.  Laughter sure does make the world a better and happier place.  I know my home is full of happiness and laughter.  My hubby is the best at making anyone laugh.  Even when all you want to do is cry, he will make you laugh.

Thank You God for blessing us with a home full of laughter.

Negative???

I woke up this morning and had tomorrow on my mind since we were supposed to test tomorrow.  Since I had this on my mind, I was unable to go back to sleep and had to get up in about another hour to get ready for church so I though What the heck, lets just test now and if it is positive, it will be a wonderful way to wake Trent up to tell him he is going to be a daddy.  I tested and it was negative.

Yes, I tested a day earlier than they told me to.  Yes, I tested at least 2 days earlier than what I thought I should.  So, could this be a false negative?  Absolutely!!!  We will give it a few days, probably until Wednesday or Thursday and then if I have not started, I will test again.  The other day, I was cramping, not bad but I was therefore, in my mind, we are not pregnant.  If I don't end up starting in a few days and it comes back positive, it will then be one heck of a surprise.

As far as taking next month off, we are seriously considering it.  I want to talk to the doctors office and have some questions answered such as, Will it effect the success rate if we take a month off?  I don't see how it could but if it helps your success rates to do it consecutive months in a row, we will absolutely suck it up and go back at it in December.  If it will not effect success rates, we will possibly sit out December and start back in January.  This whole process is so very emotional and difficult that we kinda feel we need a break through the holidays.  By my calculations, if we done a procedure in December, we would be testing approx 10 days before Christmas and Christmas is already going to be difficult enough so we don't want another possible negative right before Christmas.  I kinda feel like we should suck it up and just do it but then again, it will be nice not to have to worry about all the drama of medications, doctors appointments, procedure, 2WW, etc. 

I am gonna be silly now.  Caffiene can effect egg production so I have had no coke since July 4th and I have had no Tea since sometime in August.  Which means I have drank NO CAFFIENE for 3 months.  I am tired of drinking water but I wouldnt let myself have anything going through procedures.  Well, if we sit December out, you better bet I am gonna have me a big ol' sweet tea.  I still won't drink coke but I do hear a sweet tea calling my name.  But ONLY if we sit out a month.

This journey has been so very difficult, all I can keep my eyes on is knowing that once we do have our child, it will be one heck of a reward after all we have been through.

Just wanted to update everyone on what we know now.  I will update everyone later when we find something out for sure and when decisions are made.

November 13th - Thankful Day 13

I feel so guilty for saying this right now but when something hits home, it makes you more thankful for what you have. I am Thankful God brings my husband home to me each and every day after work. 

Please keep Lawrence County Emergency personnel in your prayers as one of our Deputies has been in a bad car accident doing his job.

November 12th - Thankful Day 12

We are Thankful for Family and Frinds that has been so supportive and praying for us, giving words of encouragement and just for being so thoughtful through our journey.

Thank You God for blessing us with so many great people in our lives that truely love us and care for us.

November 11th - Thankful Day 11

We are Thankful for Emergency Personnel workers and Military.  Obviously I am partial to cops who I am so very thankful for for our safety but lets not forget the Firemen and EMS/Paramedic workers also to come to our aide when there is a fire or when we are hurt or sick.  And our Military.  We can't forget about them.  Happy Veterans Day to all Military past, present and future.  THANK YOU for serving our country.

I want to say a quick Thank you to my Wonderful hubby Trent for the wonderful police job he does.  I will forever be so very proud of him and the job he does.  Also to my cousin Jamey for his police work and all the other Law Enforcement I know.
A Thank you to Trent's uncle Kenny who served as a local fireman.  Ben Smith a friend who is a firemen and all the other firemen out there.
A Thank You again to Trent's uncle Kenny who was a volunteer EMS worker, Ben Smith and Miranda Sanders as they are paramedics also.  And to any other paramedic/EMS worker out there.
A Thank You to My Uncle who is a Command Sergeant Major in the Military and also BJ Schoff who was killed while on duty in Iraq and will never be forgotten.  Also to all other Military that I know and don't know.

Thank You God for blessing us with Emergency Personnel and Military who will always be there when needed.

November 10th - Thankful Day 10

We are so very Thankful for our Immediate families.  Family is the best thing in our lives other than one another.  We Thank our wonderful parents for raising us to be who we are and teaching us morals and values in life.  Our siblings for always being there for us.

Thank You God for blessing us with amazing parents and siblings that we can always call on when needed.

November 9th - Thankful Day 9

We are very Thankful for our Vacations that we have been able to take.  We have been fortunate enough to take atleast 1 vacation a year since we have been married.  Some of the vacations have been much needed to help get our mind off of other things.  We have gotten to experience and see many new places together which we truly enjoy.  We just love to go on trips whether they are long or short get aways.  Getting away has always been great for us.

Thank You God for blessing us with our vacations and being able to explore different places.

Just a few places we have visited, you can see below.

Gatlinburg

St Louis



In Boston at Fenway Park



Cruises to several different places

Struggling Tonight

When we were told what day to test, we were both originally scheduled to be off of work however, since Trent has went to days, he is working opposite days of the week than what he was so he now will be working on the day that we test.  He tried to take off but someone else already is so I am off work but Trent will be working.

I am really struggling tonight and very emotional over the fact that Trent will be working.  Last month, we were fortunate enough to be in St Louis while we tested so it was a great way to keep our mind off of things however this time, I will be alone.  I pray now more than ever that we get good news because if not, it is going to be one heck of a miserable day all by myself.  If we get good news, it will be fine because I won't struggle with being alone but I will be sad that Trent won't be off with me to celebrate.  I will have to try to think of some special way to tell him while he is at work if we are.  I don't want to just call and tell him, I want it to be very special. 

It messes everything up that he has to work because if we are pregnant, we were going to try to make a surprise trip to Manchester to tell my family in person instead of on the phone.  It just really makes everything so much more difficult.

Times like now is times that I really miss and hate being so far away from family.  If I were still close to family, I wouldn't have to worry about being alone. 

We were told to test on Monday the 14th which I believe is at least a day too soon but I seriously now want to test even a day sooner on Sunday the 13th so that me and Trent will be off together.  I know if I do test on Sunday though that I am just torturing myself if it comes back negative since it could be too soon.  I would consider putting it off a couple of days however we will not be off together after the 13th until the 21st so we would be putting it off a whole week.  Obviously we aren't going to do that because we are too anxious and we have to call the doctor to have blood work confirm it if it comes back positive so we can't wait a whole week. 

Please keep us in your prayers for Monday.  We pray that we get Wonderful news but if we don't get good news, we just need some major prayers for some big time peace and comfort that day.  We also need prayers on making the right decision as far as trying again in December or taking a month break and starting back in January.  I am pretty sure we would do it again in December but it is all so very overwhelming and going to be difficult to get another possible negative.

How Awesome is Our God?

Yesterdays church service was about how Awesome our God is. 

How awesome is Our God?
1)  His Salvation - He rescues us and saves us.
2)  His blessings - We are blessed more than we deserve.
3)  His presence - There may be times in your life that your lonely but your never alone.
4)  His forgiveness - For he forgives us for our sins.

I want to partner with God. Partnering my weaknesses with His strengths.- Pastor Mickey Brackin

Last night I couldn't go to sleep because I couldn't help but to think of how blessed we are.  We have so much to be Thankful for.  In all honesty, there is only 1 aspect in life that we want but are not blessed in.  That is having a child.  As hard as it is for me to say, in some way, we have to be blessed that it has not happened yet because when it does happen, it will be Gods timing, not ours and when it does happen, we will be blessed beyond all belief.  Think about it.  If we want something, we go get it.  We have absolutely EVERYTHING we could possibly want or need.  I am so grateful to serve such a wonderful God where we are so very blessed.  I know that God sees the perfect timing to give us a child.  As hard as that is to understand, I know that it will happen in his timing.  He has blessed us in so many other ways, I know he will bless us with this also. 

I know that we have been posting the things we are Thankful for but I just wanted to share this blog as Sunday was a wonderful service which should make anyone see just how blessed they are.  Really got me to thinking that we have been doing a daily Thankful post since it is November but maybe I will start doing monthly Thankfulls just because we have so much to be Thankful for and as brother Mickey said, we should be Thankful every month, not just November.  Every Thursday, not just Thanksgiving, we should be Thankful EVERY DAY.

This link will take you to the list of Mars Hill sermons but the one from Sunday 11/6/11 is the one that this blog is referring to if you would like to hear it.
http://www.mymarshill.org/media.php?pageID=23

Make sure to Thank God daily for the blessings in your life.

November 8th - Thankful Day 8

We are Thankful for our jobs.  We are both blessed with jobs that we love and wouldn't rather be doing anything else.  We are Thankful for our jobs because without our jobs, we would not be able to afford all the ridiculous expenses of infertility.  Not only that but obviously, our jobs help to provide in other ways.

Thank You God for blessing us with jobs that we love and jobs that enable us to help others.

7 Day Countdown

I woke up this morning and thought oh my gosh, a week ago today we was at the doctor for the ultrasound.  This means that in 7 days from today, we get to test.  Oh my goodness I don't know if I can wait that long.  In all honesty though, the wait has not been as bad as I thought it would be.  For the most part, we haven't even really thought about it.  Of course, it occasionally comes to my mind but it really has not been drilled into our minds like I thought it would be. 

I asked Trent what he will do if he is a daddy in 7 days and he says he will jump up and down and do cartwheels and I will have a heart attack. Trent asked Bullet what he was going to do and Bullet just turned his head and looked at him with his sad eyes. Yep, he is going to be jealous. He ain't gonna like it that he can't be jumping around on my stomach anymore since that is where he likes to stay.

We haven't decided yet what we will do if this month fails.  We thought about taking December off so that we won't be testing about a week before Christmas but now that we have at least 2 tries left, I think we will probably go ahead and try next month.  We just didn't want to do our last try in December and possibly have our last fail right before Christmas since I am already struggling with Christmas this year.  We hope we don't have to worry about this but I guess we will find out in a week.  I wish it was something that we could consider when we were faced with the decision as right now we just want to be positive however, unfortunately it doesn't work that way.  If it fails this month, I have to call them CD1 to let them know so we can start everything over again therefore it doesn't give us time to make the decision if it fails.  We have to make a decision now and prepare for whats to come.  Hopefully though we will be preparing for a baby or 2. lol

We have been doing pretty good.  Can't complain.  Trent went to days as of Saturday which has been a pretty big adjustment.  We can't wait until I go to days with him that way we won't be opposite shifts.  Until I go to days, I guess one of the two of us will be sleep deprived because we won't be staying on 1 shift as we have always done before.  Since we were both on nights, we would stay on night shift even if we were off but now, its not so easy.  My sleep has been all jacked up this weekend as I worked Friday night and then have altered it so that I could spend time with Trent when he got home from work and then go to bed with him at night.  We only have a month to tough through the opposite shifts.  After that I should be on days.  Thank God. 

Well, I just thought I would update everyone on how we are doing.  Hope everyone else is doing well also.

November 7th - Thankful Day 7

We are so Thankful for our Health.  Sometimes we may think we have it bad but if you look around, there are plenty of people out there much worse than you.

Thank You God for Blessing us with our Health which gives us the ability to work, have fun, and enjoy life.

Since I have been posting pictures of what we are Thankful for, I will post a picture today where we look nice and healthy and happy.  Wasn't quiet sure what to post so thats all I could come up with.

November 6th - Thankful Day 6

Weare so Thankful for our home.  We are so blessed and fortunate to have found it in forclosure and got such a great deal on it. 

Thank you God for blessing us with a roof over our head to shelter us and keep us safe.

November 5th - Thankful Day 5

We will NEVER be able to express just how Thankful we are to that VERY SPECIAL AND VERY SELFLESS person who has helped to make the last 2 months of IUI possible. 

Without this person in our lives, we would not have the chance to achieve having a child and parenthood through the very special way that we have been trying. 

Thank you so much God for letting everything fall right into place and for that special person that was so willing to help us out in such a very special way.  I just pray that one day, we will be able to show such gratitude for all that he has done for us.

Trent holding the vial of sperm

November 4th - Thankful Day 4

I am so Thankful that I have found my soulmate.  A soulmate is the best thing in the whole world for they are the one who knows and understands everything you're going through.
Today's Thankful, we are going to make a little special by saying something special about one another.

My husband is one heck of an amazing man.  God has truly blessed me with an amazing man that I am so proud to call my husband.  He is so strong and supportive at all times.  I often wonder how he stays so strong.  He knows just what to do to make me laugh even when all I want to do is cry.  I absolutely love his personality, attitude, outlook on life, smile, geez the list could go on and on.  It seems he is always doing something to make me fall in love with him over and over again.  I admire my husband in so many ways as I feel he is such a huge inspiration to me and many others.  I absolutely can not wait to make him a father as I know he will be the best daddy I have ever seen.

My wife is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  My wife is my best friend and soulmate.  I thank God that I was able to meet my wife at college.  If she nor I did not recieve a scholarship at Motlow State, I would have never been able to meet the love of my life that she is today.  I love her sense of humor and personality.  She is good with children and I can't wait to make her a mother. 

Thank You God for blessing us with each other.  We are truly soulmates for one another and definately balance one another out.  I must say though, I definately feel Trent balances me more than I do him.

November 3rd - Thankful Day 3

Oops, I was busy yesterday and was unable to post Thankful Day 3 so here it is.

Haha oh what a thing to be Thankful for but we are so Thankful for Bullet.  I could not imagine our home without our Bullet.  Our dog has absolutely helped to comfort me in so many ways.  Back when we first found everything out about infertility, I would be at home alone and crying and he was so comforting when he would jump up in my lap and lay with me with his head tucked up under my chin.  It was like he knew when something was wrong and he was always there to comfort me. 

Thank You God for blessing me with such a sweet, loyal, loving dog that is so comforting and loving.

"Don't Feel 2 Good, Just Feel 1 Good"

I feel so good about this round of IUI that it honestly is terrifying me.  With IUI #1, I honestly felt in my heart that it was not going to work and I would not let myself get my hopes up but this time is totally different.  I feel too good about it.  It scares me that I am going to get my hopes up this time and end up hurt.  I have honestly probably already cried more over this IUI than I did the last one.  Last night as I was crying, I told Trent "I just feel too good about it.  I feel so good that it scares me".  His response to me was "Don't feel 2 good, just feel 1 good".  Lol.  That is what I love about him.  He is so crazy and silly.  Haha something I just thought about, I want to feel 2 Good, and not 1 Good.  2 Good meaning 2 babies good. lol

Another silly story of Trent is the other day we were golfing and he hit his first ball bad and then hit a second one which was good.  He replied with "It's always better the second time".  We kinda chuckled at that and said that we sure hope it is better the second time.  Well, as we are done with IUI #2, it sure was better the second time.  MUCH BETTER.  I still can not believe how well yesterday went. 

I can think of several reasons as to why maybe God didn't allow it to work the first time but this time on the other hand, it seems everything is just falling right into place.  So a couple of the reasons I can think of is:
1)  IUI #1, only my mom got to go and Trent's mom didn't because of work.  She was so bummed that she wasn't able to go so, Maybe God didn't allow it to work on IUI #1 because both Granny's needed to be there to be able to experience something so special.
2)  It hit me a little over a week ago and I can not wait until the day that we can call our donor and tell him the news.  If we would have gotten pregnant off of IUI #1, he probably would not have been the first to know however this time, he will absolutely be the VERY FIRST person to know. He has been such a miracle and blessing to us that I could not imagine letting anyone else know before him.  Maybe God didn't allow it to work on IUI #1 because out of all respect and appreciation, he deserves to be the first one to know. Other than me and Trent knowing, we are most excited about telling him.
3)  We found out last night that as of Saturday, Trent is being moved to day shift and I have been told that I am going to day shift in December. Maybe God didn't allow it to work on IUI #1 because he was just waiting for all things to fall right into place at work so me and Trent could both be on normal schedules at work with a child on the way.

I think you have to pull the positive out of any situation.  As I have said before, I think there is a positive in everything.  Sometimes you may have to dig deep to find it but there is always a positive in everything.
The Ovidrel (HSG) trigger shot can give you false pregnancy symptoms however it didn't last month so why would it this month?  Well, since I didn't have false symptoms last month, I am praying that I get sick soon.  That is really sad to say but maybe if I end up sick, it will be the real deal.  I honestly don't want to be sick during pregnancy but all I can say is "BRING IT ON".  As long as we are pregnant, I pray I can tough it through anything.

Just wanted to update the blog as this go around definitely is much different with many different emotions than last time.  We are doing well just more than ready already for the 2WW to be over.  Hmm, just may have to start a count down so 12 DAYS TO GO UNTIL WE HAVE SOME NEWS!!!

November 2nd - Thankful Day 2

We are Thankful for GOD because through God, ALL things are possible. 

In our marriage, we have learned so much over the past year and it is only by the Grace of God that we have been able to do some of the things we have done.

We are so very blessed in so many different aspects of our lives and again, we can only give the Glory to God for blessing us in so many ways.

I Thank God each and everyday for blessing our lives and for being such a big part of our lives.

November 1st - Thankful Day 1

As I said before, I will be doing 25 days of Thankfulness where each day we will post something we are thankful for. 

I know this is silly to basically repost since I pretty much said all of this in the previous post but we are Thankful for our IUI today. 

We are so Thankful that we are not at the end of our tries with IUI and we had another chance today to try to achieve having a child and being parents.

Even though we did not have 3 eggs as we did last month, we are Thankful that there was atleast 1 big healthy egg ready for ovulation yesterday measuring in at 24.5 mm.

We are so Thankful that we had great numbers today in just 1 vial and not 2 as we thought it would be. 

We are very Thankful that we got out MUCH cheaper with this round of IUI than we did last month.

We are Thankful that both of our mothers got to join us during the IUI today to share in such a special time in our lives.

Last but definately not least, we are so Thankful and Grateful to God for answering prayers and blessing us with the chances to try and acheive parenthood. 

Thank You God for blessing us and for making all of this possible for us.



Me and Trent with our Moms after the IUI.

IUI # 2 = Excitement, Good Feelings, & Answered Prayers

Today was a wonderful day.  I absolutely could not have asked for today to have went any better.  All I can say is God sure does answer prayers. 

After the last procedure, I didn't want to get exact with everyone giving numbers and such but, today was so wonderful, I am going to break everything down to share it with everyone.  As I said last time, the woman said our numbers were not anywhere near what they like to see them at but, they had gotten someone pregnant off of less than what we had so not to give up.  They unthawed vial #1 and in that vial, we only had 1.2 million motile sperm.  She said that they like to see 10 million motile sperm therefore she would recommend unthawing another one.  At that point, we agreed and they unthawed vial #2.  In that vial, we only got 1.6 million motile sperm which ended us with 2.8 million motile sperm.  They had said that the ONLY reason numbers was low is because when sperm is unthawed, it will kill at least half of the motile sperm if not more.  During the last procedure, we were so disheartened that they want to see 10 million and we only got to use 2.8 million.  We also knew after this that each procedure would take 2 vials which meant that we only had 3 tries.  Well, today on the way to the fertility center for the IUI, I prayed that we would have enough numbers in one vial to use only 1 and not to have to use 2 like last time.  We get checked in, verify things and then we would have to wait an hour and a half for the unthawing process.  During that time, we went to get something to eat and then went back.  While eating, we started getting super antsy because we was not ready at all to hear what our numbers were this time.  When they called us back, the woman said "ok, lets get started" to where last time she said "lets go in this room and talk about it".  When I noticed the difference in what she said, I thought, hmm this has to be good.  Well, low and behold, it was excellent.  In 1 vial this time, we had 8.3 million motile sperm.  That is 5.5 million more motile sperm than we had last time.  Today's procedure therefore only took 1 vial since we were not far off from what they like to see.  The nurse also said that my uterus would not be able to hold the full amount of a 2nd vial so it would have just been a waste.  God is an awesome God because he definitely answered that prayer for us.  Going into today, we thought we would only have 1 try left after today but we now have 2 tries and could possibly be more if we only used 1 vial on other tries also.  We are praying that this time is the last time that we need to get pregnant however, the extra vials would be there for future use for more children if needed or wanted.  Right now though, we will just be tickled to death and so grateful to God if we were just blessed with one.

Ok, not only were our numbers WONDERFUL but for the last procedure, we paid $826 however this time, we only had to pay $125 because we had a credit and then it was cheaper since only 1 vial was used.  

After the last procedure, I did not feel good about it at all and during the 2WW, I would not let myself get my hopes up or get excited as I didn't want to be absolutely heart broken if it did not work.  I am already concerned about this go around because I feel SO good about it.  I am honestly scared to feel this good because if it does not work then I am just setting myself up for heart break.  This excitedness is bound to wear off at some point and some fears set in however right now, I could not be any happier. 

We were blessed this time as both of our mothers got to be there with us during this special time.  It is not only a very special part of mine and Trent's lives but it is also very special for the hopefully soon to be grandparents so we are tickled to death to get to share a time like this with them. 

Me and Trentie waiting to be called back

Trent holding the vial of sperm.  That's right the vial, not vials!

Me and Trent right after IUI

Trent's mom - my wonderful mother in law - with us right after IUI

My wonderful mom with us right after IUI

The 4 of us after IUI

Me and Trent giving some love after the IUI. lol.

I am learning of more and more people that read our blog that I had no clue about and It has been said to me a couple times lately and 2 times today at that that me blogging our journey is an inspiration.  I often wonder how much I should say on our blog but it does make me very happy to know that we are an inspiration to some people out there.  It also makes me happy to know that hopefully someone out there could possibly learn from our experiences we have been through.  I can tell you that I don't know of 1 person that has taken the route that we are going and it would have definitely helped me in the beginning if I had known just 1 person so I hope that I can continue to inspire people and possibly help them through our journey.

We honest to God appreciate from the very bottom of our hearts all the supportive words and prayers that have been given to us over this time.  During difficult times, you definitely learn who your true friends are and who is going to be there for you when you need it most and I am amazed at all the love and support that we have received.

I know everyone is tired of me asking but Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we will be testing on November 14th which is 2 weeks from yesterday so hopefully we will have some WONDERFUL news to share with everyone at that time.