Four and a Half!!!!

Vacation 4 1/2, that is!!!!

It all started with getting free Astros Tickets for Saturday, then we got free Texans tickets for Sunday, so my husband decided we would make a mini vacation out of this. We drove to Houston Saturday morning and went to the Museum District and went and saw the Tarra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. It was a beautiful day!!!! We walked around the Museum District a little and also went to the Contemporary Arts Museum. Great way to start off our Mini Vacation!!! While walking around the Museum District we saw this car......

It is a car made to look like a Hippo!!! The eye winked at us and whistled!!! Very funny!

Then on to the Astros game. We had excellent seats; we both said this is the best seats we have ever sat in. The Astros lost but we still had a great time, enjoying this great gift!

The next day was on to Texans Football! I have never been to a professional football game so I was excited about this. Again we had great seats and parking pass to park close!

It is always great to get away together!!! I truly cherish these trips that we are taking and count them all as a huge blessing that we have been able to take them!

Now on to planning things to do while in South Carolina (Vacation #5)!!!!

She wears her heart on her side!

(I KNOW....you don't know what to do.....two posts in one day!!!! This is one that I was going to post today and the one before this I just couldn't pass up posting about an answered prayer!!!!)

Zoe Jane

*Those of you that aren't animal people don't feel the need to read this post.*

There have been many people that have played a major role in my life while going through infertility. My husband is #1 on that list, but there is also a canine that has cheered me up when I am sad. She wears her heart on her sleeve side. Literally her fur makes a heart on her side but she also expresses her emotions freely and openly all the time! Wouldn't it be nice if we were like that and didn't hold in our emotions???

I will start off by telling you how we picked her. When were hiking at Enchanted Rock this guy walked past with this adorable dog and was just the right size for what we wanted.....so I went up to him and asked him what kind of dog it was and he told us a Brittany Spaniel. So when we got home we research that breed of dog and decided that we wanted one. She was more difficult to get than we expected because there were not any Brittany's in our area or even our state!!! We search online and found a breeder that we were comfortable with and agreed to fly her here. I excitingly picked her up at Hobby Airport and she was shaking and scared from the flight. We did see a picture of her online but........little did we know that she would have a special mark on her side that would bring a smile to my face.

It was perfect timing to get a dog because by the time we were going to start a family she would be out of her puppy stage (there was a lot that we didn't know at this time). Little did we know that our puppy would be 4 and we are still trying for our family and we also didn't know that our sweet little puppy would take awhile longer to mature than we thought. So here we are laughing every day at the things she does....and appreciating the blessing she has been in our lives!!! It just makes me smile when I see her heart on her side.

We just found out that we might be taking a mini vacation before our BIG vacation!!! I will call it vacation #4 1/2 since we already have vacation #5 planned. I will update when the details get firmed up. I am truly thankful for the unexpected blessings!!!!

Dancing with the BIGGEST smile on my face!

I just got the call!!!! My surgery has been approved!!!! The 2 month wait was not as bad as I thought as I prayed for peace and patience......boy, did I get it!!!! Now we are one step closer to finding out some information. I now am praying to be able to handle whatever information comes out of this surgery....good or bad....I will still praise the ONE who has got me to this point!!!! Never thought that I would be soooo happy to have surgery but this is where we are. I know that God has his hand on this and will take care of us through it all!!!! Praising God today for the small things!!!!

On Monday I will set everything up and schedule the surgery so I will let you all know a date to be praying for!!!!

Still don't know what is going on?

My headers and all my pictures keep getting removed or the files keep messing up. This has started happening ever since I put the Natchez slideshow up, so I am going to take that off for now and see if that fixes the problem.

Does it get easier, time after time?

Our first IVF treatment was the culmination of many doctors visits and many months of waiting. The day finally came and I was, to say the least, overjoyed to be finally taking that step to achieve what we have been waiting on for so long! I took each shot with excitement that we were one day closer. We got excellent news with each appointment we went to. My body was reacting perfectly, everything was perfect! I was hopeful that after months of anticipation we were finally coming to that DAY! We were given great excellent odds of this working. Well, it doesn't always work. So just as fast as my hopes rose they were shattered in one phone call.

Does it get easier, time after time?

Before we knew it we were on to FET #1. Once again my body was reacting perfectly, everything was perfect! We were hopeful once again...given great odds. Again I was shattered. Our RE kept saying she doesn't understand why this is not working...everything is perfect, our embryos are perfect, my transfers go smoothly...this should work. But what she doesn't know is this was not our time. God has been sculpting me during these failed cycles and now during this waiting period. At times it is just a gentle nudge but other times I am brought to tears at the realization of how small I really am. We were made to worship Him....who am I to want things my way? Will our next cycle produce a pregnancy... I don't know.

Does it get easier, time after time?

I know a lot of people that go through cycle after cycle (many more than I have) and have made it a routine that they endure. They don't allow themselves to hope (deep down I am sure there is hope). I have not made it to that point to where this is all routine. I get my hopes up with every procedure and every cycle. I guess that is just where I am right now. I dream about announcing a pregnancy, carrying a baby, feeling a baby move inside of me, delivering a baby and raising a child. I know I should not put myself through these emotions, but before I know it I am there...dreaming.

Does it get easier, time after time?

Things happen. Things happen almost daily that remind me that I am going through infertility. If I would let them they would knock me one notch lower each time, but I choose to blow them off and move on. People choose to not talk to me because of infertility. People decide not to befriend me because of infertility. People say thoughtless comments to me because of infertility. I am hit over the head with what people say sometimes. This is just a glimpse at my life through infertility...I am not saying this for a pity party...this blog is about awareness and documenting our journey! I know there are no words that I could say to let someone in on the emotions that go along with infertility nor do I expect them to fully understand. I have come to appreciate my true friends, my caring family, and even the prefect strangers that have reached out to me, because of infertility.

Does it get easier, time after time?

So here we are still waiting, coming up on the 60 days that our insurance said they have to make a decision on my surgery. I am waiting...with anticipation...with hope...with peace...with comfort....and also with wonder. I know God has some amazing things in store for us...we just have to be patient and wait!