Anniversaries and Holidays

Howdy. Hopefully I will be able to upload some pictures from Labor Day weekend, once my USB cord to my camera has been found. I'm thinking that it is in Joseph's truck some where (I hope at least!) Not too much has been going on around here. The only updates with the baby making process is that I started ovulating a few days ago, and had to call the office to let them know. So that resulted in me going to the lab yesterday for some much dreaded blood work to check my progesterone levels. Then I go back next Monday for more blood work. Oh the joys! So in the past month, I have had to do blood work every single week. Yuck. I am almost used to it now. But not quite. Hopefully it is helping "toughen" me up for when the shots begin. That's about all on that front. Pictures and updates from this weekend coming!!

Brutus and JR.....one year later

And just for a little fun, here is what was going on this time last year. We had just brought our puppies home Labor Day weekend. This was actually their first day home with us and their first Georgia game!! Watching it I can't believe how much they have grown! {please excuse the redneck southern girl doing the narrating}

I still can't believe that it has been a year. We have enjoyed these babies so very much. I miss them being this little and cute, but wouldn't want to go back to those days for anything. We finally have them halfway trained! (or is it the other way around? hmmm...)

Saline Sonogram

WARNING: This is a very gross, graphic post. So prepare yourself!

Ok, I probably have ammo for my children, when they are being ungrateful,  for the next thirty years after this bad boy! Today I had my saline sonogram. This is to check for any blockages, abnormalities, etc. in your womanly parts. I thought this was kinda wasted on me since I had no tubes or anything to worry about blockages. But they did it anyway, and I survived. And everything turned out looking okay, thank goodness! But I'm not gonna lie, this procedure was not fun. My doctor recommended taking two aleve or something an hour before coming in because some women experience "light cramping". Yeah, I didn't believe her, and thank goodness! I took one hydrocodone pill left over from my surgery before I went and I can only imagine what it would have felt like if I had just taken an Aleve! It wouldn't have done anything!! It was not "light cramping" for sure! Granted, it wasn't the worst thing to have to done to you I guess, but it didn't feel good, that's for sure! The whole thing didn't last but about 20 minutes from start to finish, so that was good.

The whole thing started out with getting the "jaws of death" so I call them. All ladies that have ever had a pap smear know what I'm talking about. These puppies are not the most comfortable things, but I guess they open you up really nice. (sorry I'm being so graphic, but that is how it is! ) Then they put a tube up into my uterus and attached it to my inside. That was probably the most uncomfortable thing! Then they took the ultrasound thingy and stuck it up in there. Then she started injecting saline solution into the tube that they inserted. Then she moved the ultrasound stick around to view all parts of my uterus and womanly parts to make sure there wasn't anything funky going on. Then, thankfully she was done!

For the most part, it really just felt like the worst menstrual cramps you could imagine. And I have had some bad ones in my day, but just add the embarrassment factor to it. So just some cramping and a few pinches every now and again. All in all, it wasn't too terribly bad, just very, very uncomfortable with a little bit of pain thrown in. So if this is the worst that this process can bring, I should be alright. I will let you know in a few weeks when I have to give myself a shot, then my tune might change!!

So if you find yourself having to have one of these things, I would strongly suggest you taking a very strong pain medication beforehand. It will really help. But in the end it is all worth the pain, because I know what I did today is only a hole in the bucket compared to childbirth!! So ladies, just hang in there. It's not too bad and is over before you know it!

In other baby-making news, J goes tomorrow to do his thing and make his contribution to the process. They are just checking his junk out to make sure he is healthy. (and I am sure he would appreciate me announcing that to the whole world!) Then I go back in a week for a normal ultrasound. I start on Saturday taking my ovulation tests. I was pretty shocked how expensive those bad boys were. But I guess it helps the doctors get a sense on when I do my thing for retrieval later. For now, that is all that we are doing. I will update next week after my appointment for what comes next!

I Will Hope in Him!

After much thought, I have decided to put this post back up. As a lot of you know, I suffered a miscarriage back in April. It was due to an ectopic pregnancy. Needless to say, Joseph and I were devastated. We weren't planning on having a baby, so it was the shock of our lives. It was an even greater shock when we lost our precious child. However, by the grace of God, we learned to accept His decision. We know that we are in His hands and He takes care of his own. He grants comfort when it is needed. There is one verse that has given me much comfort throughout this whole ordeal.

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him! ~Lamentations 3:20-24

I have debated on whether or not I would share my journey on here, but I decided it would be very therapeutic for me to share my story. I know that it is a great comfort for me to read stories of others who struggle through the same thing and I hope that my struggle will help somebody else. Joseph and I are about to begin the long journey of IVF. We went yesterday for our first consultation. We are having to go this route because I had an ovary removed about 8 years ago, due to an ovarian cyst. Then with our miscarriage, my remaining tube had to be removed as well. So needless to say, the plumbing isn't all connected correctly! So bring on the shots and pills and needles! We aren't completely in the stage of our lives where we are ready for children 100%, but due to my proneness to cysts and scar tissue/damage to my remaining ovary, we don't really have an option as to picking the absolute perfect timing. And that is fine because I have put my faith in the Lord and know that He will not fail us.

I go back to the doctor tomorrow to really begin the process. I have no real idea of what to expect, so it is a little scary. But I will try to post everything as it happens, so others who are about to go down this path for the first time can see what it is all about first hand. To begin with, they will monitor my cycle for a few months, and run some tests on Joseph and me just to make sure everything is a-ok. If all goes as planned, we should be ready for egg retrieval and implantation at the end of November. I knew that the Lord was guiding us in our decision when the doctor told us when we should expect a positive pregnancy test. When she told us that we could take a test around Christmas I just lost it because that would have been the due date of our child. So instead of Christmas being a somewhat sad day for me, it should *hopefully* be a day of joy and celebration. So I should have an entry tomorrow with all the gory details of my first visit!! So pray for us as we begin this long process. We are gonna need it!