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I know the title of this blog makes it confusing, but we really don't update this one very often. It was originally set up to journal our struggle with infertility, however, it's easier to manage just one blog so go to

Landlife

. It's where all the REED updates go!

Has it really been that long?

Who knows if anyone ever even checks this. However, it popped in my head tonight, so I thought I'd update it. Yes, I realize it's almost been a year. What a year! Life has gone on, and God has worked in miraculous ways. He's brought Jeff and me to the same place at the same time. As Jeff says, we are expecting our first baby in a few months... from TAIWAN! Yeah, it seems a bit misleading at first, but it's still true. On Beth Moore's Daniel bible study tonight, she talked about the devil attacking our weaknesses. When he realizes he can't attack a weakness anymore, don't think he's given up! He'll find another weakness. Well, infertility was a weakness. Notice the past tense of the linking verb. God has answered our prayers, changed the desires of our heart, and now we cannot express our joy over waiting for the phone call with the referral. So, there is a happy ending. Soon, hopefully very soon, we will know our son and be on the road to fulfilling our dream of parenthood.

Answers Given

The procedure went really well last Tuesday. Dr. Jack found that Abbey had no endometreosis, however, she did have blocked fallopian tubes and enlarged, cystic ovaries. He was able to remedy all of this through some procedures that must have been pretty painful based on Abbey's need for Lortab.

Today is her first day back at school and so we hope that she will be alright. The great news about the surgery is that Dr. Jack thinks that this will clear up the troubles and we should be able to have a normal pregnancy next time. That is really awesome and exactly what we were praying for. God is so good to us. We know we don't deserve all of His wonderful blessings.

The picture above is of our little girls (well, really they are someone else's, but they would be ours if they would let us). Anyway, when Abbey awoke from surgery she wanted to know how everything went. We told her the news and that she would not be able to pick up anything heavier than 10 pounds for a few weeks. She smiled until she realized that she could not pick up Cate (the younger of the two).

Hmmm...I Wonder

After going to two doctor's appointments with Dr. Jack, our local ob/gyn, we have decided to do some procedures to try to figure out what's going on inside of me. The plan is to do everything at one time this Tuesday, April 11. He's going to do some kind of laproscopy, ovarian drilling, dnc, chronotubulation, and a few other words I can't pronounce or spell. Thankfully, I will be unconscious at the time and medicated.
Since finding out I will be doing these things, I've talked with several people who have had the same things done. One was able to conceive and carry four children. Jeff spoke with another person who said they received answers; however, when she woke up her arm felt like it had been blown off. How exciting! Apparently they put this gas inside you to "blow you up" to see everything better. Unfortunately, they are unable to control how far it travels, so it can go to other extremeties in your body. All I can say is I'm not afraid of pain medicine. The one person who felt like her arm had been blown off is allergic to Percocet; thankfully, I am not. I've already told Jeff to let the nurse give me medicine when I'm able to swallow.
The outcome of this can be several different things; they could discover some blockage and remove it. They could discover endometriosis(sp?) and correct/work on it, or it may be unfixable. There could be some other problem that is fixable. On the other side, it may be completely unfixable, due to chromosomal problems, or some other thing. Jeff and I are completely aware this may not have the outcome we hope for; however, we pray that it will provide some answers. If we discover we are unable to conceive children naturally, we'll start the adoption process. If we discover some problems that need to be or have been fixed, we will continue on the path we are. Please pray that God will comfort us in whatever circumstance we are placed in.

Dealing with Disappointment

After a few glimpses of the possibilities that lay ahead, we are again not pregnant. In fact, we are quite sure I have suffered another miscarriage. Once you've experienced this once, it is easy to recognize it again. We are not angry, but we are greatly hurt and in pain. As I told Jeff,God obviously thinks I'm a lot stronger than I feel.

We have faith; one day we will be parents. The journey toward parenthood continues; we just don't know where it will take us. As you pray for us, we ask for healing, peace, patience, and guidance as we look toward the future.

In the near future, we plan to have some tests done to see if we can find out what's causing this to happen. We'll keep you updated on what happens.

3rd Time a Charm?

We have just completed our third IUI. During the midst of Live Out Loud Weekend, I went to the doctor for the sonogram required before the IUI can be completed. Usually I only have one egg that is ready, but this time it was 3! Jeff thinks it's no coincidence - it's the third IUI, three eggs, third month of the year, so hopefully the third time is a charm...and meaning he's convinced we will be having triplets!

We'll just have to wait and see, and I'm sure not complaining about extending my Spring Break by one day and having lunch at Demo's! We were the first ones there when it opened, so we received great service and a free appetizer - at the restaurant, not the fertility clinic!

Please keep us in your prayers, as we wait to see what God has in store for us. No matter what it is, we will use it to glorify God and know that it is His will.I am truly grateful for this experience and all that it continues to teach me and us.

"Three times I pleaded for the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NIV

May you find comfort in this as well.