Bloodwork (Again) and Ordering Meds Soon!

We had our STD bloodwork redone last week (our previous bloodwork results expire in June) - the NEDC should hopefully have the results sometime between tomorrow and Thursday. Now, I'm just waiting to fill my prescriptions from Ascend Pharmacy. Most of these medicines are not easy to fill at a local drugstore, so the NEDC calls them into a specialty pharmacy who ships the meds directly to your home. The NEDC called the prescriptions in on the day of my mock transfer, but I haven't needed to fill them yet. Ascend is apparently a little eager for me to order them because they called both my cell phone and my work phone last Thursday asking when I planned to order them. I told them early June. Once I order them over the phone, they'll be sent to me overnight in a cooler (weird sounding, I know...). I am dreading the sight of those PIO (Progesterone in Oil) 1.5 inch needles!...But, I'll do what I've gotta do! :)

Sometimes this still seems so surreal to me...We are actually adopting embryos! When I first read about embryo adoption in 2006 and thought it sounded wonderful, I wouldn't have believed that Aaron and I would actually be pursuing it 4 years later! Thank you, Lord, for this amazing opportunity to rescue and love little lives!

A Gift from My Husband

My sweet husband surprised me with this gift today!
I had to share it with you guys. :)

The bracelet represents our family. The cross symbolizes Jesus at the center of our story. On either side of the cross are two clear beads which stand for Aaron and me. Next to those are two beads shaped like leaves (you can see them better in the picture below) which represent our daily prayers for our babies' growth. The two larger stones represent the embryos that we will be adopting. Right now there are only two because we don't know how many embryos we'll adopt, but the six larger beads that aren't strung are for any other babies that we may be blessed to have and will be strung later. Each one has an individual shape and size, showing that each of our little children is a unique person created by God. On either side of the embryo beads are two small white shell beads. These symbolize the purity of Jesus which we believe, through God's grace, surrounds our embryos in their current state.

The gold beads that are currently at the top of the bracelet will be moved either side of our embryo beads if any of our children don't make it to birth. They will symbolize that our children will then be in Heaven with their Father. There are also several little heart beads interwoven. These of course tell how this adoption is a journey of love. The two beads that aren't yet strung in the middle of the bracelet look like developing children (see the head and belly?). If we are blessed that any of our embryos begin to grow inside of me, then they will be strung in place of the beads that represent our children in their embryo state. We'll see how the bracelet changes as we discover how God continues to write this amazing story.




A better view of the leaf beads which represent our daily prayers for the growth of our children...



One of the two (for now) embryo beads with the white shell beads around it...



And two of the developing baby beads that we hope to string soon...

Last Year, Today, & What We Hope Is in Store for Next Mother's Day

Last Mother's Day was the day before we were given the shocking diagnosis of "infertile." I don't talk about our infertility much anymore on our blog, because I don't want that to define us or our adoption. After being diagnosed as an infertile couple, we prayed for a few weeks for Aaron's healing and he was even supposed to have another test done a few months later to check for any improvement. However, God changed our hearts so quickly that we haven't really prayed for healing since probably June 2009 and we never did have that 2nd test done.... We suddenly became so excited about adoption that our prayers, focus, and energies were quickly spent on our future children rather than ourselves. I remember someone telling us that they asked their Sunday School class to pray for our healing and I replied "Well, we're not even praying for that...Would you please pray for our adoption instead? Our frozen children are whom we are asking for the most prayer."

This is where our hearts are today:

Is infertility sad? Yes, it's part of this fallen world.

Is it the saddest thing in life? No - This past year has caused my heart to grieve over orphans in their affliction rather than focus on our own problems.


Little babies, I pray that next Mother's Day, you'll be in the warmth of my arms, rather than freezing in liquid nitrogen which is no place for children. I love you! - Mommy

Next Month...

I'm so glad that it's May and I can start saying "Next month, we will receive our babies' profiles." And after that I can start saying "Next month, our babies will be transferred to my womb." Amazing.

We did find out from the NEDC that it would be the 2nd or 3rd week in June before we received the profiles, so "late-May" is not happening. That's okay, though...June is so close now - Next month, actually! :)

For my early followers, remember when we had to have the STD bloodwork done last summer for the NEDC and the Phlebotomist wrote Aaron's name on both of our vials and we had to have it done again?! Well, make that 3 times now! Since the test results are only valid for 12 months and we had it done in June '09 and our transfer isn't until July '10, the NEDC said we have to do it again between now and then. We plan on doing it sometime this week. And more needles are coming soon when my shots begin...I should be a pro at getting pricked by the time this is all said & done. :)