We are back:) Prayer buddy announcement finally!

We are back safely, thank the Lord! We happened to fly back on the day that horrible storm was passing through the south. We ended up staying overnight in the Atlanta airport till 4 am then finally arriving home at 5:30a.m.. It was crazy but we were just happy to be on ground and safe. Please please keep in mind all the people in Tuscaloosa, AL and in other areas surrounding, who were affected by the tornadoes. Y'all, it's absolutely horrible. Over 250 people killed just in Tuscaloosa, including Univ. of Alabama students. It's just so sad. The worst part was that it hit in one of the busiest areas of town where tons of shops, restaurants and apts were located and there were people all over that area who weren't able to really get to coverage. So sad. Please pray.

As far as our trip went, it was fabulous. DH and I got to SF a day early and did a biking tour of SF along the water, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and over to the bay town of Sausilito. That was one of our most fav things about our trip. Whenever we go on trips, we always do biking tours...they are great and you get to take in so many more things than you can in a car! Napa Valley was absolutely gorgeous. We felt as if we were in a completely different countries. Rolling hills, mountains and vineyards galore! It was perfect sunny weather too! And most of all, we had the best company. My DH's brothers and their others are easy to get along with and very enjoyable. It was great!

We had another ultrasound after we got back:) Our little blueberry has grown into a gummybear!!! I was seriously so surprised to see how much it had grown in just a week! (Go back and look at last post and you can see the growth difference!) No wonder I was feeling queezy at times:) haha. I haven't thrown up though, so that's great. I don't mind the queeziness too much...as long as I have crackers or granola bar near by, I'm good. But I am having some major food aversions. I can't look at broccoli or certain veggies. I can't eat much meat or fish at all without getting that yucky feeling. I am all about the starches...greattttt! ha. But I am loving me some fruit and acids so that's good. Oh and chips, crackers, granola bars, et. We (practitioner & dr.) confirmed a more accurate due date of Dec 10. Yippee!!! Can't believe it still. Oh and my boobs are huge! I love it! hahaha.

My little gummy bear:)

And finally! I feel so bad my prayer buddy has had to wait so long. Sorry prayer buddy:) She probably thought she didn't have anyone praying for her but she is wrong!! I had the honor of praying for Ask and It Will Be Given. I went to daily mass throughout all of Lent and she was the first prayer upon entering the church. I hope so much that she felt my prayers. It felt so good to be able to pray for her and see God working in her life through her posts on her blog. What a sweet one she is! If you haven't met her, please visit her page. She would love your support:)

I miss reading up on all your ladies. I'm sooo behind! I plan on catching up tomorrow. Hope all is well with you:):):)

Little blueberry & San Fran:)

So I had a bit of a scare but all is good. On Sunday, after a 3 hour nap (yes I am experiencing the lack of energy), I started having what felt like ovulation pains on my left side. It felt like pain was in my left tube. They were very consistent...every 2-3 minutes for 24 hours. I was so scared that the baby was in my tube BUT I remembered from my past ectopic that if that were the case, my back would ache terribly and I would see spotting. So far I was in the clear.


I called PPVI and they called my dr here and had me do an early ultrasound. That was yesterday and THAT was amazing!!! Y'all, we were so scared. The last time we went for an ultrasound over a year ago we saw nothing...and that was when our drama all started. It was so sad. This time I took a deep breath, she did the ultrasound vaginally and THERE IT WAS!!!! My little blueberry:):):) And then we heard the heartbeat...utterly amazing to see such a little baby with a heartbeat. How could anyone ever abort...they are crazy!!!


I have been ravenous lately. I mean RAVENOUS. I mean like I eat and then not 5 minutes later I am starving...not hungry...starving! I can't stand vegetables at the moment so thank goodness for Juice Plus...no lie, even my ob here in town sells it to his patients. I would be worried about my baby if it weren't for that b.c I swear, I can't even look at a vegetable right now! ha I have been sucking on Preggie Pop candies in the morning during mass....I know that sounds bad but it gets me through the mass without puking! BUT no worries, I'm thankful for the nauseousness!!!


We leave for San Francisco on Thursday:):):) Happy Holy weekend in San Fran, then Napa:):) I'm super excited. God sure does have a sense of humor doesn't he. Pregnant the month we go to Napa! Haha. AND even though I am preggers, I can still taste the wine and spit it out in the spittone things:) Which means I'm going to be a true wine taster:) No worries...I won't let anything go down:) Gonna protect my little blueberry. Shoot, I'm only gonna be tasting at a couple places...not all.


I will miss keeping up with y'all over the few days. I will be able to check blogs at certain points but won't be able to respond that much. For my special IFers, I am going to light candles for you at Easter Mass on Sunday. I hope you will feel my prayers.
 
By the way, what is that big black space below? My uterus??? It's shaped like a banana????

Baby blueberry:)

A very special 14 year old boy

I don't think I have ever told you about this special person in my life. His name is G. G is an orphan here at the orphanage in town. He is also a student of mine:) He came to our school in the 6th grade not speaking. He was very bashful, quiet, and awkwardly uncomfortable. It was so sad. Since day one, G stood out to me. For some reason he was extra special to me. I didn't know why. At the end of 6th grade year, the orphanage signed G up for summer school. I happened to be teaching summer school that summer and it was a blessing:)

G continued his silence throughout all of 6th grade. Keep in mind...he didn't talk to us and he rarely talked to his classmates. I knew that he was taken from his mom recently and I was anxious to know more. That summer of summer school, I saw G laugh for the first time. WHAT! I freeked out! In a good way. My heart just bounced! That summer he started to communicate with me and with some of the kids in the summer school...it was a small class. My heart expanded with care and love for this child.

At the start of his 7th grade year, I decided it was time to get to know more about Gs life. It was October and I knew that Thanksgiving was approaching. I asked G what he did for Thanksgiving at the home and he told me that alot of the kids left to go spend Thanksgiving with their mentor families or other relatives. G, however, didn't have anyone close by so he would be staying with his house parents at the home.  I called the home (the orphanage) and set up a meeting. I talked to DH and felt compelled to have G for Thanksgiving with our family. I met with a couple of the ladies there and they informed me more about Gs life.

G had lived in and out of cars for the past 7 years. His mom was a drug attic. He didn't speak b.c his mom raised him to believe that he was the son of the devil...so any words he said were words of the devil. That is why he chose not to talk. There is much more to the story of his life but basically it was HORRIBLE! The home (which is an Episcopal orphanage) decided to take him up to see the Episcopal priest. The priest spoke with G and ended up freeing him of his thoughts of the "devil in him" and baptized him. I swear to you that next Monday, G started talking....YES! At school....to his teacher and classmates:)

I was attached! So Dh and I decided to take him to Thanksgiving with my family in Birmingham. Even though I was his teacher, I was approved through DHS and was allowed to officially be G's mentor:):):) That weekend in Bham with our family was awesome. G opened up in ways I had never ever ever thought he would. He was in heaven!!! Loving life and loving being surrounded by family.

Since then, G has been a part of our family. He is always with us for holidays and special events. He sometimes is just around for dinners. It's so great. Y'all he is so grown now. He is in my 8th grade class and is taller than me and now he won't shut up!!! hahha. He is definitely the class clown but honestly, I don't care! I, of course, have to discipline him at times but most of the time it is just sooooo great to see him laughing and joking around. He has this deep laughter that is soooo contagious...it cracks my dh up!

G came to me a couple months ago to tell me he had decided to become CATHOLIC!!!!!! Being here at our school made such a difference in his life and he wanted to be confirmed this year with all his classmates. Well, we made it happen. He took some extra classes with our priest and joined in on the classes with the 8th grade. AND GUESS WHAT....Tonight is is Confirmation and I AM HIS SPONSOR!!

Y'all I was so honored. I teared up. To see this precious child of God come this far in his life is absolutely unbelievable. Really, it is. If you knew details of his life, you would expect him to be a child making bad decisions. I know some of you are probably thinking about that movie the blindside. haha. It reminds me of that too. Although that came out a year after G was in our life, it was still awesome to see. G actually looks like the kid on blindside...except that he isn't that tall and he has a huge smile that is so big and bright! G can't be adopted without his brother and sister, so that will probably never happen. Plus he loves his "family" at the home and he is so happy there. They are amazing! BUT G knows he is a part of our family and will always be. I remember last Christmas morning when we were all opening presents, G got more presents than any of us!! To go from having nothing to having so much is just awe inspiring to me. He inspires me. A 14 year old boy. I can't wait to tell him soon that he is going to be an "uncle!" That is what he told me one day...he said I want your kids to call me Uncle G:)

Wow! Please pray a special pray for him tonight:)

Great points on suffering/A little setback/Smiles

Friends, all 48 of you who commented (WOW), thank you soooo much for your love and support. I praise God for you daily...I mean that so much. I hope you know that. Also, I have to say this b.c it has been on my heart. I hope my announcement didn't hurt anyones feelings yesterday. Instead, I pray that it brought you hope. Please know, my sweet IF girls, that I am constantly drawn to God through all of you. I will continue to pray for each of you and your struggles. I pray so much for you who are struggling with IF and I want more than anything for your happiness. Don't think for one minute that you are out of my heart or mind:) I LOVE YOU WOMEN!


I have really been thinking a lot about this journey through infertility and I truly believe that God needed me and dh closer to him in ways we weren't before. So, He showed us this through suffering....drawing us closer to him through our own sufferings. And it worked. I have grown more in spiritual life these past two years than I have in my whole life. Speaking of suffering, it just so happens that on the day DH and I found out we were pregnant, we had already planned to go to Theology on Tap to hear a speaker on suffering. She had 5 reasons she thought as to why we suffered. Three of those really hit me hard.
1) Suffering unleashes love: When people around us suffer, we suffer. We pour out as much love upon them as possible. Suffering helps us grow more in the appreciation of the love that surrounds us. SO TRUE!
2) Suffering helps us be a witness to others: Y'all is this true or what! If it weren't for my suffering, I would have never discovered Y'ALL.  If it weren't each others suffering, we wouldn't be able to understand each other's sufferings. We sure as heck wouldn't be as strong as we all have become. Thing of how much our witnessing to each other has been a positive impact on our lives. This fact honestly makes me appreciate suffering. 

I started crying in the middle of her talk on this. My suffering is still there. IF will always be

 apart of me. It is part of who I am and but it never defined me. It actually helped me become a better person. Crazy thing...suffering brought me one of God's greatest gifts to me....an angel in heaven:)

3) Suffering helps us to grow in our spiritual life: This pretty much speaks for itself. We have all hit rock bottom...so much that the only thing, THE ONLY THING, that kept us going was our faith in God and His will..


I just wanted to share that with y'all b.c the whole time I was listening to her speak, I was wishing y'all were there listening too:) Speaking of suffering, I suffered a bit last night. I'm ok now, no worries but it was a hellasish night! At about 10 pm I started throwing up. YUCK! Hate throwing up. I would rather have surgery again and have to recover for 10 wks than have a night of throwing up. NO LIE! Well the throwing up wouldn't stop. It went on every 15-20 minutes. No big breaks in between. It was one after the other. By about 11:30 it was all bile...stomach lining. HORRIBLE! I decided I had enough. Nothing was working. Sucking on ice cubes, eating bread, nothing! I called PPVI emergency line. Especially with having found out I was pregggers, I didn't want to mess around with dehydration or harming my sweet little grain of couscous (it's probably smaller than that! ha). Dr. called me back and told me ER, IV, MEDs. I waited to see if maybe I would stop. Nope. Three more times. So off we went. Got to ER at 12:30 and was there till 4. Luckily I was one of the only people in the ER....I got in quick! They put me on an IV drip and gave me nausea meds that thankfully worked. I obviously didn't go into work today. I'm resting up and feeling ok. What the heck was it? Either chicken which I ate for dinner (but so did DH) or a bug? Who knows. I am still a little blah with weakness, gas and my throat has been eaten by acid but I'm doing much better than last night. Just gonna take it easy. 


Dh and I found out we were pregnant on St. Gerard's birthday and PPVI and I guesstimated my birthday to be Dec 12th which is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadeloupe!! Talk about wow here. I was reading a post earlier by this lady friend and she mentioned St. Gerard and Our Lady together and it just struck me how amazing it was that my news went along with these days. WOW! I'm still in WOW mode and probably will be from what you others say about not even believing it when your holding your baby.

Our first ultrasound is scheduled for April 28th:):):):) Now the last time we went for an ultrasound, we had a horrible experience. I don't want to go back thinking about that day. SOOO I am trying my best to be positive. Honestly though, I feel soooo good about this one. I didn't with the first one. I didn't feel right doing the IUI and I didn't feel right about the pregnancy. This one...FEELS SO RIGHT! THANK YOU LORD FOR DR. HILGERS AND NAPRO!!!!  Supposedly I'm about 5 weeks.  We leave for NAPA  April 21st (YES I PLANNED A TRIP TO NAPA AND SAN FRAN...PERFECT TIMING HUH!! Actually I would rather be pregnant any day over a trip. I'm just gonna be a true wine taster and taste and spit it out! haha). The nurse at PPVI was a bit worried about me having the ultrasound too early and maybe not hearing a heartbeat yet so we decided the day after our trip would be best.  What an exciting month ahead:):)


I'll quit blabbing now. Just wanted to catch you all up:) Now I am off to meet these new blogger friends who posted on my last post. Thank you so much and I really look forward to meeting your blogs:) OH AND PRAYER BUDDY, I AM PRAYING FOR YOU AT DAILY MASS EVERY DAY! HOPE YOU ARE FEELING IT. AND FOR THE PRAYER BUDDY WHO IS PRAYING FOR ME, YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF POWERFUL PRAYERS FRIEND:):) KEEP IT UP! 


LOVE YOU LADIES:)

LADIES:)

I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME.......................






I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Today is P+16. I usually start on P+15. PPVI said to test if you get to P+16. I woke up early and couldn't sleep so I tested and saw two bright bright red lines!!!!! I still didn't believe but was thinking holy moly, calm down. DH and I went to church. I went to do my blood at my dr and they told me the urine test was positive. Then they called me at 3:30 to tell me by hcg # was 2,592! HOLY MOLY IT IS REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I PRAISE YOU JESUS! OH and it just so happens to be St. Gerard's birthday:):):):):) Please continue to pray for me. As you all know, my past has been rocky and your prayers would be sooo helpful. Thank you all for your love and support. I know this announcement will bring some pain and that crushes my heart. Please know that I daily attend mass and pray for you ladies and this will never stop. I love you ALL.


PLEASE PLEASE if you are my friend on Facebook do not say anything about this. We are obviously going to keep this on the down low for a while. 

Pics and Blogger meet up idea!

Update: Just realized....It's my 100th post!!! Wow. Never ever thought I'd ever be a blogger and here I am at 100!!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend:) I spent the weekend on the bay at my parents bay house. It was perfect weather. On Saturday night I talked my parents into trying sushi. We went out to eat at this sushi restaurant in our bay town and they LOVED it! So much that they want to go back!!! This made me so happy bc I eat sushi once a week and they have never understood why until now! Yay!

As I was about to post the pics for this post, I reminded myself again of the idea of having a blogger's weekend sometime in the future! Would that not be fun! We could all come stay at my bay house and have a fun, relaxing weekend:) I would love that. Just curious...would anyone be interested in that? If so, let me know! Maybe I can stir something up! We could do this sometime mid-June! You northerners could pile in a car together and you westerners could do the same! haha.

This is a view of the pay and my wharf in the early morning:)

Above is the boardwalk where I go running in the mornings. It is honestly perfect! I love it! Usually I dread running but running here, I just breathe it all in and it is so enjoyable.

This was the sunset on Saturday night before our sushi dinner:) Perfect!

One more thing...and the weekend!

I know I wrote about this a bit yester but I forgot to add something important that has to do with the health of your children or children to be! Please read to the bottom. You will be surprised at this info. There are over 17 published medical journals proving the goodness of Juice Plus. Check out the Children's Health Study. Also, here are some key facts about Juice Plus to consider:

•Delivers key phytonutrients that are absorbed by the body

•Reduces oxidative stress caused by free radicals

•Helps support a healthy immune system

•Helps protect the structural integrity of DNA  (This is huge esp b.c cancer is so rampant!)

•Promotes cardiovascular wellness

•Positively impacts markers of systemic inflammation THIS IS SO HUGE FOR MANY OF US IFrs!!!

It IS the next best thing to fruits and vegetables! My friend gives her baby 1 capsule of each per day but opening the capsule and putting it in his baby food. Also if you take it, your child can be on JP free for 3 years!

My friend's dad, Dr. Geogre Inge, M.D., who is an OBGYN in my hometown, recommends Juice Plus to his patients and their husbands daily. He also recommends they continue taking it once they conceive.
To learn more, please visit my website. Remember, Juice Plus is a whole food...not a vitamin!

Have a happy Friday. DH is going turkey hunting with some guy friends. Sounds boring to me! ha. I think they walk through the woods making weird noises hoping a turkey will walk out. hahha. makes me laugh! I'm headed across the bay with my parents this weekend to our bay house. I miss DH when he is gone but it really is good quality time I get to spend with my mom and dad. I love packing a bag and going to spend the weekend with them! We are trying out a new sushi place in our little bay town. It's supposed to be delicious!  It's suppose to be in the high 70s maybe low 80s this weekend. PERFECT! Sorry all you northerners:( I'll soak some rays up for you!

Going to mass right now to go pray for you lovely ladies:) So happy you are in my life. Man, I'd be psycho IF woman if I didn't have y'all!