4th Wedding Anniversary

Wow, where has the time gone?  Brandon, aka Sneakers, and I have been married for FOUR years today!

I can honestly say that I married my best friend.  Brandon and I definitely worked on building a friendship early in our relationship, and I know that's why we're so close today.  He's truly the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with.  He's my everything.

The past four years have been filled with so much happiness, heartache, good times, bad times, and joy.  Through it all I can say that we have found joy in all things and now we truly have our Joy, our darling Elliana Joy.

Everyone tells you that having children changes everything, and our lives are already different now with Ellie.  There are more arguments in tired moments and less time spent together.  I do find myself missing my husband so terribly that it hurts.  But when I see him holding our daughter with so much love in his eyes it warms my heart and makes me fall even more in love with him.

To Brandon:
Happy Anniversary, Sneakers.  My love for you grows as each day passes.  We have been blessed beyond measure and I am so thankful that God gave Elliana to us.  She was the perfect anniversary gift this year.

To Ellie:
I'm so happy that you're with Mommy and Daddy on this anniversary.  The past two anniversaries were so sad for us trying to get pregnant.  You are the only gift that we needed to give each other this year, baby girl.

"I never knew how much I loved your Daddy until I saw how much he loved you."

Second Anniversary of our Fertility Struggle

As of today, we have been trying to conceive for two years.  I love numbers, so here are a few random statistics about our journey thus far:

• 22 cycles to date of trying to conceive a child
• 730 prenatal vitamins consumed by me
• BBT (basal body temperature) taken approximately 700 times
• 50+ injections given at home & work
• 32 pregnancy tests taken at home & work
• 20 opk (ovulation predictor kit) taken at home & work
• 20 vaginal ultrasounds 
• 3 HSGs (dye test)
• 2 surgeries (Hysteroscopy & Laparoscopy)
• 1 SIS (saline infusion sonogram)
• 1 IUI (intrauterine insemination)
• 1 Chemical Pregnancy - 1 Angel Baby - Peyton Lane
• 1 IVF cycle with a severe case of OHSS
• 6 FROZEN EMBRYOS
• Countless tears spilled

I could keep on listing statistics, but that would be boring for y'all to read.  

I am in a completely different place than I was when we first began this journey.  Never did I think that it would take so long for us to conceive a child.  We have been blessed beyond measure in the past two years.    I never thought that I'd be able to look at this day without being devastated.  It's still difficult to be here on this day, but I have hope that God will provide in His timing.  

Day 5 Follicle Check

We had our first ultrasound/follicle check today. To say that I'm progressing well is an understatement!  We have 12 follicles on one ovary and 16 on the other.  The measurements were crazy awesome!  Some of the numbers I remember were all around 2.0cm, 1.8cm, and 1.6cm.  My lining looked great and was triple stripe!

I am still awaiting more specifics about my blood work from Janet.
I will update as soon as I know more information!

This is how we roll at the fertility clinic...

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Our anniversary was lovely!

Brandon made me breakfast yesterday morning and drove me to work.  We went to dinner at Joe's Italian with Rachel, Clint, Jennifer, and Dad last night.  When they brought dessert, everyone sang happy anniversary to the tune of "Happy Birthday".  It was perfect!

Our marriage may not be perfect, but you won't get any complaints out of us!  Here a few pictures from the evening, courtesy of Jen!

A candid of us while they were singing

Posed shot

Our fabulous dessert

With my best friend

Wedding Anniversary

We have been married for three years today!

Brandon and I married at Magnolia Springs Manor in Helena, Alabama.  It rained ALL day before the skies suddenly cleared for our 6:30 pm wedding ceremony.  With about 200 members of our closest family and friends, it was perfect.   

Our marriage has been less than perfect.  We have endured many trials, but overcome each of them together (with the grace of God).  Every day presents itself with new challenges.  The past two years have been extremely difficult for us.  We both tried to make it through our circumstances on our own and realized that we can't.  When we are seeking God, our marriage is easy.  God has used our Infertility to bring us closer together and closer to Him. 

I can't wait to see what He does for us and our family in the future.  My prayer today is that we are holding our baby on our next wedding anniversary. 

I thought I would share some photos of our special day.

 

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8