David's Italy Post: Day Eight

Day 8:

All packed up and making our final trip to Rome ... we had to get a hotel here in order to catch our flight and avoid sleeping in the airport... the other down side of staying so far away from civilization. :-(

I had mentioned this a couple times throughout the trip, but I was surprised how few VW Beetles we had seen this trip, even though they're made in Germany (practically right next door). We had seen lots of Fiats, VW Golfs, Smart Cars, Mini Coopers, and other assorted micro-cars, but only 1 Beetle in town. So on the train ride this morning, Carmen points and smacks me in the arm twice (rather hard), THEN says "a yellow one and a green one" with the biggest grin on her face. Of all the luck...

David's Italy Post: Day Seven

Day 7:

Back to Rome. We got up early to our alarm (which we double checked a couple times the night before) and left on time. We've been looking through a lot of archaeological sites, churches, and other stuff that's been uncovered and restored from 2-3,000 years ago. I like this whole archiology thing ... except for that whole digging in dusty and dirty places and lots of waiting. I think I've just seen too much of Indiana Jones and National Treasure. ;-) LOL!

Another day with lots of walking and we were both physically and mentally exhausted... I think we were ready to be home in Fargo at that point.

David's Italy Post: Day Six

Day 6:

The plan was to go to Rome again to see more stuff, but we didn't realize we didn't turn the phone volume back up after leaving the churches (where the signs had the "no" sign over the image of a cell phone) so the "alarm" was only a visual one... no beeps and not even a vibration so we didn't wake up until over an hour after it was set for. We tried calling the taxi company, but the phone wouldn't get an outside line for some reason and we still couldn't get cell phone signal... after we talked it over, we realized there wouldn't be enough time to do anything if we got a later train so we decided to finish what we didn't do yesterday. We looked around campus, but the pool and courts were apparently closed for the season (which made perfect sense), but they would have cost money anyway so we just went for a walk, sat on the deck, read our books, and enjoyed relaxing for a change.

David's Italy Post: Day Five

Day 5:Finally, a day of rest! We slept in until we woke up, which was VERY refreshing, but I woke up around 7:30 (which is odd for me). When you figure that I went to bed shortly after 9, it makes more sense, but still. ;-)
We went to lunch at the restaurant that we tried to get to our first night and found it a couple curves down the road further than we went the first night. Oopsie! Once we were there, we looked through the menu and Carmen decided on pasta while I was debating between the pork loin, sausage, lamb, or beef steak. I decided on the steak and MAN was I glad I did! I'd have to say it was THE best steak I've ever had (or at least an immediate second)! I normally like my steaks medium rare, but the language barrier didn't translate and they cooked it fully, but it looked light (almost the color of pork), it was juicy, and was one of the most flavorful pieces of meat I had ever eaten. I asked Carmen if I should give my complements to the chef or the farmer and she said neither because they wouldn't speak English. True. LOL!
We walked the 800 meters back up the winding hill, during which time I recalled from high school track that 800 meters is 1/2 a mile... although I could never run that far back then, which explains why I didn't remember. LOL!
Carmen went back to reading her book, and I set back to captioning the pictures of the first 3 days of our trip, which ended up taking most of the day (and to note, it took another day to caption the next couple days of our trip after we got home). I had a little panic about the plug when the battery got low because the power converter we had to buy was a 2-prong plug while my laptop plug is a 3-prong. :-s On the plus side, the front desk had a 3-prong converter that they let me borrow and I was able to caption all of the photos up until then and sort out the ones that didn't work well (removing the blurry and superfluous ones). I was surprised when it took 2 full charges of the laptop to finish them all.
By the time we noticed how late it was, we realized that our plans to tour the grounds of the resort were basically done as the sun was setting so I cooked a spaghetti supper with the groceries we had gotten and served it up with the few utensils that were offered in our unit. We had a calm and relaxing day so I was more than happy with that. ;-)

David's Italy Post: Day Four

Day 4, Halloween:

We had our first non-crazy driver bring us to the train station. He was following speed limits, going a decent speed, using turn signals, and slowing down plenty for corners. To put it in perspective, the taxi that brought us to the resort the first night/morning and the one driving the shuttle into town were driven similar to some of the James Bond scenes... zigging and zagging around the mountain (literally... we were on the other side of the mountain as the town), zooming around cars that were going the speed limit, and flying around curves that left me with a death grip on the seat. It was oddly refreshing.

SUPER hectic day in Rome today! We took the train and a subway (my first) to St. Peter's Square, waited in line 15-20 minutes to take about an hour walk through the Bascillica including going through the dome. That was such a steep climb up, the ride down would be one FREAKY ride at Disneyland. ;-) That's one that you may want to check the pictures... it's mind boggling to think about the people building and designing this thing.

From there, we almost ran over 3/4 of a mile (it took us 13 minutes to get there at a jog/run) to the Vatican museum (the last half a mile being the line of people to buy tickets... thankfully, Carmen already bought ours online). I know Carmen hasn't moved like that since the 5k and I think she even performed better in this run than the 5k... but we were both sweaty and exhausted because the tickets had a time listed on them that we had to be there for. Needless to say, it took a few minutes to compose ourselves (with the guard telling Carmen to put her shawl back on when she took it off to fan herself)... I'm glad she didn't bite his head off after the run we did to get there in time. ;-) After 90 minutes of walking, Carmen mentioned how hard this would have been if she had been pregnant... blessing in disguise? ;-)

When we finally got to the Sistine Chapel, it said we couldn't take pictures... bummer. I would have LOVED to get some shots of the ceiling and some of the artwork in this room, but I can understand with how many pictures and puzzles of it they had in the lobby and throughout the walking path. :-s Now I knew Michelangelo did the ceiling, but I had NO IDEA that this room was like 4 stories high and painted beautifully floor to ceiling! I was awe inspiring and would have given me a Crick in the neck had we stayed there longer. I was also really surprised at how many paintings of topless women were in this church! I'm not sure if it was the culture, if people just didn't wear as much back then, or if they were just more pervy back then, but I was taken aback none the less. :-s

A good lunch in the cafeteria with several eating options available. They had Italian food (mostly pasta), American food (burger or a corn dog), German food (which I didn't recognize enough to take a chance with), and even pizza. During the lunch, I had a super top-secret mission that I had to do without Carmen knowing... now that I've already given her the Christmas gift I bought, I can say that I snuck back into the gift shop (while "going to the bathroom") to buy her a rosary for her collection. She had no idea that I got it and I (half panicked) told her I would get certain items out of the backpack where I hid them so she wouldn't find it... all worth it on our personal Christmas when she got a tear in her eye after opening it. ;-) Am I slick or what? ;-) LOL!

LOTS of great pictures from this day so I won't go into details about those, but I saw my first pay toilet and surprisingly little of any indications of Halloween the entire day... just one little girl with a pair of fairy wings on in St. Peter's Square, a small group in costume (which looked like advertising for a store, not for fun), and a small carved pumpkin on a stoop in the resort. It was All Saint's Eve/Day so it was PACKED in a few places because of that, but the difference in culture was pretty apparent with this.

On our way back to the train to Assisi, we stopped in a small market (think the size of a corner grocery store in the U.S. as there were no "supermarkets" that I could find anywhere) to get some groceries and snacks. Not surprisingly, some pasta was super cheap... but Ramen noodles that normally sell for under 20 cents in the U.S. were marked at €1.49 (around $2) EACH!! Apparently the "college food" around there would be the typical Italian pasta. :-s

David's Italy Post: Day Three

Day 3 (that felt like day 2):

The next day, we woke up to an alarm once again... trying to adjust our bodies to a 7 hour difference is not easy. ;-) We decided to plan this day for going into Assisi proper for some sight seeing as the resort was a good 15 minute drive away. Thankfully, we were awake enough to think to look for the store as we passed it.

The shuttle dropped us off at the bus station and said he would pick us up at the same place that evening. No problem... except that we had no idea where to go and we were still starving. Carmen wanted to call her mom because she promised she'd call when we got to the resort, but there was no cell signal in the resort because there is part of a mountain between us and the nearest cell tower, apparently. :-s

We made our way towards the bus station's service window where someone else was being helped... no clue what they were saying as it was all Italian (and saying that makes me wish we had gone to Greece so I could say "it was Greek to me"). LOL! So while we were waiting and wondering if the person spoke English, Carmen saw a vending machine that offered a map of town for €2 (almost $3). Rather pricey, but one of the best purchases we made that day. Once we figured out where we were and saw where stuff was, we started walking and figured that we could follow the signs to the McDonalds as the worst case scenario ("5 minutes away" is what we figured it said... clearly by car). We snapped some pictures of a church on our way down, but were REALLY excited when we turned around... FOOD!!

There was a cute little cafe in the wall with a sign out front offering the sandwiches they had... in Italian, of course. I recognized a couple of the words from eating Italian sandwiches in various restaurants, most without realizing they were Italian. LOL! I picked one that said it was big and Carmen picked out hers. You can see them at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2157330821433&set=a.2157304380772.2101948.1491362892&type=3 although I couldn't tell you what they were named... I didn't care enough to write them down as I was too hungry to care. It was so beautiful to have our first real Italian meal (after almost 30 hours from the breakfast on the plane) but near the end of the meal, we questioned what the custom for paying was as they said we pay after when I tried to hand them my card.

The crazy thing was some of the prices on U.S. imports... a 250 ml (roughly 10 oz) can of pop was €2.50 (almost $4) and a 500 ml (almost 17 oz) bottle was €4 (around $5.50... the same size being just over $1 in the U.S.). I told Carmen that I think those 2 were the last of her pop for this trip (although she had a few more). ;-)

There's a lot of gambling here, too. Around half the stores sold scratch-off cards and a few had slot machines. One had one called "Far West" and showed cowboys shooting it out... in other words, what we call the Old West. It makes sense, but it's still weird to see. ;-)

The rest of the day was mostly sight-seeing, taking pictures of ancient churches, beautiful countryside, and the old fashioned buildings that reminded me quite a bit of the days of King Arthur. ;-) Even more interesting were some of the updated store fronts, some with all sorts of electronics, internet, drywall, and very modern looks inside while the outside looked like they were in a castle wall. One of the funnier (and cooler) things that I didn't get a shot of was when a Ferrari (the only one we saw the whole trip) was driving down these very tight streets within Assisi... it was cuter when a little girl gasped as she saw it pass and almost shouted, "Ferrari!!" to her parents. LOL!

I finally let Carmen call her mom around lunch time in Italy (which was around 7 or 8 AM in North Dakota) as I didn't think Elsie would appreciate us waking her up in the middle of the night... she was relived that we called and was glad we waited. I called my mom next and told her we were there and couldn't call out from the resort so both moms could pass along that we were there and safe.

And now... a message from David

So I told Carmen I would write a blog post about our trip to Italy a couple months ago... and yes, it's taken this long to remember to do it, find time to do it, and find the right motivation to do it. Procrastination may not be my best friend, but I've known him a VERY long time. ;-)

This will be the bulk of the story of our trip that isn't already outlined in pictures... some is a bit longer than others, but I'll ignore the details that the pictures show. You can see the pictures at http://www.facebook.com/burleigh2/photos (in the 4 albums that mention Italy or Rome). This is my first blog so be kind. ;-)

On to the blog!

Day 1... and 2, really:

What a looooong day! Got up at 6 AM Fargo time, landed in Italy around 2 AM Fargo time (9 AM in Italy), then had a 3 hour train ride (plus layover times)... we were awake for about 26 hours before we got to the suite (with maybe a few minutes of nodding off during the flight). We got 2 meals on the flight... a decent chicken dinner (although the sauce on the chicken was NASTY), a breakfast sandwich as the sun came up over the Alps, and a snack or two in between. Speaking of the Alps, it was a beautiful view that was grossly obstructed by the plane wing since we were in the exit row... but the extra leg room was a nice blessing. ;-)

We touch down in Italy and followed what signs we could read (as well as the crowds that seemed to know where to go) and made a few wrong turns on the way to the train station, but we finally found it. Now, there were no fast food restaurants on every corner like there were in the U.S. and no options to buy pre-made food much of anywhere we passed in the train stations. Needless to say, we were SO hungry by the time we got to the suite because of how little we had to eat... understandable. We went to the main office and asked where we could get some food and they offered that they had a limited selection of perishable food: break, jam, ice cream... the basics. They also said there was a small store about 800 meters to the right down the road. As with many Americans, it's been a LONG time since we've had to convert meters into feet/miles so we walked down to the entrance as they said and looked around.

There was a cute little building to the left that looked like a house that was made into a cafe or maybe a B&B so we walked over there and saw all the lights out and the place looked closed. The sign listed the hours and it was the local "Siesta" time where everyone took a break, it seemed. Okay, fine. We were starving and exhausted so we went back to the suite, ate some peanut butter crackers that we brought for snacking (the only food we had at the time), set an alarm, and passed out for 2 or 3 hours. When we got up, it was dark again so we walked down towards the cafe... but the lights were still out. Throughout the whole trip, we could only guess that the family was on their vacation and didn't think to put up a sign... but all the plates and glasses were set so it didn't make sense either way. Weird.

So we're back where we started, but it's dark out... bummer. We started thinking about the directions they had given us and started walking to the right of the entrance as opposed to the left, which was right when you were entering the property... remember, we were very tired at the time. ;-) After we had walked for almost 10 minutes in almost no light (the only street lights being at houses and businesses that were rare) down a winding road with no shoulder (so we're walking in dirt and weeds half the time when we're not on the road) and with cars flying by at way above the speed limit, Carmen got nervous enough and we still couldn't see any lights for the store so we decided to turn back and go to bed.

We begin our journey again...

I have a call into Dr. Hansen's office in Sioux Falls. I wanted to order my medication for our next round of IVF prior to the end of the year because I am just a few dollars short of my $1000 yearly co-insurance. Once I meet this, my medication is practically free!

We hope to do our cycle in May again.

Flood Insurance

I also wrote this one in September...Hmmm...

I feel so dumb saying but David and I will be purchasing flood insurance. I pray to God that we will not need to use it! We live out in Eagle Run in West Fargo. We are located right in the middle of the Sheyenne River and the Sheyenne Diversion. The Sheyenne river is still the highest I've seen since we've lived out here in West Fargo. There isn't much more time

10 years ago...

I wrote this in September...Not sure why it never posted!

I met someone who I thought I would for sure marry! Oops...not the right guy!

8 years ago I started hanging with someone who I thought I would eventually convince to marry me...He used and abused me for five years...I wasn't completely innocent either...I liked to have someone around....Totally not the right guy!!!!

Three years ago this month...I had started talking to a guy...just checking it out...seeing where it went....He was nerdy. I love nerds....

Two years ago...I married that nerdy guy. He is absolutely the right guy!

I love you David Mark Burleigh!!!!!!!!!

We're Goin' to Atlanta!

We're going to Atlanta for Christmas! This has caused Heather and I to break out in song when we say "we're goin' to Atlanta".

This is BY FAR my favorite musical in the entire world...Cotton Patch Gospel! It is a "nodern" take on the birth of Christ taking place in rural Georgia.

Here is a video of the song we've been singing around here lately!

Christmas Traditions?

What are you Christmas traditions?

David and I are trying to come up with ideas for our own Christmas traditions. I told him that I wanted to start something for just our family. A tradition that we could continue just the two of us until we had our own kids. I want us to take time to share a meal together and reflect on the year that is coming to a close. A time for us to give each other our gifts. Just be together.

In my immediate family, my Mom would make lasagna, garlic bread, and apple salad for our meal. We would go to church on Christmas Eve return home to eat. After we cleared and washed the dishes, we would open our gifts. Dad would sit in a corner with the garbage bag for wrapping paper collection.

I want to have that sort of tradition with my family. I have a love of paninis. I think I could eat a panini every day! We could have many choices of toppings (various meats, cheeses, veggies, sauces) for our family to choose from. It could be interactive. It's not completely unhealthy if you lean more towards veggies and less towards cheese and sauces!

I was surprised at David's reaction. I shouldn't be because he is very calculated in his decisions. He even said, "I don't want it to be stupid." So we have temporarily settled on paninis. Maybe we'll try it out this year to see how it goes. At this point, we will not have kids by next Christmas. So we can always do another test run of another tradition next year and pick the better of the two!

Hold on tight!

We have been back from Italy for over a week. David has requested that he be able to post about our trip. Hopefully that will come soon!

Silly me, I thought that things would slow down after we returned! Boy was I wrong! We had about a week break from things and now we will hit the ground running into the craziness of the holiday season! I am determined to enjoy this process! I am determined to take a day to sit, stare at the tree, and listen to music.

This weekend we have our annual Thanksgiving meal at church. I'll be there most of the day decorating and running errands for the ladies (I still refuse to cook!).

The following weekend we will be going to the Concordia Christmas concert with my outreach team. Char, Stephen, and kids are coming all the way from Oregon for the concert! I hope the weather stays "nice".

Then the weekend after that we have David's Christmas party. I tried on my favorite dress and it fits really well. I decided that I just need a new pair of shoes to go with it. I can wear this dress for both the Christmas concert and the Christmas party. I'm so looking forward to the yummy food at David's work party! And the dancing! And the PRIZES! Mama needs a new lap top!

The next weekend is the Christmas party at church.

Then the next weekend we go to Atlanta for Christmas! No white Christmas for us but I DON"T CARE!

Where was I on 9/11/01??

I have the worst memory...but I remember that I was working at the U. S. Bank Service Center in Fargo. I had just started there in May. I was called into the cubicle of my manager along with a few other people. She told us that the twin towers had been hit. I'm assuming that this was around 9:00 or so because I don't believe that the Pentagon had been hit and the plan in PA had not crashed.

I don't remember if it was this day or another day that week but I went home for lunch. I was watching the news coverage. I did not want to go back to work. I wanted to stay home to watch the news coverage.

I remember feeling like it was unbelievable. It just didn't make sense.

I also remember what I felt on the 1 year anniversary. I remember having a feeling of, "we made it!" We made it through the first year without completely crumbling....

On the 10 year Anniversary, I reflect at how different my life is today than 10 years ago....some for the better and some for the worse...but I do feel like we made it.

United we Stand!

IVF: Update

For those of you that aren't my friends on Facebook or missed the post in between all of my Farmville Posts, here is the update on how our IVF went.

I went in for the retrieval on August 26th. See previous post about that here. Two of the embryos were biopsied on the 29th. Find that post here.

On the 30th, David and I left for Sioux Falls after work. We were trying to rush there to make it to Outback for supper. We ended up checking into our hotel and just running to McDs for a quick bite because we were both so exhausted.

The next morning we waiting around our hotel for the phone call about our two embryos. About 10 am (or so), we received the devastating news that one of our embryos had TCS and the other results came back "inconclusive". We found out later that the DNA evidence was not very clear. This could mean a few things a) the embryo wasn't growing as it should and would not be viable anyways, b) there were additional chromosomal issues (like down syndrome or something similar) or c) the biopsy was not sufficient and there wasn't enough tissue to test. Anyway you slice it, we were left feeling like we'd be blind sided and the doctors and the genetic counselor were feeling the same way. I had a perfect amount of folicles and eggs to harvest that we were all dumbfounded!

Where do we go from here? David and I had decided when we found out about the two embryos, that we would take some time off if things didn't work out this time around. We are thinking that we'll go through another cycle sometime in 2012. We both agree that we'd be playing with fire if we try to do this again January-May because of the snow! If this wasn't a time sensitive thing, I'd probably sign up to do this 1/1/12! But we cannot take the risk of getting hit with a huge blizzard and not being able to drive to get my eggs harvested!

Emotionally we felt blindsided. We are doing well as can be considered. I'm definitely more clingy than normal! David says I need to find a friend or a hobby. :) Haha! David is frustrated about the financial aspect (no surprise there!).

Financially speaking...we aren't quite sure how we are sitting right now....we were NOT planning on having to do more than one cycle because we do not have fertility issues. We got our first bill which was about $4000 less than anticipated and that was prior to submitting to insurance. We are PRAYING that this is the only charge. I'm sure it's not but I'm trying to remain positive! Please pray that they bundle their charges!!!! I called the business office and I don't think they knew what I meant by "bundled charges". Why am I such an insurance nerd??

Two Embryos Biopsied!!

Just got a call from Sioux Falls! 2 of our embryos were biopsied!!! Please pray VERY HARD that both of them are free of TCS!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 2nd Anniversary! We have had some ups...and some downs...not to mention this crazy journey of fertility treatments!

I love my husband so much. He is so amazingly handsome! He is my rock! I cannot imagine my life without him!

Here is a picture of us on our wedding day! Not one of my faves but its one of the only ones I have on this computer!

Egg Retrieval

I had the egg retrieval on Friday (8/26). We were at the surgical tower at about 5:30 am. I got to chill out in my pre-op room until about 6:45 when they took me upstairs to the operating room. I had a spinal which is the strangest feeling in the entire world. They were very happy with how it went!

The procedure was strange too. I, obviously, couldn't feel anything from the waist down. During the procedure, I kept feeling like I was shaking. Come to find out that I was! It was the doctor working on the retrieval! So strange. I had an awesome CNA who talked to me the entire time.

I was back up to the recovery room at about 7:45 am. So it really was a quick procedure. I felt sick about 8:00. At first I thought I was hungry but my blood pressure dropped pretty low and I almost threw up. Not a good feeling. I was FREEZING! They ended up putting those blankets that you see in trauma scenes on tv. Like the aluminum foil ones and then they pumped it with hot air.

I think I was down to my post-op room (which was the same as my pre-op room) about 9 am. They nurse said (and I quote), "Oh the spinal should wear off in an hour)...I made David tickle my arm as I drifted in and out of sleep. 10 am. Yep, still can't feel my legs. 11 am, yep still can't feel my legs. I had some crackers and jello. Who knew that jello would be so satisfying on an empty stomach?? It really hit the spot.

12 pm, I could feel my legs and move them but I still couldn't move my hips. The nurse had already drawn up my discharge papers at 11 am! Oops! Finally they came in about 12:15 and basically forced me to get up out of bed to try to go to the bathroom. I think my butt was starting to fall asleep from laying there so long so it was a good thing they did! About 1 pm we were on our way over to the clinic to get some further instructions from the fertility clinic.

I think I was back at the hotel by 2 pm. David and I napped until 6 pm. He took off for home when Marie and Heather got there about 7 pm. It was really hard for him to leave. I just wanted him to get home already so I didn't have to worry about him driving by himself.

I feel much better today. My bum is a little sore as my progesterone shot didn't go so well on Saturday night. We now realized the importance of icing the site prior to the injection. Oops! It served me right as I was being a total jerk to David.

Now we wait to see how many eggs fertilized. On Saturday, only two had fertilized which an additional 2 being immature. They were going to continue to watch those 2 to see if they grew. We're not working with very good odds but I am trying to remain positive.

Today they will biopsy the eggs if they fertilized. We won't find out until Wednesday if any of them are "TCS-Free". This means that we still have to travel to Sioux Falls tomorrow night. I am praying boldly that all 4 embryos have grown and none of them have TCS. I don't ever want to have to go through the retrieval process again.

Now I know!

I now know why they sedate you when they retrieve the eggs!

I've been home from the clinic for about 90 minutes. The procedure went well. I didn't really know what to expect but it was different than what I was expected. It was in the operating room. The doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist, and radiology tech were in the room with me. My entire body shook when they stuck the needle into the cyst. There was a lot of cramping. I cannot imagine having to do that for EACH egg! Imagine 15, 20, or even 30 pokes with a NEEDLE at your ovaries! Geez!

A few weeks ago at church, the sermon was based on Psalm 1:1-3: 1. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in seasons and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. After reading that, Pastor Dude asked the congregation what kind of life we thought this meant. I immediately thought fulfilled. Resting in the realization that my Lord is with me always makes me feel fulfilled. Having the friends and family that I do makes me feel fulfilled. But what isn't this enough sometimes? I think we get in our own ways. It is easy to wallow in self pity or to become excited about those things that really don't matter.

At the end of the service, we sang "It is well with my soul". Scarlett provided a brief history of the songwriter and I actually did some additional research on him. The songwriter, Horatio Spafford, suffered many loses through out his life. His only son died at age four in 1871. During the Great Chicago Fire, he lost most of his possessions and money. In 1873, his family planned a trip to Europe. He sent his wife and four daugters ahead of him. The ship they were traveling on was hit and sank quickly killing all four daughters. His wife sent a telegram saying, "Saved alone."

This version of the song is sung by Christ Rice, one of my favorite Christian singers, In the grand scheme of things, what David and I have been through in the last few days is nothing compared to losing all of our children in a span of 2 years. Many have suffered before us. Many will suffer after us. Resting in the arms of Jesus is the only glimpse of hope that we can rely on. It is through Him that we will have a fulfilled life.

Prayers for a fulfilled life for each and every one of you....

It is will with my soul!

Blessings in disguise??

We found out this morning that I have a cyst on my ovary. It was not there 2 months ago when I had my saline sonogram. It is most likely a little ball of hormones. I go in on Monday morning to have it aspirated.

At this point, this little bugger may or may not delay our IVF. They will know more once they do the aspiration. I am so discouraged right now!

It really goes to show me that I know my body. I had been feeling sort of "off" the last few days. Just uncomfortable but I chopped it up to the lupron medication. Yesterday, I felt like I had gas or was constipated but I knew I wasn't. I kept thinking it was odd but was reassuring myself that I was just having period like symptoms but added this to the list of questions to ask today at my appointment.

Laura Story's Blessings is on REPEAT!!!

We love to coupon!

David and I have really taken to couponing! It is another one of my part time jobs besides my schooling and our fertility treatments.!

So far we have spent $513.99 on items (cereal, paper p

roducts, snacks are our popular items).

We have SAVED $297.58!!!!!

This doesn't include the $20 or more in target gift cards that we've received.

David is pretty excited and wants to call the recycling centers to see if they'll pull coupons for us. I'm not quite at that point as he is not the one that cuts and organizes the coupons.

We decided that we don't want to start a stockpile because we just don't have the room. We are running out of room right now. So I'm sure that we'll start slowing down for a bit. But it's really fun to watch the total drop at the register! Our favorite place to find deals is Cash Wise!

If you're looking for help on couponing check out Valley Deal Seekers or FM Cheapskate for local deals!

My coupons are currently organized with the system designed by the Krazy Koupon Lady.

However, I'm thinking of using this product from Thirty-one going forward.

Friendship...

I have always struggled with the concept of friendship...I never knew when the appropriate time was to call someone my friend. I never wanted to call someone my friend in fear that they wouldn't reciprocate the feelings. I still struggle with this concept today which can be very frustrating.

To me, a friend is someone that I can share everything with. There are not very many people that I trust with ALL of my secrets to.

A friend is someone that I can be myself around. I am very strange at times. I realize this! I like to be goofy. I like to be silly. I don't take a lot of things too seriously. I have realized in the past few years of traveling that I do have some control issues. I like things to be orderly and the way I like them. I just tell myself that I like to control the things I have control over (now would be a good time for me to insert a picture of my cupboards. Two shades of blue dishes....alternating....).

I have also realized that friends come and go. They enter your life at a particular time or season to strengthen you and then send you on your way. No one likes to see a friendship end especially on bad terms. We should not be offended if a friendship just fades away.....

I know that I can be a horrible friend. I know that I am selfish (I only like certain movies, certain foods, certain activities). I know that I gossip a little too much. I am horrible at keeping in contact with friends. I hate talking on the phone. I forget to respond to emails, texts, and Facebook messages/posts. I realize that my friendships may seem very one sided because of this....

I've also realized that I don't have to be everyone's friend and I don't have to like everyone. This is a very important life lesson that everyone should realize. Just because I don't like someone doesn't mean that I shouldn't be respectful....

I've also realized that some people don't see the humor in my husband's VERY dry jokes. Not everyone can appreciate his nerdy tendencies as much as I do! I love nerds! A lot of my "friendships" have been reevaluated in the past year because of how others treat my husband or act around him. Why do I want you in my life if you cannot accept and love him? I have met many friends' husbands and boyfriends. Some of them are real pieces of work..but you know what? You love them. I love them. As long as they don't beat the crap out of you, they are good people in my book and I will respect them and your relationship. Is it too much to ask the same in return?

A friendship is supportive no matter what. I wish that some of my "friendships" would allow me to be the person I am. I just with that I wouldn't dread some situations or groups of people that are supposed to be my friends. I wish that I was strong enough to enter these situations without leaving broken.

I wish that everyone would appreciate David for the warm loving, and nerdy guy that he is. He has such a genuine heart but most people don't realize this because they dismiss him so easily. Yes, he is outspoken but he does it out of love (I'm still struggling with this one too!). If you are rude to him in my presence, I really have no time for you. It's like people don't realize that I can see the look of horror when we approach them in public. Seriously? Is it that painful to visit with us?

These are just a few of my thoughts that have been running through my head. Not looking for any sort of resolution. Just wanted to write them down in hopes that I'll be able to have some clarity on some of my "friendships".

8:30 pm: Shotagedon

I've been saying to David all weekend that I didn't want Monday (today) to get here!

Tonight about 8:30 pm we will begin our first round of shots. Tonight I will get my first Lupron (hormone) shot which prevents ovulation. I will be on this shot until on/around August 23rd. The second shot is Lovenox which I was on before when they thought I was taking birth control with estrogen. This shot is to prevent blood clots and I will be on this my entire pregnancy. So if all goes according to plan, my last Lovenox shot will be sometime next May.

I am on these two shots until August 12th. On the 12th, I'll be on Lupron, Lovenox, and stimulation medication until I go in for my egg retrieval which is scheduled for August 18th or 19th.

Please pray for David as it really does pain him to have to give me these shots! He feels absolutely horrible. I told him that I get a present if I "behave" during all of this and don't cry too much during the shots. I really think that he deserves the presents...maybe I should get working on that!

4th of July: Davidson Family Pictures!

We went to Rugby for the 4th of July. Here are some of the pictures we took!

Concetpion-moon

Our conception-moon (term from What to Expect Before You're Expecting book) was wonderful. David was a little bored but I had fun! We traveled many miles throughout South Dakota.

I was hoping to get just ONE picture of the many Wall Drug signs. Not familiar with Wall Drug? Check out the history of this fantastic place here! We didn't actually go to Wall Drug this trip but it is on our agenda for another trip very soon.

This picture gives you an idea of how they make the murals a the World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. As they said on the video, it is a GIANT paint by "corn" process!

A view of the corn palace from the parking lot.

A picture of me by the corn statue in front of the corn palace. Like a true Cobber....

Pictures from our trip to De Smet, SD (the Little Town on the Prairie).

David and I in our traditional prairie men and women head wear.

He's so handsome!

This new birth control (in addition to the stress of school, work, and fertility stuff) has really done a number on my acne. I can't remember the last time I had three zits on my chin!!! Doesn't help that my stress relief is to pick at things...

This is the house that Pa built! Ma, Pa, Mary, Carrie, and Grace lived here. We highly recommend paying the $8 per person for this tour! We drove out to the Ingalls Homestead and decided not to pay the fee for that one because it seemed to be more hands on for kids. It looked really fun though!

David and I in front of last home that the Pa, Ma, and Mary Ingalls lived in.

No pictures from Brookings but if you find yourself there, go check out George's Pizza & Steakhouse! There is not a shortage of pizza joints in this town because of the university (we counted 9!!!). There are four located right downtown in Main Street. This was the fourth and last one that we walked into. We had the chicken ranch pizza (chicken, ranch dressing, bacon, tomatoes, and onions). It was so delicious! The staff and atmosphere were great too! They also serve a variety of Greek food. If you go there, let us know what kind of pizza you got because we absolutely plan to go back again!

Full-time job...

Anyone that goes through fertility treatments should know that it really is like having an additional full time job. If I was a stay at home mom, I could not imagine having to make these phone calls when I have kids running around the house. It's hard enough trying to make the phone calls in between the conference calls, homework, papers, and work!

My latest round of phone calls have been surrounding my medical records from previous surgeries. When I had my BAHA procedure done in 2007 (or was it 2006?), I was put under a local anesthetic. I want a copy of the anesthesiologist report for my consult on Friday because it will (hopefully) provide some good information. Like the fact that I am perfectly OK to have an epidural without being intubated! This has involved several phone calls, voice mails, authorization forms, trip to the medical records department, etc. I just wish I would have thought about this earlier than a week before my appointment. There is no telling if it will make it to Sioux Falls on time.

Day 3: Take 3 or 4 or ?? Not sure!!!

I'm on my Day 3 for the 3rd of 4th time! I hope this is the last Day 3 I ever have to worry about.

I am scheduled to start taking the Lupron on August 1st. The stimulation meds will start on August 12th.

We have our first appointment with the folks in Sioux Falls on Friday (the 29th of July). We will have a marathon day of appointments including the doctor, nurse to sign consent forms, genetic counselor, anesthesiologists, and business office (to work out payments).

After our appointments, we'll possibly head over to Mitchell, SD to see the World's ONLY Corn Palace! If we don't go there, we'll head straight to Brookings, SD to spend the weekend. Saturday we'll go to De Smet, SD (the Little Town on the Prairie). Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about De Smet in her book "By the Shorts of Silver Lake". I'm calling this trip our "Conceptionmoon". I read about a conceptionmoon in my "What to Expect BEFORE You're Expecting" book yesterday morning!

I think we're on the right path!

I finally received a phone call from Sanford in Sioux Falls. When the coordinator left his message, he said, "this is going to be a very long and extensive process." But from the other things he said in his message, I could tell that he didn't know that we had already located the mutation of my Treacher Collins Syndrome gen and had already done the leg work with Genesis Genetics. He was very pleasantly surprised when I called him back and told him I had all the information he needed.

My question is this though....I had a letter from MeritCare with the mutation information. MeritCare is now Sanford. How could he not see the information in my file? He said that my IVF clinic in Fargo didn't even have this information (they're part of Sanford!!!). This is probably only alarming for me because I'm going to school for informatics and we talk about the inefficiency of the health care system in the US. Anyway....

It sounds like they do not "batch" their IVF patients into a single time frame per month. They can do IVF and PGD at any time. Wahoo! Now we just need to schedule the moving of the equipment to the surgical floor...and we're set to go!

I think I can get excited again....

Delayed...AGAIN!

We found out on Friday that our baby making process would be delayed...AGAIN! My fertility doctor called to say that they were not going to take the anesthesia recommendation lightly. They had recommended that I not be sedated unless I was at an inpatient facility with all the equipment needed should I lose my airway. We had come to the conclusion that I'd be having an epidural for the egg aspiration/retrieval process.

Apparently there are even some cases where patients will lose their airways even with a spinal or epidural. Again, this was something that the folks at the fertility clinic were not willing to take lightly. My doctor spent most of last week trying to come up with a solution for me.

The reason for the delay is that we will be going through the retrieval and transfer procedures at the Sanford Hospital located in Sioux Falls, SD (about 3.5 hours from Fargo). Apparently even this isn't going to be a small undertaking by this facility. Eggs and embryos are DIVAS! They don't like light, smells, bumps, etc. The facility in SD is having to move their equipment from one floor to another to accommodate me (and those Diva eggs/embryos). This requires some major scheduling and arrangements. We know that we are delayed until July or August but we're not sure the exact dates.

We are selfishly bummed because this means no potential March 21st baby (my birthday is 4/21 and David's is 5/21). I think we'll get over it! :0)

We're annoyed because my belly is so black and blue from the Lovenox shots. I'm hoping that I'll be able to go off the birth control which will give me some relief in the mean time.

I keep thinking that it is a good thing that I have a good sense of humor!!!!

Two Shots down: I think we're going to survive?

We are two shots in on the Lovanox (blood thinner). I think we are going to survive!

David gave me my first shot on Friday night. I pretty much stressed out about it the entire day. I finally realized that although I've had many procedures I have not had that many shots. Just my occasional flu shots or my immunizations. Justifying my fear made me feel a little better but I was still so nervous! The first shot stung really bad. I was so exhausted from the days events that I went to bed right afterwards. The second shot didn't hurt as bad. I hope they keep getting better as the days go on.

Friday was a very busy day of appointments! Our first appointment we (or mainly David) learned how to administer my shot. The highlight of that appointment were the doughnut holes! I really think I need to make a donation to the Roger Maris Cancer Center for all of the doughnut holes I've eaten! They really do brighten my day!

The second appointment was with the anesthesiologist. This was a very enlightening appointment and I was SO glad I chose to do the consult! I informed him that I've always been hard to intubate whenever I've had surgeries. I told him my concerns about being put under a sedative because I could very easily lose my airway. The anesthesiologist flat out told David and I that under no circumstances would he feel comfortable with sedating me without the proper equipment AND that we were far enough from a hospital that I could very likely suffer major damage should they lose my airway. Ok! Done! No sedatives ever! Doesn't bother me one bit as I hate being put to sleep!

My trial transfer went well. The hardest part was the chlamydia and pap test. I did bleed a lot...and the doctor did say, "yeah, do you bleed easily". After the trial transfer, I told him about the consult with the anesthesiologist. I found out that they're able to do an epidural rather than sedation. Wohoo! I was so nervous that we'd be out of luck! Not looking forward to the epidural but I'm hoping it will be good practice for the real deal in 10ish months.

I had blood work done...the gal had a hard time finding a good vein. She had to poke me a bunch of times. If you are a hard stick or have a slow blood flow, I highly recommend the butterfly needle. It is less scary to me for some reason and I don't have to worry about how they are going to change the vials without shaking the needle. I just request that they use that type of needle if they have it.

My annual exam went well. I told the doctor that she better not leave me! She laughed and said she wasn't planning on it. Dr. Lindsay Dahl for those of you in the FM area looking for a new doctor!

Busy day on Friday. Busy day yesterday! Homework to finish today and then I have the WHOLE WEEK off! Very appropriate for me to have my "spring break" now as we had snow flakes on Friday and icky rain yesterday.

Day 8: No news is good news...

Today marks Day 8 of our cycle. Nothing new to report.

I was really starting to worry about being on the Lovanox (blood thinner) while I had my trial transfer procedure done on Friday. It is not uncommon for me to bleed after my normal annual physical exam. Last year I had the saline sonogram and I bled so much that it was just embarassing. My doctor even said, "boy, you DO bleed really easily". After talking to my awesome nurse friend, Anna, she advised me to call the clinic to make sure they had clotting factors on hand for my procedure. They decided not to start me on the Lovanox until AFTER my appointment on Friday and then take me off it prior to the aspiration (retrieval of eggs) and transfer (implantation of embryos). This makes me feel so much better!

Lesson Learned: Be your own advocate when it comes to health care!!! You cannot expect the doctors to be able to see the entire picture. They are very good at what they do but if you don't tell them or remind them, they will not know!

With the rising cost of health care and health insurance, it becomes even more critical for you to become your own health care advocate. If you don't, you will not be getting the most bank for your buck!

Day 3: How in the WORLD can we afford this?

Day 3...pretty uneventful so far. I'm just working the day away while I'm in the ATL visiting my sister. She's at work and I'm at home with the dog. Enjoying her brand new living room furniture. I am so jealous..but I'm also thinking, "a kid would crawl up this entertainment center in a heartbeat!"

It looks like I have some new followers (welcome!). I know some of them are fellow TCS gals and I am so glad that I can be a resource for you.

I wanted to talk a little about how David and I are able to afford the IVF with PGD process. I posted some cost information on a previous post and you can find it here. I will try to post a more complete up to date post next weekend when. In addition to the costs I have listed there, there are two very important figures to keep in mind. The IVF at my clinic is $6000 AFTER insurance (would have been only $3000 but they add another $3000 for their portion of the PGD services). The PGD was $6000 and my insurance does not cover this. As you can see, this is a very expensive process!

What steps can you take?

1. Start the process of becoming debt free!

Prior to meeting each other, we were working VERY hard to become debt free. He had some debt from a previous marriage and other business decisions. I had debt from being too immature and irresponsible to have credit cards.

Cut up those credit cards! Start paying off those bills! Needs not wants! Invest in tomorrow and not today!

We are very happy to say that we are debt free with the exception of our home mortgage.

2. Seek advice from a tax professional to take advantage of all of your tax deductions!

I am so thankful that my husband is a tax wiz! We are able to take advantage of several tax deductions because of his home business as well as some of my medical expenses.

We also lucked out that we purchased a home the year prior to our decision of doing PGD.

We received the tax rebate and used that money for IVF with PGD expenses.

3. Research your options. I am very fond of Genesis Genetics but you need to find a genetics institute that works for your family! I did some research on a genetics institute for my paper this week. I was really impressed with the transparency they showed in their price listing. They had all sorts of packages available. If I get a chance, I'll be sure to post more information.

4. Remember that this is a very lengthly process. If you want to move forward, start planning now!

Day 2

I thought awaiting the arrival of my Day 1 was stressful....

It had nothing on the events of Day 2 and I'm only 3 hours in. I received a phone call from the fertility clinic that my hematologist was suggesting that I be on the Lovanox (blood thinner shots) while I was on the birth control. I literally had a panic attack when she told me this. I'm not going back to Fargo until next Thursday (5/12). I freaked out that I was going to have to give myself the shots!

I called the PA at the cancer center and she informed me that the baby asprin I took would be OK until I got home.

My appointment schedule for 5/13:

8:00 am: Learn how to administer the Lovanox shot

8:30ish-9:00 am: Anesthesia consult. No appointment. Just drop in...oh joy!

9:30 am: Trial transfer

10 am: Take David back to work

10:55 am: Annual physical

I have to have someone sit at my house to accept the last batch of drugs because I won't be home to sign for them.

Lesson Learned: Do not plan to go anywhere the month before your IVF cycle.

Day 1

I can finally call my fertility clinic to tell them that I had my Day 1! I've been spotting off and on for about a week. Day 1 means that I need to go get blood work done for measuring my hormone and thyroid levels. I have to do this on Day 1, 2, or 3. I think I'll go to the lab this afternoon or on Day 2.

Since I am traveling, I have had to find a lab here in Harrisburg. I was going to drive all the way out to Hershey to the Hershey Medical Center. They're big enough that they accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield of ND but then yesterday I found that they have a lab in Harrisburg.

Language Barrier

What is it about Harrisburg, PA that is different than the other Pennsylvania cities or cities on the East Coast that I have visited? I seriously think that they think that I'm speaking some different language. I have NEVER had this much of a "language barrier" in all of my days of travel. Yeah, I get it. I have a speech impediment but GET OVER IT!

Very frustrated...which I think is having an effect on my Day 1...

Operation Baby Making Resumes!

We are so excited because we have been approved to start our IVF cycle in June. My cycle date will be the week of June 13th. I start taking my first drug on May 21st.

Wahoo!

COUPONS!

I went shopping with my mom and sister today and we went crazy with all the coupons I've been collecting! It was kind of exciting. I won't lie. I was sort of pretending that we were on Extreme Couponing!

My mom and I sat and figured out that we had spent less than what we saved! We saved over $300 and we (by we I mean SHE) spent around $200 or so. The savings is a very rough estimate and was probably more than that. I had a coupon for every place we went. Everything we bought was already on sale.

It was really exciting!!

Down to a 6.8 baby!!!

Oh yeah! I brought my A1C down from a 7.7 to a 6.8. Normal range is up to a 6.

I just talked to the endocrinologist's office. The nurse said, "good job!!". Whew...I've asked her to as my PA to contact the fertility clinic on my behalf. She wanted it below a 7. They wanted it to be a 6. I'm hoping we can compromise!!!

PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!

101 in 1001: In Progress

Here is how my list is shaping up so far!

1. Run a 5k

2. Get pregnant

3. Complete a cross-stitching project

4. Obtain my Master's in HCA

5. Go back to Disney World

6. Create a diaper cake

7. Eat greek yogurt

8. Eat a pomegranate

9. Go juneberry picking with my Dad again

10. Take David to Denver

11. Learn more about geocaching and GO!

12. Get to know my neighbors better

13. Invite said neighbors to neighborhood block party

14. Watch the entire series of Scrubs

15. Hang up pictures in the dining room

16. Purchase large clock for the living room

17. Girls weekend

18. Go with David to a local casino to gamble

19. Return to Vegas and spend time at the pool!

20. Go swimming at least 10 times during the summer (0/10)

21. Get advice on how to make lawn look nice with out having to weed and feed it.

22. Finish my honeymoon scrapbook.

23. Finish my May Seminar scrapbook

24. Finish my High school scrapbook

25. Finish my after college scrapbook

26. Finish my before high school scrapbook

27. Take one picture of David and I each day (0/101)

28. Clean and organize the garage

29. Have a rummage sale

30. Lose another 20 pounds by 6/13/2011

31. Visit the International Peace Gardens

32. Go to the MN State Fair

33. Attend a Sugarland concert

34. Save money for an iPhone

35. Go to a Redhawks game

36. Go to a curling event

37. Menu plan on a weekly basis (0/143)

38. Get advice on couponing!

39. Purchase a Christmas tree topper

40. Become a 2 Christmas Tree family in 2011

41. Purchase a cupcake cake for my birthday

42. Put more money into savings

43. Go to Mount Rushmore

44. Have a picnic in the park

45. Set up the tent in the backyard

46. Go camping

47. Plant a tree in our yard

48. Plant flowers in the flower bed

49. Watch the entire Veronica Mars series

50. Try 2 new recipes a month (0/33)

51. Take more pictures at family gatherings

52. When going through the drive-thru, buy the meal of the person behind me

53. Plan family fun day activities once/month (0/33)

54. Go to a movie with David once/month to expand my horizon (0/33)

55. Go caroling

56. Go ice-skating

57. Join the West Fargo library

58. Make the upside down apple pie recipe

59. Bake chocolate chip cookies

60. Purchase a bike and helmet

61. Buy a present for the giving tree

62. Watch the sunset with David

63. Buy a new lap top

64. Buy the book David and I talked about last night

65. Organize my recipes and cookbooks

66. Go to a Twins Game

67. Try sushi again

68. Refrain from drinking pop for 30 days (0/30)

69. Complete a jigsaw puzzle

70. Watch every series of Parks and Recreation

71. Cancel satellite and get Hulu and cable

72. Set up TiVo

73. Purchase new running outfit

74. Complete Couch25k program (0/9 weeks)

75. Get a massage

76. Buy the nice George Forman grill David and I wanted for our wedding

77. Watch 5 Rogers and Hammerstien musicals in 72 hours

78. Watch 5 Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals in 72 hours

79. Write three letters of praise/thanks about good service (0/3)

80. Have a candlelit dinner

81. Have a date night once/month (0/33)

82. Take a Zumba class

83. Take dance lessons with David

84. Go to a Broadway tour show at the Gate City Bank Theater

85. Go to a musical at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater

86. Buy/fix front door

87. Do 20 push ups at once (and not the easy kind)

88. Buy water softener

89. Fly a kite

90. Take cake decorating

91. Take a trip out west on the train

92. Attend a comedy show

93. Visit local health food/organic food store

94. Attend a scrapbooking retreat

95. Write down a blessing each day for a month (0/30)

96. Send Christmas cards to at least 20 people/families

97. Purchase a new bra once I lose the 20 pounds

98. Recover dining room chairs (from David's mom)

99. Paint bedroom

100. Organize closets

101. Complete all items on this list in 1001 days!