5 years of wedded bliss!!

Where has the time gone? Today we celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary! I can still vividly remember the moment Justin asked me to be his girlfriend. He has made this crazy life so fun and rememberable. Justin is everything and more that I prayed for since I was a young girl!

7 weeks 2 days

Well I had thought I'd post in the last week because I thought I was going to see my doctor to see how many babies really are in there, but it looks like that won't be happening till February. What can you do? Honestly, I'm not in any hurry to go to the doctor. Everyone else is though! This last week has been interesting. Last Friday I woke up in the middle of the night pretty sick. I think I got some sort of food poisoning or maybe my body just didn't like what I had eaten for dinner... either way, it all came back up. Justin was great taking care of me. He hasn't had to deal with me being really sick other than migraines so it was great to see him in action. He was gone for 95% of my pregnancy with Elijah so this is a whole new playing field for him.
Well, ever since that Friday I have felt perpetually nauseous. It's pretty annoying to be honest. I was feeling so great for about 2 weeks then it was like a brick wall hit. I have good days and bad days. The bad days consist of lots of cartoons for Eli and naps on the couch for me. On my good days I try to get stuff done around here that I don't do when I'm down. Let me just say, I do a lot around here! The house has been in chaos since I got sick. There is probably 5 or 6 huge loads of laundry to put away and the entire house needs to be cleaned. I was able to convince Justin to clean the bathroom yesterday because the smell coming from it was making me sick. See, isn't he just so good to me? Today is a much better day. I didn't wake up with a headache and I'm not feeling that sick. So that means I need to get lots done.
Elijah has been great on my bad days, especially last Friday when I literally didn't get out of bed all day. He entertains himself and lets me sleep. He actually comes up and kisses my forehead and tells me to go to sleep so I can feel better. I don't think we'll get lucky again with a kid just like him.. Actually, if the way I feel has anything to do with how this new baby will be I can bet it will be the polar opposite of Elijah. We are up for the challenge though!
Well, thats all the news I have now. I hope to have more news in the coming weeks about the baby/ies. For now, i'm off to relax for a little while with Elijah before I get to work!!

We're pregnant!!

That's right. We found out on New Year's eve! It's probably the best late Christmas gift I've ever got! 2 years and 1 month after our first time trying! It has been a long emotional road, but I couldn't be happier than I am right now!--- that is until I see this little one and hold it in my arms!
My last post I wrote about having to do IVF to get pregnant and it being a year long wait. I was completely discouraged. Justin and I both felt like maybe God was closing the door for us to have our own so we began the adoption process. We submitted our paperwork and actually still have an appt for Jan 10. I think I will probably cancel it now since God has clearly closed those doors--for now!
This last month I started my new treatment which consisted of progesterone, clomid, follistim, and HCG. We actually weren't going to try this month because we were going on vacation and with this new medicine you have to have shots and ultrasounds on specific cycle days. I emailed my doctor and told her that we'd start fresh the beginning of the year. The day she replied was the day I started my cycle on my own! Completely surprised and shocked since I haven't actually had one on my own in a while (at least 3 or 4 months and before that 5 years!) It also happened to be the last day before we'd run out of time to complete the medicines before leaving on our vacation. I was rejoicing because I just knew that God was doing something big! Everything went as smoothly as it could. I was able to take most of the medicine before leaving, but Justin did have to give me the HCG the day after we left. He was a sport about it and did it without it even hurting a little bit. Within 24-36 hours of the shot I would ovulate (for the first time since starting this journey) I took a couple pregnancy tests to see if I was and sure enough I was! I also tested for about 10 days after that to see how long the HCG lasted in my system. On Christmas Eve I tested negative so I really thought I wasn't pregnant... even though I would be just a week post-implantation.
We went about the next week as if I wasn't pregnant and just enjoyed being with family. It was always in the back of my mind, but I honestly thought it wouldn't happen with all the things going against us.
At 7:30am on New Years Eve I got up to go to the bathroom and to test. It immediately came back positive! I just kept saying "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh". I debated waiting to tell Justin right away, but I couldn't keep it in. Shortly after Elijah woke up and we told him the news! He immediately asked for a brother and a sister. I just couldn't believe it! We were in shock and just amazed at how great our God is. We had so many people praying for us this time, people we didn't even know.
My due date is September 5, 2011. That is unless we are having more than one which is possible, but we don't know for sure yet. I will hopefully know for sure the end of this week.
Justin and I give all the glory and praise to the Lord. The last two years have certainly been full of ups and downs both mentally and emotionally, but we are grateful for the extra time we've had with Elijah as well as the extra time to really unite as a family. We can't wait to meet this little blessing(s). I am trying very hard to enjoy this entire process.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and for this little blessing. We ask you continue to pray for a healthy, event-free pregnancy.

IVF/ Adoption

This week was like any other week around here. Justin worked, Elijah had preschool and lots of play time with friends, I cleaned and cooked and snuggled both my boys till they turned blue! Then came Thursday. I made a last minute doctors appt because I needed to get ahold of my doctor to order me more medicine and she wouldn't respond to my emails. I had no idea that at that appointment our expectations would change forever.
You see, for the last 2 years every doctor has been hopeful that we would get pregnant within the next few months. At this point I have done 8 rounds of clomid. I went on a diet during the summer to help my body do what its suppose to do. I don't ovulate or even get a period on my own. Which isn't surprising because of my PCOS, but the odd thing is is that all my levels are normal. Nothing is elevated even a little. I also have had one successful pregnancy so why shouldn't I be able to have more?
My doctor proceeded to tell me that our only option would be to do IVF. No big deal right? NOT! I still have 6 more months worth of treatment before I can be put on the year long waiting list. So at the earliest we are looking at next February for our first round of IVF if all goes as planned... and well we all know that dealing with military doctors nothing goes as planned. So while the news was hard to digest, the hardest part is that we may not even be in the Marines next February.
Justin and I are praying about what our next step is because his 5 year contract is up in October. If he gets out we will start this process over (not all of it, but some anyway) and be put on a new waiting list with a new doctor and possibly paying for the entire thing ourselves.
The news is hard any way you look at it. We've been trying over 2 years and will be trying for at least 18 more months before what I need done can get done.
All the while we have been praying about adoption. It's always been a conversation in our home. Even when we were dating we talked about adopting later in life when our kids were older... never did I think it would be something that we would start to seriously pray about at the ages of 24 and 25. We have though and we are excited at the prospect of this being the way we will add to our family. We are still in the praying and seeking council stages, but we both feel this may be where God has been leading us all this time.

I'd also like to add that we do know that God can get us pregnant at anytime and we have faith that he will heal my body. He has given us this desire and has placed us here for a reason. We are so very thankful for the support that our family and friends have given us. Please continue to pray for and with us as we wait on the Lord to reveal to us where we should be going from here.

He's home!!

That's right, my love made it home safely from Afghanistan on Wednesday! We have been enjoying lots of family time the last few days. Homecoming was amazing. I had two sweet friends with me to video tape it as well as photograph it. Our last homecoming sorta fell apart (times kept getting pushed back and it ended up being at 4am!) so needless to say I was so excited to have both Chynna and Kelly there to document the 4th best day of my life!
We are still getting use to being together again. It's certainly a transition, but so far so good! We've been to Lego Land and the beach plus had a really great meal at Outback! Since it's Saturday that means football is on. Anyone who knows me personally knows I absolutely LOVE to snuggle with Justin on football days! It's a good solid afternoon of just me and him on the couch enjoying each others company.
As for Elijah and Justin.... well they picked up right where they left off! Those two are like to peas in a pod! Justin had Elijah laughing so hard the other day and I thought "I'm pretty sure he hasn't laughed that hard since Justin left." Justin has said about 10 times now he can't believe how big he got. Even I have noticed lately how old he is getting and how smart he is! He doesn't forget anything (which is a blessing and a curse) and actually corrects us sometimes!
So, all is well here! I'll post a few homecoming pictures and the link to our video just in case someone hasn't seen it!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubb5eXtQnYA

Final stretch

This is it folks! We are mere days away from our beloved husband and father returning to us! Where has the last 6.5 months gone? It's been a flurry of fun events with both busy and lonely days. This week my calendar looks so busy I'll have to schedule in sleep!
I was able to talk to Justin yesterday. He sounds good. VERY ready to be home. They have officially turned over their jobs to the replacements so now he just waits to leave which is a huge sigh of relief for me because now he is no longer in harms way!
I think I forgot to post about his promotion this month. Better late than never, right? Anyway, he was meritoriously promoted to Sargent the beginning of this month. I've always known he was a fantastic Marine. Seriously, the guy works harder than anyone I know! I am so proud of him! We have just about a year left in the Marines.(or really in this contract) We aren't sure what we are gonna do after this. I think we'll start looking at all his options outside of the Marines and see if any compare. With the economy so tough right now we don't want to be foolish and just assume getting out will be fine. We do sacrifice things being in the Marines, but it has allowed us to be stable in a lot of areas people are struggling in right now. I'm so thankful for God's provision of this job. The time apart from each other and our families is so hard sometimes, but we've created a new family here that we love and it makes missing birthday's and holiday's a little more bearable.
Elijah is so excited for his daddy to be home. He (Eli) has a lot of plans for him when he gets here. Including many soccer games, football games both watching and playing, fishing, and other random things he comes up with. I on the other hand just want to relax! I do realize its not THAT tough being a stay at home mom, but getting a little break everyday is going to be so nice again! Heck, even to take a shower uninterrupted is exciting! Plus I so can't wait to snuggle my beloved and just be able to talk to him whenever (I) want!
So, in case you don't hear from me again for a while it's because we are busy prepping for his return! Hopefully my next post will be our homecoming one!!

We are almost done.

Well, a few people have reminded me to update this thing so I might as well. I don't like posting when I have pictures to post so then I just don't post. Guess I should get over it, eh?
We are so close to the end of this deployment and I'm pretty busy getting things together and in order. I'm not sure why I put so much off before he comes home (as this is a regular habit of mine any time he leaves no matter the length of time) but it probably helps pass the time quicker.
I've been buying things for our house and figuring out what room I'm going to work on next. I'm pretty sure our bedroom will be the next project as I did buy new bedding last week and need to find a paint color to match it. Plus I need new curtains since ours don't match the new bedding. I'm pretty pleased with all the upgrades and love that our house is turning into a home. Just a few more projects and I can take a short break from it!
Well, that's all that is going on with us right now. Elijah is good. Started pre-school and loves it! He is just as excited as I am about Justin coming home. He still wants a brother and asks for one almost daily. Hopefully we can give him one soon!