God's Timing

Well since I posted my first post I have decided to split this section from Abby's actual adoption story.  Maybe break it up a bit and shorten the posts some.  AZ and I were married in July, 2000.  I had always known I wanted to have kids.  Growing up I loved playing with my dolls like they were my own real live babies.  When we were dating we discussed kids and agreed it was something we both wanted.  I knew it may be difficult for me to get pregnant as I never really had a period on my own, therefore never ovulated.  I think we had been married 3-4 years when we decided we needed help with growing our family.  After visiting with my local gynecologist, he referred us to a specialist 2 hours away.  The first visit went good and we of course were very hopeful as they said, "we can help you get pregnant".  Our first attempts were just to try fertility medications on our own with multiple scans to tell us when my egg follicles were mature enough and to induce ovulation with medication.  Sounds easy enough!  The plan they had for me included injectable medications, progesterone suppositories, and more injectibles.  We made multiple trips to the office for scans, new orders, etc., but never felt like the doctor was on board as we only saw him the first visit.  I can't even begin to describe the effect the medications had on me, not just physically but emotionally also.  Once this round was complete and unsuccessful, AZ and I decided to look at other options.  Because I never really felt comfortable at the specialist we were referred to, we did some looking and found a Fertility clinic in Kansas City with a female doctor.

We went to our first visit with more hope that she could help us in growing our family.  She was very sincere and made me very comfortable from the start.  She had gone over my history and gave us two options to try: IUI or IVF.  She told us we could do the IUI and if it didn't work, go to IVF.  Because we had already tried a round of fertility medications, we were both on board to go straight to IVF.  IVF is a very expensive procedure that isn't normally covered by insurance.  We signed up for a program through the clinic that would give us 3 tries at IVF and if it didn't work, would refund a % of the fee.  We felt this was where God was leading us to go.  So began more fertility medications, injections, office visits, scans.  Then came the egg retrieval and fertilization.  What a remember most about this was coming out of anesthesia asking how many eggs they got.  I remember them telling me it was a good retrieval (I had 12 eggs).  Then they took those eggs and fertilized them in a petrie dish.  They watched them divide and graded them on the appearance under the microscope. It truly is an amazing science to have.  Once they had matured they scheduled my transfer and placed 2 fertilized embryos and placed 6 more that had matured in the freezer for future attempts.  5 days later I had my first blood draw to check my HCG level.  Those were the longest days of my life (to date)!!! The day I had my blood drawn, I got the call that I was pregnant!!!  My levels would need to be checked 2 days later to make sure they doubled.  2 days later I got the call that my levels had gone up, but not doubled.  I would need to have another draw the next day.  The next day I got the call that it was not going to result in a pregnancy.  Devastation!!! There were so many ups and downs that I was a mess!  Along with all my hormones out of wack, it's a miracle I made it through.  We tried one more round of IVF with the frozen embryos that stayed good after coming out of the freezer.  This time I didn't have a positive HCG and I was done.  I knew my body couldn't take anymore and we needed to look at other options for starting our family.  God had a plan, I just had to wait!

Motivation

I follow a few blogs where the women have also been blessed through adoption.  It motivates me every time I read one of their posts about their adoption whether it be a visit with the birthfamily, their adoption story, or just about their precious gifts!  November is Adoption Awareness Month, so what better way to work with that motivation and share each of our adoption stories.  I don't know that I have ever blogged about it, but if our story can give just one person hope or help answer a question for someone in the adoption process then my heart would be happy.  The first story of Abby coming into our lives may be a little longer as the process leading up to her was a whirlwind of attempts, emotions and finally meeting her amazing birthparents.  So, sit back and enjoy the story(s) of how we became a family of ***5*** through the amazing gift of ADOPTION!

Shelby's Interview

Ok so I am copying off another blog, but saw this idea and thought how much fun it would be!  Shelby's 4 year old interview:

1. What is your favorite color? "Tea party Pink"

2. What is your favorite toy? "My kitty"

3. What is your favorite fruite? "Grapes"

4. What is your favorite TV show? "Mickey Mouse"

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? "Mac n Cheese"

6. What is your favorite costume? "Snow White"

7. What is your favorite shirt? "Pinkalicious Birthday Shirt"

8. What is your favorite game? "Tinkerbell"

9. What is your favorite snack? "Peanut Butter Crackers"

10. What is your favorite animal? "Nala, from the Lion King"

11. What is favorite song? "Jump Up"

12. What is your favorite book? "Pinkalicious"

13. Who is your best friend? "Emma"

14. What is your favorite cereal? "Fruit Loops"

15. What is your favorite things to do outside? "Jump on the Trampoline"

16. What is your favorite drink? "Chocolate Milk"

17. What is your favorite holiday? "St. Patricks Day, Then Easter"

18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "my monkey"

19.  What was your best present you've ever gotten? "My dreamlight"

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? "Cheerleader"

21. What are you good at? "Playing basketball"

22. Who's the coolest person ever? "Eli"

23. What does your mom always say to you? "You need to start eating"

24. What does your daddy always say to you? "I'm just playin with you Shelby"

This may be a yearly thing for us!  Love hearing what she is thinking! 

Merry Christmas 2012

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We have much to be thankful for and have been blessed so much this past year. 

Great way to spend the weekend...

So this is what I did all weekend. (Benjamin Ramsay Solis Birthday picture slideshow)

http://youtu.be/s99Caqv7La8

By myself. No kids. No husband. Just me. I got to welcome my nephew into the world and spend 3 amazing days with my sister and her family. Was happy to return home to 3 kiddos ready to see their mommy though!

CountDown

So I have been waiting for this day for months and am so excited it is finally here.  Tomorrow I get to meet my new nephew (if not before).  My sister is walking hills, cleaning like crazy to get him here before, but if he doesn't decide to show himself by 9 a.m tomorrow morning he will be forced to make his entrance.  I am sooo excited because I get to be there!  I am headed to KC tonight, my husband is manning the fort along with our 3 little indians and I couldn't be more thankful for that.  I was starting to wonder how I would be able to be there for her with having 3 little ones and 2 of them being in school.  My prayers were answered and people stepped up to help me out.   It will probably be the longest 4 hour drive tonight, but will be so worth it tomorrow when I get to be there when he comes into the world. 

These are the shirts I had made for arrival day for the big brother, big sister, and new baby!  Love them!

National Adoption Month

Couldn't have picked a bettter month to celebrate the greatest gift that has blessed our family!  Happy National Adoption Month!  We have been blessed not 1, not 2, but 3 times with this amazing gift!  I Thank God every day!

Meeting Abby for the first time (5/15/07)    Meeting Shelby for the first time (1/26/09)Meeting Elijah (4/10/11)