Live Laugh Love.....My Journey

3 1/2 months worth of firsts.....

2011-09-05T22:17:00.029-05:00

After our first real bath at home.

Our first Father's Day.....is that a proud daddy or what?

Mommy and her little man on Father's Day

Mommy's first Dr visit after birth when he was 6 weeks old....we stopped and visited with the Fertility Dr. Unfortunately Dr Dunn wasn't there that day, but our fabulous nurse Maria was there. She was so happy to meet Colton and it really took us back to where it all began. It was so surreal to be there with "OUR" baby boy in our arms.

Mommy's Dr, who we love and can't thank enough for taking such good care of us and bringing our miracle into this world!

Our first 4th of July....not sure what that face says. LOL!

Before going to our first wedding.....

Mommy's cousin got married and we got to see lots of extended family and old friends. Needless to say little man was a hit!

The following Monday Mommy went back to work for the first time. Mommy was looking forward to going back to work but the thought of leaving little man was heart breaking. But mommy had learned that she was meant to work because she really did miss her job. If only she could take Colton to work with her all would be great. However that wasn't a possibility, but daddy stayed home with little man for the next two weeks. They had lots of fun together male bonding.

My first day of daycare! Mommy was an emotional wreck that day, but she managed to make it through. We love the daycare we found and so does Colton. His teachers love him and the owners love him too. And I am not just saying that, you can really see it in their eyes when they hold him and talk to him. It is an absolute blessing for sure. Everyday we drop him off he has a smile on his face and when we pick him up he is smiling just as big. They also have an Internet feed where we have an account and we can login at anytime during the day and watch him. Needless to say, mommy is watching all the time. :)

Our first visit to the swimming pool. He loved it and loved splashing his feet and hands. Have no fear we had him covered in sunscreen!

Mommy celebrated her birthday as a mommy for the first time. It was the best birthday by far and with this beautiful boy and the flowers he and daddy bought me I couldn't have asked for more!

Not a first, but our second trip to the pool!

About to get out of the pool and head home.....he was passed out before we even got to the car!

Our first visit to Aunt Tara & Uncle Raf's house. He loves Aunt Tara!

This pic and the next few aren't first times, but they are just to cute not to share. This was at home after one of our trips to the pool. I just love that smiling face.

Not sure what this face means, but its the cutest for sure!

Belly laughing at Daddy while at the Empanada House!

The most beautiful blue eyes!

So sorry it has been so long since I have updated but time is just getting away from me. I can't believe he is already 15 weeks old and on the 19th of this month he will be 4 months old! Time is flying by and my tiny baby is growing up so fast. Being a mommy is truly the best thing I have ever done. There isn't a day that goes by that my heart doesn't melt more and more for this little boy. He is my little monkey for sure and he has become quite the wiggle worm. Only 2 weeks ago did he really find his voice and he has been chattering up a storm and cracking up laughing. It is still so hard to believe that this perfect angel is mine. God has blessed us beyond belief for sure. I hope each of you are doing well and I hope God has blessed you too. I promise not to wait so long for another update this time. Until next time, God Bless you all!

Colton at 2 weeks

2011-06-14T21:00:00.032-05:00

Colton's first photo shoot....coming home from the hospital

2011-06-12T20:42:00.023-05:00

Colton's Birth Day May 19th

2011-06-09T16:20:00.017-05:00

Before leaving for the hospital....

Our last picture as a family of two!

Me and my wonderful nurse Megan! She was with me all day long and since I was a first time mom and they expected me to push for at least an hour her shift ended right before I started pushing and she had a plane to catch so she didn't get to see our pride and joy enter this world. She was an amazing nurse and I will never forget her for sure.

We got to the hospital at 6:45am and the plan was for the Dr to break my water at 9am after IV's and all that good stuff was done. However since it took 4 people and 10 pokes and 9 blown veins to get an IV in me and since that took until almost 10am, the Dr didn't break my water until noon. Of course once they got me on the monitors, I found out that what I thought had been him kicking the crap out of me was really contractions and they were 3 min apart! So according to everyone even if I hadn't been induced he would have been here around the 19th anyways. So we were moving along at 4cm and waiting. At noon the Dr came in to break my water and about 3 minutes later I was begging for an epidural which they promptly gave me. We were moving along and were expected to have him within a few hours but he had other ideas. I stayed at 5cm from noon to 6pm and we were told to expect a long night. So around 6:15 Chris went down to get dinner, however from 6:15 to 7:00 I went from 5cm to 10cm and they were talking about pushing when Chris walked back in the room. Needless to say he was in shock when he got there and the Dr came in and explained things to us and said we are going to do 2 sets of 3 practice pushes, then we will get dressed and get the team in here and you will start the real pushing and in an hour or so we will have a baby. Well, Colton and I had different plans.....I did my 2 sets of practice pushes and the Dr said to me are you sure this is your first baby? She then told the nurse get the team in here asap, we are going to have this baby in about 30 min probably and this was at 7:40pm. So as the Dr is getting dressed and prepping everything Chris says to her uuummmm is that normal, he could see the head slowly coming out. With that she says to me Amy don't breathe don't push don't do anything thing I have to finish getting dressed! So she finished and as the team was walking into the room I pushed one time his head came all the way out and I pushed a second time and his body came out at 7:55pm! So I only pushed for a total of maybe 10 min! They couldn't believe it and of course at that point I was in heaven hearing the most beautiful sound of my little boy I have ever heard in my life!

Colton Joseph

born at 7:55pm

7 lbs 2 oz

19 3/4 in

So he wasn't near as big as they expected, it seems that I had a ton of fluid. You know its bad when they have to get towels and stuff from two other rooms! LOL!

Mommy holding the most beautiful boy I have ever seen. I have never in my life cried so many tears and been so very happy at the same time. Everyone is right, there is nothing like holding your baby for the first time and becoming a mommy! I never thought this day would come and now I am really a mommy!

Daddy holding his little man for the first time, can you not see the pride and joy in this handsome man's eyes. This pic really melts my heart because we were told for so long that we would never have a biological child together. What a blessing from God!

Our first FAMILY picture! Wow I have tears just typing those words!

I could kiss this little face all day long everyday!

My nurse, Chelsea who was with me when I delivered and took over for Megan. She too was amazing and I will never forget her kindness!

Our pride and joy in our room for the first time sleeping like an angel!

Waiting for the release papers so we can go HOME! And with this little man, our house is really a home now!

So sorry it has taken me so long to get pics and all posted but to be honest, I would rather hold my angel and watch him sleep all day long rather than do this. :) I have lots more to post, like the pics we had done getting ready to go home and pics we had done when he was two weeks old. I promise to get those up very soon. I can hardly believe today he is 3 weeks old already. Time is flying by and he is growing and changing so much! God has really blessed us. Thanks so much to each of you for all your prayers during this journey.....we have proof God answers prayers!

God Bless!

39 weeks.....Update & Induce

2011-05-18T21:54:00.003-05:00

Tuesday morning before the Dr.....
feeling pretty miserable....

So I didn't get the update done on Tuesday because I have been well tired! LOL! The good news is we will be induced tomorrow, Thursday. On Tuesday I was almost 3cm but not quite and 80% effaced so she thought I might go into labor on my own between then and Thursday, but here it is 10pm on Wed and nothing. So the plan is to call the Hospital tomorrow morning at 5am and find out what time I am scheduled for. So one way or another Colton will be here sometime tomorrow. Please say a prayer for a calm and quick labor and for a healthy happy baby! I can't wait to hold my miracle in my arms. I promise to get a pic or two up as soon as possible.

Love and God Bless from the soon to be family of 3!

Dr. Update - 38 weeks....

2011-05-13T22:36:00.002-05:00

So on Wed we were officially 38 weeks and we went to the Dr. Things are progressing. I was 2.5cm and 75% effaced. To say that I am very uncomfortable is an understatement cause I am in down right pain. He is firmly lodged in my pelvis and under my ribs.....he's a big/long boy! Everything was good with both him and me and she said OK here is the plan....make an appt for Tuesday (if you make it to Tues) and call the nurse first thing in the morning to schedule induction for Thursday May 19th again if you make it that far. So that's the plan, he will either be here any day now or I will be induced on Thursday May 19th. And by the way, do you know what else Thursday May 19th is???? Well its my 2 year anniversary of my gastric bypass surgery. It would be great to give birth to my little miracle on the 19th because that day would definitely be a double blessing and a great reminder of how planning for our miracle started the day of my surgery! So that's the latest in our world. We have everything ready, everything packed and we set to go whenever he is ready or on Thursday. My nerves are starting to get the best of me, and the pain well that's getting old, but it will all be worth it and a blessing as soon as my miracle is in my arms. Oh I can't stop dreaming of that day. Please keep us in your prayers and we will keep you posted on our progress this week.

Love and God Bless to you all!

Colton's Room

2011-05-10T20:18:00.006-05:00

Maternity Photo Shoot....37 1/2 weeks

2011-05-08T21:59:00.026-05:00

37 Weeks.....officially full term!

2011-05-03T20:18:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we are so close to the end already. It really does seem like just yesterday I got the positive pregnancy test. Todays Doctor appt went great. I lost weight again, so I have gained a grand total of only 13.5 lbs! My BP was 110/68 and his heart rate was 154. She said we are both doing perfect. I am still at 1 cm dilated and I have progressed to 60% effaced. She said my cervix was very soft and she fully expects him to come by my due date. She said that if she stripped my membranes today we could have him in a week but she wanted to wait until next week to possibly do that. So we will see what happens next week. She did say that she won't let me go past 39 weeks because he is so large. So one way or another wether its by his own will or by being enduced he will be here in about 2 weeks! Wow....this is starting to freak me out a little. I just can't wait to have my miracle in my arms. I will post some pics later this week. Until next time, blessings to everyone!

36 Weeks!

2011-04-27T20:08:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe we are so close and that I am at 36 weeks with less than 30 days to go. It seems like just yesterday we started the whole IVF process and now here we are ready to welcome our miracle baby boy into this world very soon! God is amazing and has answered our biggest prayer!

So this weeks appointment went just as good as all the others with one bit of shocking news for me. My BP was 112/68 and his heart rate was 154. My belly measured at 36.5 weeks so basically right on track. I am not having any contractions yet and I am not having any swelling yet either and for that I am very grateful. Now for the shocking news, it seems the ultrasound measurements and estimates might be off. From what she can feel and tell, she says he is "a big baby, a very big baby"! She said that his head is already firmly down in my pelvis and his little but is wedged up under my ribcage and she said he could be 9-10 lbs at birth! I almost fell off the table at that news. Not quite what I was expecting but at the same time I kinda had a feeling because he is definitely out of room. Bending is no longer an option.....if it hits he floor that is where it stays until Chris can pick it up for me. She still feels that I will go all the way to my due date maybe a day or two earlier but expects close to my due date. Although I have dilated 1 cm and I am almost 50% effaced. She said that just means we are getting ready but that I could stay that way for several weeks still. So we are finishing up all the last minute stuff we have to do before our miracle arrives. And we will go back to the Dr on Tuesday to see the latest stats.

This weekend is our annual March of Dimes March for Babies and although I will sadly not get to walk this year, Chris will be walking for the 3 of us! Wow the 3 of us.....I love the sound of that! So if you can help us to meet our goal, we would be so very grateful. Just click on the link at the top of the blog. I can't wait until next years walk, when Colton will be out there with us.....what a blessing!

Until next time.....Blessings to everyone!

34 weeks pics of baby and me :)

2011-04-13T19:12:00.017-05:00

32 weeks

34 weeks (today before Dr appt)

His boy parts

Leg and foot, knee is bent

profile with my hand in my mouth

he is looking at you

profile with hand in the air

looking at you with mouth open

profile and a big foot bent up on my belly

3D of my face looking at you with some chubby cheeks

34 weeks update with pics....

2011-04-13T19:01:00.004-05:00

So we went back to the Dr today and had another ultrasound and we got GREAT GREAT GREAT news! We are 34 weeks along and only have 6 weeks left to go. We found out today that the placenta previa has moved completely and we are all clear for a normal birth! News to my ears for sure. He is measuring approximately 5 lbs 2 oz and is in the 58th percentile meaning he is slightly above average size. They estimate right now he will be a little over 8 lbs at birth. We got to see his beautiful face and he has got some chubby chubby cheeks. I can't wait to kiss all over them. He was also pouting with big pouty lips because he didn't want to be bothered anymore. It was so funny that he would roll his lip every time they pushed on him to try to get him to move. We both laughed. His heart rate was 146 and in the beginning he was very active, but then he got tired. My health is doing good still. My blood pressure was 100/70 and I have gained 2 lbs since the last visit so I am up a total now of 13 lbs. She said both of us are very healthy and that my cervix is very long and tight so there are no signs of early labor or birth. She said honestly, you are a very boring pregnant woman medically speaking. Well this is a time I love being called boring. LOL! So we go back in 2 weeks since everything is in perfect order and then we start weekly appointments. I can hardly believe we are only 6 weeks away now. I can't wait to have this little miracle in my arms. In a bit I will do another post with some pics of my ever growing belly and our precious little miracle. Love & God Bless you all!

32 Weeks - Dr Appt/Update

2011-03-28T19:22:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone....So today was our 32 week appointment and it went great again! Mr. Colton was a wiggle worm. They worked for 20 minutes trying to get his heartbeat and every time the nurse would catch it, he would either kick the monitor off my belly or move real quick where she lost it. We kept laughing and she usually doesn't like to base it on only a few seconds, but this time that is what we had to do. So the official heartbeat was 148. He measured right on track again and my blood pressure was 110 over 78. She said he and I were doing great. On the weight side, I gained back 4 of the 5 lbs I had lost last time so that makes me up a total of 11.5 lbs. She said I was doing excellent on the weight and wasn't concerned about the up and down I have been doing since he is measuring right on track. I asked about what I could do about the horrific leg cramps I am having. Well you learn something new everyday because apparently leg cramps during pregnancy is a sign you need more calcium. So she told me to get some chewable Viactive and that should help things. So we stopped on the way home and picked some up. I am praying this works because I have had a constant cramp in my left leg since last Thursday and I am walking really weird because it hurts so freaking bad! Other than that, we go back to the Dr on 4/13 and we will have another ultrasound and appt and I am praying that we will find out that the previa has moved enough that we can plan for a vaginal birth and not a c-section. So if you have time, please say an extra prayer for us. Until next time, God Bless each and every one of you!

Baby Bump Pic Update

2011-03-26T12:37:00.006-05:00

28 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

March for Babies 2011.....

2011-03-22T20:50:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

It's that time of year again, March for Babies time. As many of you know this is very near and dear to our hearts and this year I must say it is extra special since shortly after the walk, our sweet baby boy will make his arrival! I know times are tight, so any donation no matter how small even $1.00 will help all of our babies around the world. Please take the time to click on the link above a make a donation to this most worthy cause. A special thank you to all of those who have helped us in the past and who will help us again this year.

Love & God Bless!

Quick Weekly Update

2011-03-18T23:37:00.002-05:00

So this week has been a busy week. On Monday we went back to the Dr and everything is going very well. My UTI is clearing up and I finished my antibiotic yesterday so hopefully its gone now. Colton's heart beat was 151 beats and he measured to the exact day of 30 weeks which I was on Tuesday. I can't believe I now have less than 10 weeks left! In other Dr news, get this despite the fact that I eat non-stop, in 2 weeks I lost 5 lbs! UMMM how is that possible? So that makes me up a grand total of 7.5 lbs. The Dr isn't worried since Colton is measuring right on track and she said he is just sucking everything out of me. So we will see what happens when we go back two weeks from last Monday.

In other news, we got the furniture completely painted this week and moved into Colton's room. Once we finish up a few touch ups, I will post more pics.

Today was a very hard and sad day for us as we had to put our two first babies to sleep. Our cats, Tabbie, 20 years old, and Doobie, 19 years old, have not been doing well for the last few months and this week it got really bad. Our poor babies could no longer control their urine and they had both lost lots of weight and could barely walk. We couldn't stand to see them suffer any longer, so with a very heavy heart we made the decision to put them down. So at 9am this morning our first babies went to heaven and we know they are happy and healthy again. We had many cries today and spent lots of time remembering all their funny stories. The vet we went to was amazingly caring and took such good care of our babies. We cannot thank them enough. We brought our babies home and buried them in the back yard under the tree. Its been a rough day, but we know in our hearts that they are in a better place now and I am sure they are running and playing together like they did when they were young. We love you so much our first babies!

We are looking forward to the weekend, since Sunday is our first baby shower. More on that will come this week. But I CAN'T WAIT!

Until next time, Blessings to you all!

Colton's Room Phase One....

2011-03-13T21:22:00.010-05:00

The blank slate before after all the baseboards had been pulled up.....

And the painting begins......

Mommy hard at work, after putting up the new baseboards, bead board and chair rail, we had to tape and paint it.

Daddy hard at work painting......

The finished product after bead board and painting.

This gives you a small idea of our theme, under the sea. I ordered the switch plate covers off of EBay along with matching knobs for the dresser. (you will get to see that in the Phase Two update as soon as its done)

Colton's bed.......sweet dreams sweet baby boy.

The rocker and the bed together. Not sure if this is the spot they will stay in yet, but we will see.

So this is our progress on his room so far. We spent this weekend refinishing a chest of drawers and an armoir that we are converting to a changing table. We have one more coat of paint to do this week and we will be done and can move them into Colton's room. I am so excited......I can't wait to have his room done. The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning out a closet and some cabinets to make room for little man's necessary stuff and what a great chance for mommy to clean the place out! LOL!

We are excited for next weekend, because it is the first of our baby showers. Can't wait.....If you had told me 5 even 2 or 3 years ago that I would be going to my own baby shower, I would have told you that you were crazy. I can hardly believe it is all happening so fast. This has honestly been our greatest blessing so far.

I am feeling good and the antibiotic seems to be helping with the UTI, of course we will get confirmation of that tomorrow at the Dr. appointment. And I can hardly believe that Tuesday will mark 30 weeks! How amazing is that? Only 10 weeks left.......I must say I am getting a bit nervous! I have only prayed for these days everyday for the last 13 years but now that it is a reality, I am starting to get a little strung out. Oh well, I guess it comes with the territory.

Colton is still moving around like crazy. Its just that now its starting to get a bit painful since I think he is running out of room. Well I need to get a shower and get to bed so that I can go to the Dr and to work tomorrow and get there on time. This whole time change will have me screwed up for a few weeks.

Until next time.....Blessings to each and everyone!

Call from Dr today.....

2011-03-09T21:26:00.002-06:00

So today I got the call from the Dr to give me the results of my tests from last Tuesday. The good news is that I passed the one hour glucose test with flying colors. For that I am so grateful because the thought of having to do that test again over 3 hours was not a pleasant thought. In not so good news, I am still anemic, so they are addressing that with more iron and if it bothers my stomach too much we will try something else like an injection or infusion. Then to my complete surprise, I was told I have a urinary tract & bladder infection. When the nurse told me this, I was like are you sure? And she said yes I am sure and as a matter of fact it is pretty bad. So she asked if I was having any pain going potty or back pain or fever or anything and I said no not at all. I said I am peeing a lot but I thought that was normal. So she said well it is normal at this stage, but she wanted to know how often I got up at night. To that I told her about every 1.5-2 hours. She said wow that is a bit excessive at this point and that is a sign of the UTI. So I picked up an antibiotic on my way home from work and hopefully that will kick it out of my system pretty quickly. So all in all not the best news ever and not the worst news. Other than that all my blood work and what not looked good and she said they would see me next week. So I am about to take my medicine my 125 mg of iron and hit the sheets for the night because with all the peeing I do I don't get much sleep.

In the next day or two stay tuned to see my 29 weeks (this past Tuesday) bump pics and pics of Colton's room so far.

Until next time, blessings to you All!

Do we have a name you ask?

2011-03-06T20:46:00.009-06:00

So this has to be on of the top 2 or 3 questions I get most often these days aside from when are you due. To be honest we have had this name picked out for about 12 years now. Its so funny to me that the boy name we picked way back when we first started trying to get pregnant has never changed over the last 12 years but our girl name has changed about 5 times. For some reason I had this fear that if I started telling people his name when we found out it was a boy that something would change my mind on his name. I know weird but true. LOL! So I won't make you wait any longer.......our sweet miracle boy's name is.....

Colton Joseph

His first name is a name I heard 12 years ago and fell in love with and it has been our boy name every since. His middle name is after his daddy's oldest brother who very unexpectedly passed away May 27, 1999 of a massive heart attack.

Our sweet baby also has a few nicknames already.....daddy calls him Colton Bump and mommy calls him her Little Monkey. Sometimes I swear he is swinging from my ribs although these days its getting harder for him to do that because he is quickly running out of room. I can hardly believe that on Tuesday I will be 29 weeks......

I want to take a moment to thank each of you for continuing to pray for our sweet miracle boy.

Until next time........love and God Bless!

Pics at 25 wks....better late than never

2011-03-03T18:56:00.009-06:00

Not sure if you can see it or not (3D), but he is looking down and to the left with his arm bent up and under his chin. You should see two eyes, a little nose and his mouth is closed.

He is looking straight at us with both hand tucked under his chin.

He is so big now, he doesn't fit in the whole screen. This is his body and very long and I mean long leg.

And of course just to make sure he was really a boy "the junk" again! LOL! They put an arrow on it pointing at it. The dark circle in the middle is his bladder.

One BIG foot!

Mommy & Daddy

baby bump

and more baby bump

Yes these are all from the 25 weeks appointment. Stay tuned for more pics of his room and "the bump" at 28 weeks and I will be revealing some details soon!

Love and God Bless!

28 weeks....Dr appt

2011-03-01T23:12:00.002-06:00

So today I am 28 weeks and we had a Dr appt including the lovely glucose test.

First let me just vent a second....could I please just find someone in the lab that doesn't blow my vein every time they draw blood and hurt me and leave big bruises that last for weeks? I am just sayin....but now that I got that out, I am moving on.

So the morning started with a very empty stomach and a very unhappy little boy in there and at 8:30 am it was time to drink the disgusting sugar drink. I know most everyone complains about this, but after having gastric bypass this is just pure torture. First of all my little pouch doesn't hold that much liquid in 5 min so getting the whole bottle down wasn't easy. But I finally managed to get it down but it felt like it was backing up in my mouth because I didn't have enough room. Thankfully I was able to get it down and keep it down but the nausea I felt was pure torture and to say that my little man didn't like it was an understatement. Finally the hour passed and the lab tech tortured me with a needle, I mean drew my blood and I was off to my Dr. appt. However on the way up to the 4th floor, I looked at Chris and said I need to get to a bathroom NOW! And off I ran because the lovely side effect from gastric bypass had hit me, dumping syndrome! And so I spent the next 20 min in the bathroom in pain and wishing I could just get it out of my system. Finally it passed and I got myself together and off we headed to the Dr's appt.

So at the Dr appointment I was a bit nervous to find out how much weight I had gained. You see over the weekend I had 3 different people ask when I was due and when I said the end of May they all 3 said oh wow I thought you were only a a few weeks away! To say I was upset is an understatement....LOL! Well to my delight I have only gained a total of 11.5 lbs and the Dr said I am doing fine but that I have a big baby and I am a small short person and so he has no where to go except out. She said I can expect to look around 4-6 weeks bigger than I really am because I have no room. I laughed and said well I can vouch for the fact that I am running out of room! LOL! At any rate, his heart rate was 147 and my blood pressure was 123/68 and she said we were both doing perfectly well and healthy. She said to keep doing whatever I am doing and she will see me in two weeks. Yep now we go back every 2 weeks.....wow its starting to get close :) We have another ultrasound on 4/13 and by the grace of God the placenta previa will have completely moved. I had to laugh when she asked if he is moving around a lot now. I so oh yes, i am pretty sure he has his daddy's ADHD since he moves all day and all night!

We go on 3/15 for our hospital tour and we registered for the baby first aid class and a breast feeding class the first Sunday in April. Wow is reality starting to slap me in the face......I can still barely believe we will be having a baby in about 12 weeks! 12 WEEKS....are you kidding me? LOL!

I have lots of sharing posts planned for the next few weeks, so stay tuned as we begin revealing details of our little miracle man, pics from the last ultrasound and pics of my ever growing belly. So stay tuned......

Until next time....Blessings to you all!

Happy Birthday Babe....belated....

2011-02-23T22:29:00.002-06:00

So I meant to get this posted yesterday but that didn't happen. Yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday. We had a wonderful three day weekend together working on the baby's room and taking a little day trip to Kemah and enjoying the boardwalk and some wonderful fresh seafood. We had a wonderful and relaxing time together. I can't thank my husband enough for a great weekend and for being so good to me through the entire IVF and now preganancy journey. There isn't anyone else in this world I could imagine or even want to take this journey with. I love you babe and I hope you had a wonderful 39th Birthday!

I promise to post pics of the baby's room soon when its done as well as some pics of our little miracle from our last appt. I know I am behind schedule since next Tues is our next appt. Until next time.....Blessings to you all!

Doctor Update at 25 weeks

2011-02-08T20:01:00.002-06:00

Today's appointment was another great one! I loved seeing my little man again and watching him move all over as I felt him moving too. I tell you I could watch that ultrasound all day everyday and hear that big heartbeat too! What a blessing!

So for the details of today's appointment:
my blood pressure - perfect
my weight gain - 1 more lb
his heart rate - 155
his estimated weight - 1 lb 10 oz
his estimated length - 8-9 inches
my cervix - completely closed
Placenta Previa - on the move......still about 75% covered but it is on the move

So according to the Dr everything looks great with both my health and his health. The good news is it appears that my Placenta Previa will move enough in time for me to give birth. It is on the move although we are not completely out of the woods yet. I am still on all the same restrictions but things look very positive that I won't be forced to have a c-section. We have been praying for this news and it was music to my ears.

I go back to the Dr in 3 weeks and I will have the glucose test as well as a regular Dr appt. After that appointment, I will start seeing her every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks! Wow I can't believe we are starting to get that close!

Funny story from the ultrasound today. The tech was doing all her measurements and taking lots of pics and asking me questions. She said, you seem to be confident that its a boy. I said well yes I am. When I was here last time they said they were 100% sure it was a boy! She said, well we never say 100% sure so lets double check to make sure. Then she busted out laughing and said WOW you are right we are 100% sure its a boy! We both laughed for a while on that one. It was amazing to me in 6 short weeks how much more detail could be seen. We got lots of pics and another disc so as soon as I get a moment, I will get them scanned and downloaded and get them posted on here.

Until next time - Blessings to you all!

So much going on....

2011-02-01T19:45:00.002-06:00

Baby Bump at 23 weeks

Last Tuesday before the Dr.

Wow where do I begin. Well first of all last Tuesday I was 23 weeks and our Doctor's appoint was the standard appointment and it went great. He had a heart rate of 157 and is measuring exactly 23 weeks. She said everything looked great and my blood pressure and all vitals were perfect. I have not gained back the weight I lost and as you can see from the pics above I have finally popped. So now we are just waiting for next Tuesday when we have the ultrasound again so that hopefully we will find out the the placenta previa has moved. I am sure next Tuesday will be a long day between all the appointments and the ultrasound and as long as I know it will be, I can't wait to see my little miracle again.

We are getting to work on the nursery and we have been picking up things for his room too over the last few weeks. This weekend we will go and get the paint and wains-coting for his room, then next weekend will be the work weekend. Then next on the list painting the TV armoir that is being turned into and changing station/table and the small chest of drawers that needs to be painted too. Then it will be time to put the bed and the glider together. Wow it seems like time is flying by and we still have so much to do.

We are getting ready for a few showers that will happen in March and April and I am getting really excited about those too. I have some of the best friends and family to take on the task of these baby showers. I love you all and can't thank you enough for everything you are doing for us and our Miracle Boy! I never dreamed I would actually see the day that I would have my very own baby shower!

We had a fun and busy weekend with family visiting but Sunday has to be right up there with one of the best days of my life. I had just been saying Sunday afternoon that I was getting nervous about not feeling my miracle moving around even though the Dr said it would be around 25 weeks before I felt it. Well Angie as always reassured me and we headed home from Target after finishing registering. How funny is it that you find more time in Target to talk to your friends than you do at home when you live right by each other. Anyway, on with the story. I get easily side tracked these days....LOL! So we were in bed Sunday night getting ready to turn the lights off and go to bed and as Chris does every night he rolled over and was rubbing my belly and talking to our miracle. He said and I quote "baby if you are in there and happy please give your mommy a sign so she will calm down" and I kid you not he no more got the words out of his mouth, when his hand was kicked and I mean kicked off my belly. We were in total shock and couldn't believe it. For the next 45 minutes he was kicking field goals and dancing all over the place. It was like someone threw a switch and suddenly I was feeling him constantly. So the last few days have been amazing feeling and also weird feeling. I know that sounds crazy because I have been wanting and praying for this for so long but it still feels a little weird. LOL! But seriously it is the best feeling in the world, except when he kicks something and it hurts but really I wouldn't trade even the pain for anything. Its funny as I type this he is all over the place and I get so distracted when he moves. All I want to do is sit and feel him.

So that's the latest in our world and I have a feeling the next 4 months are going to fly by. We will keep you posted on all of our progress and especially after next weeks appoint which will be 25 weeks.

Until next time Blessings to you All! Love and God Bless!

Ultrasound Pics at 18 weeks in the words of baby....

2011-01-06T18:59:00.011-06:00

My beautiful profile - don't you think?

I was yawning and mommy couldn't believe how you could see my spine

I was shy at first but after 30 minutes I finally showed the goods.

Wow mommy must be proud of my junk! Haha! I do remember the tech being impressed and telling my mommy and daddy that "wow he really is a boy"!

Don't I have the cutest little feet and toes? Daddy tells me that my mommy will be kissing my feet and toes as soon as I make my entrance in this world because she loves baby feet. I don't know why but I think she will really love mine :)

I was starting to get really tired from all the pictures and video so I had to yawn and rub my eyes.

I thought I should practice my fist pump before I make my debut in May. Again, am I not the cutest? At least my mommy and daddy said I was.

Love and God Bless - Baby Boy Nord

2010 Year in Review

2011-01-02T18:59:00.003-06:00

Well I must say that 2010 brought about lots of exciting changes in our family....

Jan - It was time to really start looking for a job since in 2 months I would be laid off. The reality of it all really set in and took a toll on my mind. We celebrated several family birthdays. And I found out that if when I was laid off I went on cobra, that I could get most of IVF paid for! What? Are you kidding me? How does this happen? At this point a huge door opened for us in 2010 the real possibility of trying IVF and possibly getting pregnant.

Feb - Chris turned 38! I went on several interviews with about 6 different head hunters and each of them assured me that I would find something soon! I started researching NEW fertility Dr's that friends had used. By the end of the month, I was officially unemployed and scared to death that I wouldn't find a job. I had a very hard time saying goodbye to my old job after 12 years.

Mar - I was starting to count down the weeks to my one year appt with Dr. Davis, where I could get the official word that it was OK to go back to the fertility Dr. I also had my first of 3 interviews with a company for 2 different jobs, one of which was a dream job for me.

Apr - Chris was convinced I had the job I had dreamed about and convinced me that we needed to take a vacation because this would be our only chance this year. I was scared to death to take a vacation and spend money not knowing for sure I had the job. But I went with it and we left on Easter Sunday to drive to Destin, FL where we had the best vacation ever. 2 days after returning from vacation, I got a call from the headhunter that I was indeed getting the job but due to the Director being out of the country it would be another week before I got the official offer. So I spent the rest of the month working at my in-laws house getting stuff packed, painted and fixed so that we could get their house put on the market. It also brought with it "the phone call" with "the dream job offer"! I accepted the position and was set to start working on May 1st!

May - I started my new job and found that I had a great boss and co-worker. We had our one year visit with Dr. Davis and he was so proud of all of work. We had both lost well over 100 lbs in the last year and we were both considered healthy! Before leaving I was sure to ask if it was OK to go back to the fertility Dr and I got an answer of YES! Music to my ears. I was on the phone calling Dr. Dunn's office for an appt as soon as we got in the car. We started counting down the days to meeting with Dr. Dunn on 6/16!

June - Our dear friends had their 3rd miracle baby Cullen on the 4th of June. On the 16th we saw Dr. Dunn for the first time and we were filled with hope. We had a month of testing before we would have a plan but for the first time in many years we had hope of having a family.

July - We finished our testing with Dr. Dunn and he said we could definitely do IVF. All we needed to do is wait for my period to begin, give him a call that day and we would start the whole process. Wow never in my life have I ever prayed for my period! My brother-in-law and his kids came for a visit and so did mother nature all on the same day (24th) which meant we were starting the whole IVF process and I started taking the 4 weeks of birth control pills that start the IVF process.

Aug - We went to an amazing Brad Paisley concert with my best friend and sat 2nd row! I turned 35 and we made a trip to New Braunfels to Schlitterbahn to take my mind off the shots that would be starting soon! The day after my birthday we started the IVF injections and the many trips to the Dr. to make sure everything was moving along smoothly. On the 28th I went to a wonderful March of Dimes luncheon with some great friends where I got the phone call that my harvest would be 3 days later than I had expected and I finally broke down. It was a very rough weekend but I made it through!

Sept - On the 1st we had our harvest! Holy cow it was all becoming very real and things were really happening. I remember being scared to death as well as feeling like CRAP! On the 6th 2 embryo's were implanted and I remember feeling so much joy in my heart but 10 times more panic! We did a lot of praying that this would really work. On the 12th I got my first positive pregnancy home test in my whole life. 9/17 I got my first positive blood pregnancy test in my whole life. Now was the wait to see if it was twins.

Oct - We found out we were having twins, but that one was weak and might not make it. On the 18th we found out that baby A had vanished but that baby B was doing perfect! We had such mixed emotions but by the Grace of God we made it through. I was also released from the fertility Dr to go to the OB.

Nov - I was called a "normal pregnant woman"! Who knew? I found out I was still anemic and they upped my iron and I made it to the 12 week mark! This baby was really beginning to come a reality!

Dec- What a busy month getting ready for Christmas. We had so much to celebrate this month. On the 28th we found out we were having a little boy and on the 30th we celebrated 15 wonderful years of marriage! What an amazing month! We also found out I have placenta previa but that our little boy is perfectly healthy, it just means mommy has to take it very easy for a while.

And here we are in 2011! We have so much to look forward to this year. So many milestones we thought were never possible. God has been amazing to us in 2010 and I have a feeling he might out do himself in 2011! And today we got an amazing gift from our dear neighbor, B! He went up on the roof and took down our Christmas lights for us.....he will never know what that meant to us and how much we greatly appreciate it! Hopefully now we won't get the dreaded HOA letter! LOL! Well tomorrow its back to reality and back to work so I should probably wrap this up so I can get a few things ready.

I hope God Blesses each and everyone of you in 2011!

Love & God Bless!

15.....

2010-12-30T23:45:00.002-06:00

of the BEST years of my life. Today was our 15 year anniversary. It has been an amazing 15 years together and I look forward to the next 15 and many more after that. Today we had a great day! We did a little shopping for our baby boy, did a little shopping for mommy so she can go back to work next week and had an amazing dinner at PF Chang's. Chris got me the sweetest gift.....the little boy baby shoes for my James Avery charm bracelet and once the baby is born, we can have his name and the date engraved on the bottom of the shoes. I was so excited and it meant the world to me and brought lots of tears to my eyes. God has truely blessed us over the last 15 years and I know this next year might be our best yet. Honey I love you with all my heart and I couldn't ask for a better partner to take this journey with!

God Bless!

Dr Appt Update

2010-12-29T21:53:00.003-06:00

So here's the latest on our sweet baby boy..... he is PERFECT. He measured exactly 19 weeks on Tuesday which is what I was exactly on Tuesday. The anatomy scan went perfectly and everything measured perfectly. We were told we have a very healthy little boy! What music to my ears that was. Then we got the "However"...... at which point I thought my heart fell out of my chest. Things have gone so well through this whole process that I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out. Thankfully that isn't what this is....the bottom is not falling out we just might have a small detour. It seems that the placenta is on top of and under the baby instead of behind and above the baby. Thankfully this doesn't affect the health or growth of our little boy, it could just effect how he makes his entrance into this world. For the next 6 weeks, I have to take it as easy as possible. No exercising, complete pelvic rest, no lifting of any sort, light everyday walking is OK but no all day shopping trips....if I go shopping for every 15 min I am on my feet I have to sit for at least 15 min. Basically I can go to work and function as normal but I have to take it very easy. She said in most cases where this happens this early on (placenta previa) it usually corrects itself when the uterus moves further up it pulls the placenta up. So to see if this happens, I go back in 4 weeks and then 2 weeks later (6 weeks from now) we go back for another big ultrasound to see if things have changed. If they have then we continue as normal, if they haven't then I will be forced to have a c-section and we will start planning it at that point. In the meantime, I have to be very careful and watch for spotting and bleeding. If any spotting or bleeding begins, I am to call the Dr immediately and I will go in and they will admit me to the hospital and try to stop it. If it stops I can go home for the time being. If it doesn't then I will stay in the hospital til birth. If it stops, then starts a second time, I will be immediately admitted to the hospital where I will stay until birth. So needless to say I am doing everything the Dr says because I don't want to cause any bleeding which leads me to the hospital. Not sure how all the Christmas stuff will get taken down and put away now but I am sure I will figure it out. This is also why I haven't felt my sweet baby move yet. It seems the placenta is blocking what I should be feeling by now. She said this is totally normal for this to happen and in no way means anything is wrong with the baby. She said even if the placenta doesn't move I should start feeling movement around 24-25 weeks. Gosh I can't wait for that feeling! But it seems I must now be patient and we all know I am not good with that. And if the hubby wasn't protective of me before, now he is freaking out! If he had his way, I would live in a bubble until the baby was born! LOL! So that is the latest not the perfect appointment but my sweet baby boy is very healthy and perfect and that is all that counts. As for my weight, I gained 2 lbs so she is very happy with that!

We have a big day tomorrow.....more to come on that soon!

God Bless!

We have an announcement......

2010-12-28T18:06:00.002-06:00

19 weeks today!

More details to follow regarding our appointment real soon, but HE is growing perfectly!

Love & God Bless

A Very Merry Christmas....

2010-12-27T14:32:00.013-06:00

Our Tree 2010

One of my favorite gifts this year from my Best Friend!

Peanut after her spa day....the bows only lasted about 20 minutes but boy was she cute!

Our front yard 2010

Chris & Amy 2010 before Church

Daddy & the Girls

Mommy & the Girls

Baby Bump 2010

18 weeks 4 days

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and friends. We shared lots of joy and laughs and celebrated Jesus' Birthday. We hope each of you has a great New Year and that 2011 is as special for you as it will be for us.

Love and God Bless from Our House to Yours!

PS - We will have a special post tomorrow evening.......will it be pink or blue????

Almost Christmas Eve.....

2010-12-23T21:10:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe in just a few hours it will be Christmas Eve. What a wonderful year this has been in our family. I cannot thank God enough for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon us in 2010 and I must say 2011 looks like it could be even better. Amazingly enough although we both got sick and Chris had gum graft surgery on Monday, we are all done and ready. Clothes are ready for church tomorrow, last package came in the mail today just in time and its now wrapped, food is bought, all that's left is enjoying time with our families celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas and may God Bless each of you at this most special time of the year. For all of the loved ones and friends who are watching us from above in heaven, we miss you dearly and know you must be having a wonderful Christmas celebrating in heaven.

Love and God Bless
The Nord Family (soon to be 3)

Baby Bump at 17 Weeks

2010-12-15T20:43:00.003-06:00

Love and God Bless you all!

The SICK house....

2010-12-08T18:35:00.002-06:00

Well yesterday was just a bang up day, we both ended up in the Dr's office together but with different symptoms. Thankfully the flu tests came back negative. On the flip side Chris has an upper respiratory infection and I have ear infections in both ears and in all my sinus'. We got some medicine and home we went to attempt to get better. I guess I am feeling a little better, but apparently I have an endless supply of snot coming out of my head. I know TMI, but oh well! The baby is still growing strong and in the last week or so I definitely have a little baby bump. As soon as we get better and I don't look like Rudolph, we will be taking and posting some baby bump pictures. Here's to hoping we get better soon!

God Bless!

Great Doctor's Appointment!!!

2010-12-01T19:39:00.002-06:00

We went back to the Dr yesterday and it went great. We didn't get any pictures since I am a "normal" pregnant woman but we did get to hear the heart beat and boy was that music to my ears. Every time I hear that amazing sound, I get tears in my eyes. This little miracle's heart rate was a strong 162! What a blessing. My tummy measured 12 which she said is right on track. She said all my blood work with the exception of the anemia can out perfect. So that was great news. Then she said there is only one thing we need to talk about.....you have LOST 6 lbs since 11/1. I knew I had lost since I weighed myself the night before and I was really shocked. So I am still up 2 lbs total. She asked if I was vomiting and having diarrhea a lot and I said no not at all. Then she looked at me and said and I quote "You cannot be dieting can you?" I looked at her with total shock and said no absolutely not, matter of fact I am eating more than I have in the last 2 years. I told her I eat 5-6 times a day about every 3 hours. Granted I don't eat a lot at one time but I eat until I am full. She said to my relief, in that case I am not worried about it at all. As long as you are eating, not getting sick and your little one is growing and measuring right, then she isn't going to worry. She did however tell me to concentrate on making sure I gain at least 2 lbs between now and 12/28 when we go back. So all in all she is happy, the baby is growing and strong and I feel pretty darn good since the nausea is all but gone! So now the count down begins to get to 12/28 and finding out pink or blue.

Until next time.....Blessings to each and everyone of you!

Another great thanksgiving......

2010-11-25T23:56:00.002-06:00

It was another great thanksgiving! Great food, great family and my Aggies beat t.u.......Thanksgiving doesn't get any better in our house. Whoop - Gig Em Aggies! I hope your day was as wonderful as ours!

Love & God Bless you all!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T21:38:00.003-06:00

2010 has been quite a year for us. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. We are both very blessed and thankful for our miracle on the way, our family, our friends, our health and tons of other things I could list. Namely I am thankful for 4 days in a row of no nausea! WooHoo! Its the little things. It has definitely been a year to remember and something tells me 2011 will be better yet.

Tomorrow in our family isn't just Thanksgiving, its also my mommy's birthday! So Happy Birthday Mommy! Yes I am 35 and still call her mommy :) Snicker, laugh, make jokes, I don't care she will still be my mommy when I 50! LOL!

We hope that you and your entire family have a wonderfully warm and happy Thanksgiving this year. May God Bless each and every one of you.

Halloween....a little late....

2010-11-18T17:41:00.011-06:00

I know we don't have kids yet, but every year we always carve pumpkins because you are never too old to be a kid and enjoy Halloween!

This was my pumpkin

This was Chris's pumpkin

And Peanut is our little pink pig with a curly tail......little does she know her mommy has always wanted a little pink pig with a curly tail!

I love the tail!

And here is our Crazy Cow Blondie

complete with udders and all.....she is so not amused

Me and my girls - Peanut loves getting dressed up and putting clothes on......

Daddy and the girls.....Blondie on the other hand is not amused!

Yes the girls sat outside with us and handed out candy. As always they are well liked by the little ones in the neighborhood and they got lots of pets and love that night.

Until next time.....Blessings to you All!

Baby in Pictures

2010-11-16T19:00:00.006-06:00

6 weeks - Baby B our Little Miracle and Baby A our Littlest Angel

8 Weeks 5 days - Our Little Miracle has really grown and you can still see what was our Littlest Angel and is now our Miracle's extra special Guardian Angel!

10 Weeks 5 Days - Our Miracle has a very large head (the largest part is the head) and you can still see the sac of our Littlest Angel in Heaven

I won't get another one of these beautiful pics until 12/28 when we have the big ultrasound and find out the sex of our Miracle. But isn't our little Miracle and our Littlest Angel the most beautiful already! LOL! Just wanted to share these and again to thank each and everyone of you for your thoughts and prayers while we embarked on this journey and continue on this journey. I am feeling pretty good these days. Still very very tired but the nausea has gotten much better. I am still having trouble with all the iron, but I know when my miracle is in my arms this will seem like nothing and it will be all very much worth it!

God Bless each and everyone of you!

30 mg more.....

2010-11-10T18:39:00.002-06:00

So thats the answer to what they are doing about my anemia. They are adding an additional 30 mg of iron to my vitamins! Fun times......I know this is short and all but I wanted to update on what the Dr's said today and now I am off to eat some dinner.

God Bless!

How can it be......

2010-11-09T19:38:00.002-06:00

That I am STILL anemic! Seriously I am taking a total of 90 mg of iron everyday and I am still anemic. My Ob's office called yesterday to tell me that I am still anemic. The nurse took down all the details of the iron I am taking and said she is going to talk to the Dr. They have decided to call Dr. Davis and consult with him since I was severely anemic the end of May. So I am just waiting to hear back from them to find out if they will increase my pill form or if we will move to injections. Either way, as long as it keeps my little miracle healthy I will do it, I will however probably complain about it the whole time! LOL! Especially when it comes to going potty. I know TMI but the truth is the truth. Otherwise everything came back perfect in the blood work and urine. So that was good news! Other than that, nothing much has changed here. I am still exhausted but on the up note the nausea is getting better. Today I am officially 12 weeks! Woohoo! I will update more very soon and include the pics I promised before.

Blessings to Everyone!

PERFECT Appointment

2010-11-01T18:55:00.002-05:00

Today was a great day and a perfect first "regular/normal" Doctor appointment with the OB. Today I am officially 10 wks 6 days and our perfect little miracle is measuring right on track to the exact day! The heart beat was 158 and my do we have a little active monkey in there. Our miracle was kicking and punching and flipping and flopping so much so that the Dr had a hard time getting a picture, but we did get one! The empty sac is still there although about half the size it was last time and she said she doesn't expect it to pass she expects my body and the baby will reabsorb it. I sure am hoping so because if I start cramping and bleeding I think I will freak out! She kept telling me over and over that although getting me pregnant was a challenge, I am now "just a normal pregnant woman!" That was music to my ears although I had to laugh at being called normal. However since this is the 3rd Dr since May of this year to call me normal, I am thinking maybe I am and everyone else around me isn't! LOL! She really did put me at ease about so much. There is a lot of testing that will be done differently with me and some not at all because the vanishing twin has more than a 50% chance of skewing the results. Other than that I am normal. They will however do more blood work on me than the normal person because of the Gastric Bypass. They want to be sure both me and the baby are absorbing all the necessary nutrients needed. So today they drew 9 vials of blood. I am hopeful that my iron will be back to normal so I can cut back some of the iron I am taking and hopefully that will relieve my stomach some. So all and all today was one of the best days so far on this journey. She kept the ultrasound on for a while for us since we won't get to "see" the baby again for 8 weeks! I think I will die! LOL! I go back to the Dr in 4 weeks like a normal pregnant person on 11/30 (exam and heartbeat check only) and then we go for our big ultrasound to determine the sex on 12/28! Three days after Christmas, 2 days before our anniversary and 4 days before New Years! What a fabulous way to end an exciting and blessed year! I am already starting to freak out a little about not going back to the Dr until 11/30 but I just keep reminding myself this is how most people do it. Hopefully soon that will sink in, but I don't know. All in all we are thrilled with everything. I have been allowing myself to grieve our precious angel while celebrating our miracle and I am doing much better with it all. Thanks so much to everyone for their prayers. I have gotten so many wonderful messages and notes from people who have been there and I had no idea. It is a relief to know that what I am feeling is normal. We have decided that although we miss our angel greatly it was a blessing and that little angel would want us to be happy for our miracle so we are keeping on that track with the Grace of God.

I have 3 ultrasound pics to scan in, some belly pics to upload, and some Halloween pics to upload this week. We dressed up Peanut and Blondie for Halloween last night while we handed out candy and we had a great time. I can't believe I will be trick or treating with my miracle next year! What a Blessing. Hopefully I can get all the pics up sometime this week.

Until next time, please keep praying for our miracle and we wish God's Blessings on each and everyone of you!

God Bless - Amy, Chris, Peanut, Blondie, Doobie, Tabby and our growing Miracle Baby!

The good and the sad.....

2010-10-21T21:04:00.002-05:00

Well the news we got on Monday was not what we were expecting since I didn't have any spotting, cramping or bleeding. We really thought we had beat the odds. But that wasn't God's plan for us. Baby A has "vanished", well not really completely, the sac is still there but there isn't a heartbeat.....Vanishing Twin Syndrome. To say we were devastated is an understatement, but the silver lining is Baby B is big, fat and healthy! My little peanut is measuring 2 days ahead of schedule and had a heart beat of a strong 178! I was released from the RE to go to my regular OB and I was told I am now just a "normal" pregnant woman! Wow that was amazing. It has really been a difficult week. I can't even begin to explain my feelings expect to say I feel guilty for being happy for my remaining miracle baby and I feel guilty for being sad for my miracle in heaven. I know with time it will get better and I am doing my best to focus on my growing miracle. One of the hardest things is looking at the pics of our miracle from Monday because they all show the empty sac. I know that God has a plan and this is his plan for us. So as Chris said, "our miracle will always have a very special guardian angel watching over it." And that thought really does make me smile even if I have a tear in my eye. I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts, they truely mean the world to me. Please continue to pray for our little miracle still growing and please say a little prayer for my angel in heaven. Thanks again to everyone! I go to the Dr on Nov 1st, but I will try to update between now and then. God Bless each and everyone of you!

What does it mean when......

2010-10-04T20:14:00.003-05:00

10 home pregnancy tests are positive (started taking daily starting 9/12),
3 blood tests are positive (9/17, 9/20, 10/4),
you have food aversions (the smell of coffee, buttered popcorn & peanut butter send me straight to the bathroom in less than 2 seconds!)
you have morning sickness
you have growing boobs
you are peeing every 30 minutes
and today you have an ultrasound........

It means.......I am definitely pregnant and its TWINS! (As of today I am 6wks 6days)

That's the great news and the news I have been waiting 12 long years to hear and I couldn't be more happy. Baby B is very strong and healthy right now with a heart beat of 138. Baby A is a little behind right now and not measuring as big as baby B, Baby A's heart beat is only 89. Right now they want them to be at least 100 so Baby A is a bit behind. Please say a prayer for our little peanuts especially Peanut A. The Dr is confindent in Baby B but said anything could happen with Baby A. I go back to the Dr on 10/18 in two weeks and hopefully baby A will have grown and caught up with Baby B. I can't tell you the feeling we felt today not only seeing but hearing 2 tiny heart beats. To say the tears were flowing is an understatement. I am completely in love with these little peanuts that I have prayed so many years for. I know that God has a plan so I am putting it in his hands and sending him tons of prayers so that both babies grow strong and healthy.

I promise to update soon, I just wanted to wait to the make the announcement on here until I had the first ultrasound.

Thanks to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers these last few months. We greatly appreciate everything.

God Bless!

Implant Completed

2010-09-06T18:07:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone! Hope you are having a great Labor Day. I tell you this is one Labor Day I don't think we will ever forget. So it started at 6:30 this morning. After a good nights sleep (yeah right we all know we couldn't sleep last night) we got up at 6 and left the house by 6:30. We stopped at Whataburger for a quick breakfast and to continue filling my bladder. Yes I had to arrive for the procedure with a full bladder. We got to the IVF Lab around 7:40 and they took us in right away. It was the same nurse we had for the harvest so that made it nice. Then we got some great news. As she was leaving the room she said Dr. Dunn will be here in about 5 min and he has one before you then its your turn but we will get you all setup in a few minutes so we can check that your bladder is full. I said, Dr. Dunn is here? It was suppose to be Dr. Schenk who I am sure is a wonderful Dr but she's not MY Dr! Gina smiled real big and said of the 4 transfers today, 3 of them were Dr. Dunn's patients so even though it was his day off, he told Dr. Schenk to take the day off and he would do it. This was music to my ears. I would actually have Dr. Dunn for the whole process. When your harvest or implant fall on a weekend or holiday you have no guarentee that you will have your Dr since the 3 Dr's do a weekend rotation. I was immediately at ease which was great. I changed and Chris put on his over his clothes. We signed some paperwork and Gina came back and took us to the procedure room which I call the green room because the lights in there are green. She checked my bladder with the ultrasound machine and said its not totally full yet but it is filling and it will be fine by the time its your turn. So she covered me up and I layed there while Chris sat next to me holding my hand. Before she left the room, she said I just wanted to let you know Dr. Dunn said you have some awesome looking embryos. So we were smiling from ear to ear to say the least. We both looked at eachother and said well we know we have at least enough for the transfer that survived. We waited a little bit and in walked Dr. Dunn with a huge smile on his face. He said, so are you ready for this and I laughed and said Dr. Dunn I was ready when we got started on this 3 months ago so yes lets ge this show on the road. He laughed and Chris said she's not real good with patience when it comes to this and Dr. Dunn said then Chris you have a long 10 days ahead of you. We all laughed and with that he pulled up pictures on a big TV screen of 2 perfect embryos. With that he said here are the two embryos we will be using and they are top quality embryos. And then he said, so take at look at what will hopefully be the first pictures of your baby or babies! With that I can't lie I had tears in my eyes. Emotional today is an understatement. With that he went on to say we have 2 additional embryos that he expects to be ready by this afternoon and an additional one that could be ready by tomorrow. So he expects that we will be able to freeze 2 if not 3 in addition to the 2 they are implanting. Again we were all smiles. We not only have 2 to implant but we have some to freeze. Granted it wasn't as many as we had hoped to freeze but something is much better than nothing and I have put it all in God's hands. So with that we got started and in a short time we were watching the catheter on the ultrasound machine and then we saw two bright white dots (our embryos) on the screen. And as quick as that we were all done. When I got up off the table Dr. Dunn smiled and said, you have done everything possible that you can and you have top grade embryos so now its up to the embryos to do there thing and for God to work his magic. We all smiled and I said can I please go pee now! He laughed and said go right ahead. While I was in the bathroom he reinterated to Chris how great the quality of the 2 implanted embryos were and he told him to relax. So we went back to our room and they had me lay down for about 20 min. With that the nurse came in and said, you are all done. Remeber stay calm, no strenous activity or heavy lifting but life as normal until the 15th. Yes the 15th is the day of the official blood test. So I put my clothes back on and had to go potty again and when I came out Dr. Dunn and Chris were talking. He gave me a big hug and said now go grow a baby or two and I will see you on the 15th. As we were going down in the elevator, Chris said that while I was in the bathroom Dr. Dunn said again to him you had 2 excellent embryos and I see no reason why this won't work for you both. This shocked me because Dr. Dunn is very positive about things but he is also very realistic and never fills you full of false hope. So for him to say that really put me at ease. The truth is its all in God's hands now and I am praying for a positive blood test on the 15th. So as we get to the car Chris said to me do you need help with your seat belt? I look at him and bust out laughing and say I might be pregnant but I am not an invalid for God's sake! So to say I think he is going to drive me crazy over the next 10 days is an understatement but to be honest after everything we have been through on this journey I can understand why he is being so over protective. So you are all up to date on everything and the next 10 days will be a very long ten days to say the least. So thanks again for all of your prayers and if you have time, please continue to pray for us. Until next time, Blessings to each and everyone of you!

Update......

2010-09-02T22:25:00.002-05:00

So today was harder than I expected and my IVF guru was so right.....it was a day at home today for me. As the day went on it got better. I still feel pretty crummy at the moment but it is now manageable. The worst part is that one of my biggest means of relaxation is a nice long hot bath and good book, well I can't soak in a tub or take a bath or even go swimming until after the pregnancy test! I can take a shower but its just not the same for me. At first I didn't think this would bother me when they told me yesterday but I have today realized that I long for my tub and the peace and relaxation it brings me. So now I am on a mission to find something to take its place this weekend and/or something to keep me occupied......haven't figured it out yet but I am working on it.

So for the update from the Dr......not exactly what we expected but we are OK and we know that God is in control. So out of the 24 eggs harvested after a much more in depth look 20 were healthy eggs. That meant ICSI (this is where they take a single sperm and inject it directly into the egg taking out the chance of the sperm not permeating the egg) was done on 20 healthy eggs. This was good news, then I got the news I wasn't really expecting. It seems that Chris's sample wasn't what the Dr expected and they struggled to find enough good healthy sperm. The good news is they did find enough, however only 7 of the 20 survived fertilization coming out strong and healthy fertilized eggs. This wasn't the number we were expecting seeing as how high our numbers had been, but the Dr kept saying there may only be 7 but they are very strong and great quality. They must have told me that 4 or 5 times over the 10 min conversation. So after we talked about it we know that God is in control and we have given this up to him. He has always taken care of us and we know that he will again. So we are going with it was really good news that we have 7 very healthy and strong at this point. After all we only need one to make this work but I am confident that we will have more than one. The Dr kept saying he fully expects all 7 to survive and grow until Monday our implantation day. So here's to praying for 7 healthy embryos to choose from on Monday, but again as long as we have one or two we will be fine. And again this is in God's hands and I am doing my best to stay positive. God how I wish I could take a bath, I don't know why but it always makes me feel better. So for my prayer request, please pray that we have healthy strong embryo's on Monday and please pray for me to find something to keep my mind occupied this weekend until Monday!

Until our next update, thanks for all of your prayers and please continue to pray. I know that God hears all.

I will end with a quote from a card that a dear friend left for me yesterday that meant the world to me and really says it all...

"Dream higher than a mountain, deeper than the sea, wider than the world - for the size of our dreams tells not how big we are but how big our God is." I have this hanging on the mirror in the bathroom to keep reminding me.

God Bless

All Done!

2010-09-01T21:47:00.002-05:00

So today went well. Out of the 35 follicles I had, 24 of them had viable eggs. This means that today they fertilized 24 of my eggs. I will get a status report tomorrow how many of them survive fertilization and I will continue to get updates daily until the day of implant. Implant is still set for Monday. Overall I am feeling yuck! Lots of pressure and cramping.....so much for thinking I was going to work tomorrow. Yes Ang I know you told me so! LOL! Also I am still loopy and not steady on my feet from the sedation. It affected me like all anesthesia does, I woke up crying and it took me a while to wake up. Things are going well and Dr Dunn is very happy with the number of good eggs so for that I feel blessed and thankful. Thanks to all of you for the prayers today. I am going to keep this short because I am ready to go back to sleep. I will update soon with more details. Thanks again for the prayers and I hope God Blesses each and everyone of you.

Ball of nerves.....

2010-08-31T20:43:00.002-05:00

So here we are less than 12 hours from harvest and I am a nervous wreck. Now most would be nervous about the whole procedure and I am but I am most nervous about getting the IV tomorrow. If you remember when I had the GBS it took them almost 2 hours to get an IV in me so needless to say I am terrified. It doesn't help that most of the veins in my arms are blown already with all of the blood draws I have had. So I am just praying that the IV goes in easily tomorrow. We have to be there at 7am and they will begin at 8am. Nervous excitement! Today I literally watched my stomach swell more and more as the day went by. I am so very uncomfortable and I am having much more episodes of actual pain, but I keep telling myself it will all be worth it, it will all be worth it. Plus after tomorrow they will be OUT! So with all of that being said, I am going to keep it short tonight and I am headed to take a nice long bath that will hopefully help me relax enough to get a few hours sleep. Please say a prayer for us tomorrow and I promise to update with the statistics as soon as I am feeling up to it.

Blessings to all and Good Night!

Harvest set....massage......Amy vs the Toilet......

2010-08-30T21:12:00.002-05:00

I am sure this title has you puzzled beyond belief so here goes.

First up the update from today's Dr appointment.

35 Follicies/eggs in total measuring over 10
25 of these 35 measure over 15 and as big as 21 (we want them 16 and over)
8 of the 35 measure over 14 but not 15
2 of the 35 measure between 12-13
Estradil level - I don't know, forgot to ask!

So at the Dr office today this morning I broke down again.....it seems everything looked great and the nurse said I am almost sure about 90% sure harvest will be on Wed but there is a chance it will be on Thursday. At that point the tears began to fall. Maria said try to relax and here are the instructions for a harvest on Wed and you will hear from me this afternoon. So the day seemed to drag by and the more time that passed the more paranoid I got that it wouldn't be on Thursday. Finally around 3:00 the phone rang and it was Maria! The first words out of her mouth, you need to follow the schedule I gave you and your harvest will be on WEDNESDAY! Hallelujah! So that means tonight at 8 pm the only shot I had to take was the Orvadril and Chris has to take his antibiotics. Tomorrow night I take my antibiotics and I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight. Wed morning we have to be there at 7am and the harvest will be done around 8am and will last about 45 min to an hour. Once I wake up Chris will bring me home to rest for the rest of the day. This means the implantation will be on Monday, Labor Day! So I am still very uncomfortable but my mental state is much better just knowing when the end will be.

So tonight I went and got a massage. After the weekend I knew it was a must. And boy was I right......I am positively feeling wonderful well except for the pressure in my back and belly but its better than it was for now. I know shortly it will all be back but at least I had a little break from it all today....boy did I need it. :)

Now for an absolutely funny story....I can't believe I am posting this but here goes.....
So as you all know I have lost a lot of weight and well everything has gotten big and its had to be replaced. Well there is no replacing the wedding ring....instead you should have it sized. Well here's the thing I have been putting off having it sized until after the whole IVF and hopefully pregnancy. So to say that my wedding ring is too big is an understatement. So I had been wearing it on my middle finger, and for some strange reason on Tuesday of last week I put it on my ring finger like a dummy. Well right before lunch I went to the bathroom. As my crazy luck would have it, my ring falls off my finger right into the toilet! Seriously! So my first reaction is to jump up and like and idiot I did jump up at which point I remembered the toilets at work are auto flush! So with that I shove my sleeve up my arm shove my hand and arm in after my ring. YES I DID! Thankfully I made it in, in time and caught my ring. I pulled it out and my heart was racing like crazy and I was basically hyperventilating! All I could think at the moment I dropped it in the toilet was who will freak out more my husband or his mom. You see the solitaire in my engagement ring was her great grandfathers......and there isn't anything you can do to replace it! So I have my ring and I grab the toilet paper to wrap it up and try to dry my hand and arm off so I can pull up my pants. Now I am looking at my ring and my hand and arm and I am totally grossed out. I rush out of the stall to the sink and yes the soap and water are automatic. So I stand there with one hand under the water so it will heat up as hot as I can get it and the other is under the soap dispenser just about emptying the whole bottle in my hand. I then proceed to scrub my hands and arm and ring as much as I can....I think I was scrubbing for about 20 min! Now I leave the bathroom and its time to eat lunch. Seriously how do I eat lunch now....I am grossed out. However I have only 20 minutes to eat before I have to go to a meeting. So I do my best to get some lunch down. So I can tell you now that my wedding ring is home and has made its way to my jewelry box where it will stay until it gets sized and in the meantime I am wearing a gold band with rubies and diamonds as my wedding ring that Chris bought me for our 5th wedding anniversary that I use to wear on my pinkie! So as I see it Amy - 1 Toilet - 0!

Until next time when hopefully I won't have a ridiculous story to tell.....Blessings to each and everyone of you and please continue to pray for us. I will do my best to make an update on Wed.

God Bless!

Hormones & Emotions

2010-08-29T21:23:00.002-05:00

Let me start by updating my numbers and letting you know what the schedule appears to be.

Wednesday -
18 follicles measuring over 10
7 follicles measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 1068
Instructions - No change keep everything the same but starting the Ganerelix injection and we will see you on Friday.

Friday -
24 follicles measuring over 10
8 measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 2478
Instructions - decrease Follistim to 150 from 225 and keep everything else the same. We will see you on Sat and will probably do the harvest on Mon or Tues at latest.

Saturday -
29 follicles measuring over 10
7 measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 2750
Instructions - Keep all meds the same and we will see you on Monday. Harvest will now be on Wed.

So the above is a summary of my Dr visits and where we stand on numbers. I go back to the Dr tomorrow morning for another ultrasound and more blood and the expectation is that we will stop the Follistim & Menopur tomorrow, continue the Ganerelix and take the trigger shot Orvadril with harvest being Wed morning.

So when I left the Dr on Friday I was pumped because harvest was expected to be Mon or Tues which meant implant would fall over Labor Day weekend and would give me one or two days rest before going back to work. Now I was extremely uncomfortable and starting to walk funny and not be able to bend over much because my ovaries are so enlarged but everything was happening on the schedule I was hoping for. So Saturday rolls around and my dear friend Angie was asked to speak at the annual Labor Day March of Dimes/Texas Women's Hospital Luncheon and Fashion Show and she had invited me to go. So I was super happy to be going and having a girls day and being there to support her. So we got up Saturday morning and off to the Dr we went. We we got our numbers we were blown away of course we were waiting on the blood work with the Estradil numbers and the nurse was set to call me that afternoon but she said I expect you will be taking the trigger shot tonight and that the harvest will be on Monday or the trigger will be Sunday and the harvest will be on Tuesday. So back home we went, I changed clothes (changed about 4 times before I found something comfortable enough to wear - my midsection is swelling and I look pregnant so clothes are getting difficult), Angie picked me up and we were off for a fun girls day. We got to the hotel and Angie looked amazing and she was nervous but we mingled around and met the other girls she invited suddenly my phone rang. I looked at Angie and Jamie and said I am stepping out this is the Dr. I was so excited and then I got the news.....keep everything the same do NOT take the trigger shot and we will see you on Monday. (I had already made an appt just in case earlier in the week when they thought harvest would be delayed 2 days) Dr Dunn feels its best to do the harvest on Wed! I was crushed and more crushed than I really realized. Everyone including Angie (who I call my personal IVF guru and expert) all thought harvest would be Monday with the number of follicles I had already. With tears in my eyes I told them it would be Wed. Now one of the reasons this got to me is that the implant will be on Monday, Labor Day and I have to go to work that Tuesday for a project I cannot miss. My plan has always been to have two days of rest after the implant and well this is not what is meant to be. I am really not sure what happened to me on Saturday but I was with an awesome group of girls and supporting Angie meant so much to me that I did my best to push the news out of my head. So I did for a few hours anyways. Angie made her speech and there wasn't a dry eye in the whole place! She did amazing and I am truly blessed to have her in my life and call her my friend. She really is one of the strongest women I know. And being the great friend she is, she kept making sure I was OK on Sat which she didn't have to do since this was her day, but that is the great person and friend she is. My other friend Jamie who was there was just the same and both did everything they could to try to keep my mind off of things and to try to get me to relax as much as possible despite the discomfort and down right pain I am now feeling constantly. So after show was over the 3 of us headed home after a quick treat at Starbucks. The girls dropped me off and told me to keep smiling that everything was in God's hands and this is what is meant to be. Now I know this in my head, but apparently it wasn't really clicking. Chris opened the door to the house I walked in and immediately fell apart. To say that I took Chris off guard was an understatement. He was in shock that I was literally falling apart. I cried and cried and cried and I am trying to explain what I am feeling but I can't really speak because of the tears and sobbing and well it was a rough several hours. To say that a great day turned into the worst day yet in this whole process is an understatement. I finally got myself under control and Chris took me to dinner. Was I fine? No. But I managed. The smallest things had me crying all night. At this point I think the perfect storm happened in my mind and with my hormones on Sat between the pain, the news of harvest being pushed back, being at a March of Dimes event surrounded by pregnant women and lots of baby stuff... How am I feeling now? Well I am ready to get these follicles/eggs out. The Inn is full and there isn't anymore room. I am extremely uncomfortable and it gets worse everyday and sometimes I am in down right pain. Mentally how am I? Well today I am better. Not great, but better. I still have a few crying moments here and there but I know that the Dr knows best and I know that God is in control not me. Do I like that I am not in control? No but somehow some way I have to give the control up (hummmm wonder where I get the control issues from.....my mom...LOL). So that is my focus right now....giving it to God and knowing that he will take me through this adventure. Do I regret making the decision to have IVF? NO WAY! Am I tired? ABSOLUTELY physically and mentally and I am more than ready for the harvest to take place. So with all of that being said, please say a prayer for us. I will update after tomorrow's appointment or after harvest depending on how I am feeling both days. Tomorrow I am going for a much needed massage and tomorrow I have a very busy day at work. So I am expecting tomorrow to be much better.

Until next time Blessings to you all!

Progress Update

2010-08-23T21:26:00.002-05:00

So our appointments have gone well.

Friday's was informative but uneventful. Basically it was too early to see anything on the ultrasound and the driving factor would be the blood work. When Maria called that afternoon with the blood results everything was right where it was expected to be and she said to continue rwith 225 of Follistim and 75 of Menopur and we will see you on Monday. So we left the Dr office and went to Kemah for what suppose to be the whole afternoon/evening. We had a wonderful late lunch at the Flying Dutchman and walked around a little bit through a few shops right by the restaurants and then got in the car to head to the other shops at which point I told Chris, I really don't feel like walking the stores anymore. I am tired and my head is starting to pound again. He laughed and said I expected you to say that. So we stopped and got an ice cream and headed home. We were home by around 4 in the afternoon and we took a 3 hour nap. I tell you these drugs are not only giving me hot flashes and giving me a headache but I feel like I could sleep for a week straight!

We had a nice weekend and celebrated my birthday on Sunday with my parents and Chris's parents. I got some wonderful gifts from everyone including gift certificates for some massages to help me relax through this IVF adventure.

So this morning we got to the Dr and I told Chris I was starting to really feel bloated. Well we shortly found out why. I had the ultrasound first and it took longer than the last few and was rather uncomfortable. Not painful but lots of pressure. So when we were done, we waited for the nurse to call us in. Maria called us in and asked how I was feeling. I said I am starting to feel bloated. She said well that is because you are growing 18 eggs right now and 5 of them are already measuring. She said this was excellent and we are progressing along greatly. She asked how the headaches were doing and I said they are constant and when I take the Tylenol they dull but never go away. She said that was normal and to just keep taking the Tylenol every 4-6 hours. For me the worst part of the headaches is waking up in the morning to a horrible throbbing pounding headache. I can handle the dull constant headache but to wake up in the morning throbbing is just no fun. But its all worth it in the end so I plug along. So after speaking with the nurse, Maria, we headed down to have the blood work done. This would tell us the rest of the story and Maria would call me in the afternoon with the results and to tell me if or how we would change my medicine. So this blood test was to test for LH, progesterone, and estradil. About 2:45 this afternoon Maria called. She said everything looked great. My estradil was 518, and both my LH and progesterone were low and that was wanted they wanted to see. She said to continue with the injections as before and they will see me on Wed. She expects all my levels to be higher on Wed and to see some good growth of the eggs and if that is the case we will begin the third injection, ganerelix.

So to top of today, I got my first massage at 7 pm tonight and all I can say is HEAVEN!

So all in all we are moving right along and I am sucking up and taking the side effects because in the end it will all be worth it. We are expecting a harvest date of somewhere between Sat & Tues so its just around the corner. I can hardly believe it. Although to many it seems fast, to me these last days have seemed to last forever and it seems like forever until the weekend, but I will work on relaxing and being happy while the time passes by.

So if you would please continue praying and I will update soon. Until next time, Blessings to each and every one of you. We can't thank you enough for your continued prayers and support! God Bless!

And the fun begins......

2010-08-19T19:54:00.003-05:00

OK so maybe its not the fun but it is the lovely side effects of the drugs! And although the side effects aren't any fun, I do have some funny stories about them! So tonight at 9pm will be night 3 of the Follistim and Menopur injections. These are fun times I tell you. The good news is they aren't as painful as I anticipated yet anyways. I am sure as my tummy gets poked more and more times it will started getting a bit painful but for right now it just burns when the meds go in so I am thankful for that. So far no bruising on the belly yet but I can definitely feel the injections when I lean on something or bed over, not painful but definitely uncomfortable. So up until today right after lunch that and a terrible headache since Sunday have been the only side effects. But at about 1:00 today I got the worst hot flash I have ever had in my life. Now while on the birth control pills I had some hot flashes at night and they were bad or I thought they were bad but today I found out what a horrible hot flash really is. Now picture this, my boss and my co-worker are both men and about 75% of the rest of the group I work with are men too so to say I was getting strange looks is an understatement. So I am at my desk and had just finished eating about 10 min earlier and suddenly I thought I had turned into the grill that cooked the hamburger I had just ate. I swear I had flames shooting out of my body and it was burning from the inside out. I had sweat pouring off my head, arms and legs. So I went to the kitchen area and got two cups of ice and went into the ladies room where I proceeded to put as much ice on as many parts of my body as possible. I had ice in my bra in my shoes in my pants any where I could stash it and I swear it felt like it got hotter and hotter in there. So then I started eating out of the other cup of ice. After about 10 min I was finally starting to cool off or at least be bearable and so I put myself back together and went back to my desk. And yes I got some crazy looks but thankfully no one asked any questions. Of course I texted my IVF guru Angie and she assured me that this was very normal and that this was a good sign and meant the drugs were doing their job. Thanks Ang - great to have you on speed dial at all times although you might get sick of me! LOL! What was really weird was the headache was completely gone when the hot flash wait I mean when I spontaneously erupted into flames. So I was hopeful that the headache would stay gone, but no such luck it came back as soon as I cooled down to normal again. But hey that's OK. So then on my way home from work, I had to stop at HEB. I am trying to get in and get out with the few items I needed as soon as possible but my body had another idea. I am getting my last item, frozen tater tots when the flames return. So here I am standing in front of the frozen french fries and tater tots holding the door open and trying to figure out how I can climb in the freezer cabinet! Yes I am serious, if I could have gotten in that dang freezer cabinet, I would have but I couldn't figure out how to fit. So I grabbed about 3 or 4 bags of frozen tater tots and draped them over my neck and shoulders. And YES everyone was looking at me like I was insane, but let me tell you I could have cared less! All I wanted was to cool off already! So once the worst had passed, I grabbed a fresh bag of frozen tater tots and headed to the check out. Meanwhile I was getting crazy looks and people asking if I was OK. I just smiled and said sure I am fine doesn't everyone do this. Yeah so I made people really think I was crazy but oh well! I know this much for sure, I am normally a bit of a drama queen but this is just going to amplify my drama queen status! So for all my family and friends out there visit and go places with me at your own risk. I don't take responsibility for causing a scene! LOL!

Just wanted to make sure I got this down so that looking back on it all I will get a good laugh. I go back to the Dr on Friday and I will be sure to update after that.

Until then, please keep praying .......Blessings to you all!

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-08-16T20:45:00.002-05:00

Yeah this is where my mommy would say you are such a Leo to the core! And for those that know me, you know I am a typical Leo. My theory is if everyone would just see things my way, life would be much easier. So Sunday was my 35th birthday! We had a great weekend in New Braunfels at Schlitterbahn. It was packed but we still had a great time. And my hubby surprised me with a gift certificate for a massage! Can't wait to use that possibly this coming weekend.

So today started at the Dr's office and we are really full on into the IVF process. This morning started with an ultrasound and some blood work. We then met with my nurse Maria who said everything looked perfect on the ultrasound and as long as the blood work came back right that we are set to start 2 of the injections, Menopur & Follistim, on Tuesday evening. She covered with Chris again to make sure he knew how to give me all the different shots. She sent us on our way, and told us to make an appt for Friday. So on the way down to get the blood drawn, we made our appt. After having the blood drawn, which by the way I had the best person ever draw my blood....only one poke and no pain and I was out in like 3 minutes, we then stopped and picked up all of the prescriptions for this whole process and we were on our way to work. So the basic calendar at this point in time is an estimated harvest date of Aug 30th and an estimated implantation date of Sept 5th. Then that means by mid-Sept to the third week of Sept we will know if we are preggers or not. So about 3:00 this afternoon Maria called and said everything looks great, start the 2 shots on Tuesday night at 9:00pm. So I seriously have never looked forward to shots in my life, but right now I am looking forward to it. However, something tells me after the first set I won't be so excited about it, but I will be excited about what this will lead to. For the past 3 weeks since I was only taking the birth control pills and didn't really have any Dr appts it was hard to remember this whole thing was in process but after today I definitely know I am in the middle of IVF and I couldn't be more excited. It is such a strange feeling to not be scared and nervous about this whole process, but for some reason, I am really at peace with everything no matter what happens. This helps me to know I have made the right decision with God's guidance. God has made sure I am at ease and calm and for that I am blessed and thankful. So please continue praying that this whole process goes smoothly and that we have a positive outcome.

Until next time....Blessings to you all!

Brad Paisley Concert with opening acts Easton Corbin, Justin Moore, & Darius Rucker!!!

2010-08-09T20:03:00.021-05:00

Me & Tara

Tara & Rafael

Easton Corbin on the Waterfall Stage singing "I'm a Little More Country Than That"

and yes he even sounds like George Strait in person!

Our seats at the main stage were 3rd Row!

Tara's enormous can of beer that makes you have to pee all night!

Justin Moore

Who knew he was so little...seriously he can't be more than 5'5"!

Darius Rucker

He even sang Hootie and the Blow Fish Country Style and closed his part of the show with Purple Rain....seriously it was amazing! I would love to see a full concert of his!

Anticipating the main show!

Mr. Brad Paisley

We were close enough to actually see his eyes!

When he sang Whiskey Lullaby with Allison Krauss they superimposed her on the back screen of the stage and it actually looked like she was really there signing......it was amazing!

At the end the young boy in front of us was in a wheelchair and he can down and stood right in front of us and played an awesome guitar riff just for him and he took his hat off and gave it to the young boy!

The show was absolutely amazing and the best concert I think I have ever been to and yes the seats probably had a lot to do with it. I still can't believe we had those tickets. During the Rodeo we had joined his fan club (I know nerds, but it paid off). So we got an email about advance sale discount tickets. Chris insisted on buying them even though all they told you about where you would sit was that they were guaranteed to be within the first 20 rows. The catch was you pick them up at the box office the day of the concert. So for almost 6 months I have been wondering where our seats would be.....well we got there got the tickets opened them and they were THIRD ROW! AMAZING! It really was an amazing even and it was made even better to spend it with my best friend and her husband Tara and Rafael! Can't wait to do it again next year even though I only just got my voice back today from screaming so much Friday night!

Blessings to everyone....promise to update more on the IVF very soon! Stay tuned!

Family Pictures & Our 1 Year Pics

2010-07-24T20:15:00.029-05:00

Back Row - Alec (nephew), John (Chris's brother), John Jr (nephew)

Front Row - George (Chris's Dad), Marilyn (Chris's Mom), Me & Chris

A special thanks to my dear friend Diego for taking these and many many other wonderful pics for us on that hot sunny Sunday morning!

It's official we have begun.....

2010-07-24T00:30:00.002-05:00

It is really happening and I can't believe it. Mother nature made her official visit this morning which is the first step I was waiting for. I just knew I would be late since I am so anxious, but to my surprise she made her visit right on time like clock work. So this morning, I called Dr. Dunn's office and they called in the prescription for the birth control pills. I start taking them on Sat. I know I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that the first step in IVF is taking birth control pills. I mean after trying to have a baby for 12 years now with no success, to be taking birth control bills is a bit bizarre. At any rate, Maria my nurse will call me on Monday with my appointment day and time for next week which is when I will get my official calendar and the medicine/injection protocol. So I am anxiously awaiting that call because once I have that calendar in my hands it will definitely be real. So here we go we have jumped on and we are prepared to enjoy the ride. I know that sounds crazy to most, but after everything we have been through to get us to this point, I have made up my mind that I am going to do everything possible to make this a happy and positive experience injections and all. I promise to update soon. Until next time Blessings to each and every one of you!

God Bless!

Busy busy busy and toss in some excitement....

2010-07-18T17:09:00.002-05:00

Well I never meant to take this long in making another update, but time has gotten away from me. Life is never dull and always seems to be busy these days. This weekend my brother-in-law and my 2 nephews left after being here for 3 weeks. We had lots of fun times in the pool and in the sun while they were here. I know they are glad to be home but we already miss them especially the puppies miss the boys. We had some family pics done while they were here and some pics of Chris and I for our 1 year post opp, so I will post some of those very soon!

We are still going to the gym and meeting with the personal trainer and the best part is we are seeing real results! I love it! For someone who has asthma and has always had crappy lungs, apparently my body has forgotten this because I have been able to do things I have been able to do since I was very young. Like an hour and 10 min of intense cardio work……who knew I could do this? Not me that’s for sure. The trainer keeps saying to me are you sure you have asthma and I say yeah but you would’t know it from this. It amazes me how much better my lungs have gotten. It has been so many years since I could breathe easy that I had no idea life could feel this darn good. I am so tempted to go to the Dr and ask for a lung function test……its been about 6-8 months since I had one and at that time my lung function had improved to about 75% capacity which was up from 60-65% capacity. I haven’t had over 75% capacity in my lungs for over 10 years now and its averaged more like 60-65%. It is a horrible feeling especially with the humidity in Houston, you just constantly feel like you can’t catch your breath. And I know for certain that if my lung capacity was still that low, there is no way in the world I would be able to do what I am doing at the gym. So if I can find some time to fit it in my schedule, I think a stop for a lung function test is in order. I am just so amazed at how my lungs feel especially when I am working out hard and sweating like a crazy person.

Well on to the news I have been meaning to update you on…..the fertility Dr visit! First of all let me say, my dear friend Angie was so right, Dr. Dunn is fantastic, amazing, the best ever! I have never in the last 6 years of going to fertility Dr’s left an office feeling so optimistic, positive and completely comfortable and at ease and feeling like whatever happens it will be fine. All other appts have ended with both of us on edge, crying or on the verge of crying and the most intense feeling of helplessness I have ever felt. So Angie thanks for convincing me to go to Dr. Dunn. Just a fore warning this will be long but I want to make sure I document everything for later when I might forget what all actually happened. So our appt was on Wed June 16th. We walked in the office with about 6 pages of questions for the Dr….after everything we have been through ourselves and with other friends down this road you go in prepared with an arsenal of questions because this time it has to be on our terms, with us making a smart and informed decision out of clarity not a quick decision out of desperation. So they take me back and check all my vitals and the nurse asks lots of questions about my success with GBS and of course I can talk about that forever. We get past that and we are taken to Dr. Dunn’s office. We only waited about 2 minutes and he walked in the door. To my amazement he walked in called us both my name and sat down at his desk which did not have a file on it nor did he have a computer on with our file pulled up he just sat down and started talking to us like he had known us for years. He knew our entire history (all the paperwork I filled out online 6 weeks prior)! I have never in my life had a Dr that looked me in the eye and talked directly to me about my specific situation the way Dr. Dunn did. Usually they are talking to you while looking at your file and finally at the end they look you in the eye for about 2-5 min max. So right of the bat we were so impressed and so at ease. We started out by covering everything we had tried in detail. At this point, I started to get mad but quickly decided what happened, happened and I can’t change it so there is no use dwelling on it. We explained in detail the 4 IUI’s we tried after being diagnosed with male infertility and then 6 months later being diagnosed with unexplained female infertility. We explained that our prior Dr said there was a less than 1% chance of us getting pregnant on our own and if by a miracle we did we had a more than 70% chance at having a child with a disease or abnormality. In fact the old Dr scared us so much that we even considered Chris having a vasectomy. Thankfully we didn’t do that. So we told Dr. Dunn that we had bought 5 donor sperm samples and we used 4 of the 5. At that point he looked at us and shook his head and said I want to explain something to you. First of all he said, we can do IVF with Chris’s sample with no problems. He said even in the worst cases that a man has at least 10K sperm in a sample (normal is 5 million) and even in the 10K sample you can find 15-20 healthy sperm for IVF without a problem. We looked at each other and couldn’t believe our ears. The other Dr had told us that we would need to use donor sperm if we tried IVF because his were too few and too dangerous! Dr Dunn then explained to us that basically the 4 IUI (artificial insemination) we did were a complete waste of time and he would have told us our only option was IVF. So basically we spent about 30K for nothing. He explained that anyone normally trying to get pregnant only has a 10-15% chance of success each month which I already knew. He said with Chris’s counts back then our odds were about 6-8%, but then he said something that floored me. He said when you freeze sperm that the freezing and the subsequent thawing process typically kills between 25-50% of the sperm! Seriously! So he said we basically had the same odds of getting pregnant with the frozen sperm that we would have had using Chris’s. At this point I was mad and wanted to cry, but I said wait, I am not going to let the past get in the way of my future. So I just put it out of my mind and listened to what else Dr Dunn had to say. We then talked about how we were mentally not in a good place and we made decisions we normally wouldn’t have made because we felt desperate. He said that is very common which is why they offer counseling if needed to make informed decisions which are best for you and your family. WOW! Moving along….. He told us our best and really only option was IVF which we pretty well knew and had already decided that was the step we wanted to take. From there he went over all the testing I had before and there were several tests that he does that the other Dr didn’t do. Oh and by the way, I called and faxed and confirmed the old Dr received the fax about 5 weeks ago requesting my records be sent to Dr Dunn and of course they didn’t. Dr Dunn said I am not surprised, but do not worry I will get them from her for you. He then said this is a common problem with that Dr. He never came out and said anything bad or anything but you could tell from his mannerisms that he has gotten lots of her patients and he doesn’t feel she is a competent Dr! Lovely just lovely, but back to being positive because lots of positive things came from this appt. We continued talking about the tests he wanted to do on us. He wanted to do a new sperm test which Chris took care of today so that’s off the list. Then there are 2 different sets of blood work he wants done on me and a sonohystogram. The first blood test is to test for CF and several hormones. The second blood test is like a glucose test. It’s a fasting blood test where they take blood then you drink a drink in 3 min and 2 hours later they draw more blood. This test is used to determine if I have insulin resistance syndrome. This isn’t diabetes but can be the beginning of diabetes and it’s something that people have and have no idea they have it. He said when it comes to fertility in a woman, if you have this your body will still produce eggs but it produces poor eggs and eggs that have no chance of being fertilized. Who knew….not us! He gave us lots of info on this and said if you have it no problem, you just take a pill for about 5 weeks and then we proceed with IVF. We just need to know it up front so that we can compensate for it. So I had all of these blood tests done on Tuesday 2 weeks ago…..and what a joy that was. Really between these and the blood work I had done a few weeks ago, I don’t know how I have any blood left! Moving along… On Thurs the 8th I had the sonohystogram done. This is an ultrasound whereby they fill your uterus will water before performing the ultrasound. In doing this he gets a clear picture of my ovaries and follicles and my uterus. And with this and with the blood work he can age my ovaries and eggs since I will be 35 in Aug and I will be considered advanced maternal age. Nothing like being told you are old when it comes to having babies! So with these 3 tests he will be able to determine what meds and how much to give me for the IVF. After he explained all of this I said so what are we looking at as far as getting started on IVF. With that he smiled and said, well we need you to start your period so that we can get these tests done ( they all have to be done on certain days of your cycle). Then once the tests are done we will have another consult appt and at that appt we will go over the protocol and begin putting your calendar together for IVF which means, we will get started the end of July. He said that means that you will be harvested end of Aug and implanted the end of Aug the first few days of Sept. I have never been so excited. He said they only thing that would push it back a month would be if I tested positive for insulin resistance syndrome. He said he doubts that I will have it because he would have thought that Dr. Davis would have found that before my surgery, but we are double checking. On 7/14 we went back to the Dr for all of our test results and to review all of the files from the old Dr. Well believe it or not Dr Dunn still doesn't have the files from the old Dr so after multiple phone calls and a few choice words we should have them by Wed at the latest. The good news of the Dr visit is everything went GREAT! All of our tests came back great. My reproductive organs and health came out younger than my actual body so that was great news. Chris's test results came back better than expected. His count and morphology was fine but his motility was low. This means that we have less than a 1/2 % chance at getting pregnant on our own but that with IVF we shouldn't have any problems. Dr Dunn said that even though his motility is low that its not as low as over 50% of the couples he has treated with male infertility. With all of our test results he still feels we have a 50-70% chance at success. Those are odds I can live with. So with that he said, do you want to think about IVF and before he could finish the question, I said can we get started today! He laughed and said not today but very soon. So we are again waiting for my period which should be between the 23rd-25th. Once I do start, I will call Dr. Dunn and on day 3 go in for an ultrasound and to get my calendar of when the pills, injections, other ultrasounds, harvest, retrieval and pregnancy test will take place. So for the second month in a row, I am praying for my period to hurry up so we can get this show on the road. The entire IVF process will last 5 1/2-6 weeks and in vague dates the harvest will take place the last week of Aug and the implant will take place the first week of Sept. The two of us are so excited and nervous its unbelievable. I can only imagine how we will feel the day we actually get the calendar in our hands. I can't wait! After 10+ years of trying and so many disappointments we have so much optimism right now.

So as you can see from my long winded post and yes I did cut out a lot considering we spoke with the Dr for over an hour at both visits, we are very excited to get on our way with this journey finally. Please continue to pray for us. Oh and did I forget to mention that Dr Dunn gave us a 70-75% chance of success. For those of you who don’t know those are great odds in the world of infertility so we are beyond thrilled and we feel blessed beyond belief to finally have the chance to realize our dreams.

Until next time thanks for all of your prayers along our journey and please if you have a few extra seconds in your day, say a prayer for us as we continue this journey. May God Bless each and every one of you!

Guess who's 1 today......

2010-06-17T21:44:00.002-05:00

Yep today is Chris's one year re-birthday! It's so hard to believe its been a whole year. I am so proud of my hubby and the amazing progress he has made. I am truly blessed and I can't imagine taking this journey with anyone but him and not only this journey but our entire journey in life. Honey thanks so much for all of your love and support and I know this next year is going to be one of the best yet. I love you and Congratulations on all your success!

I promise to post more soon concerning our Dr. appt. I will just leave you with this.....its great news. But you will have to wait because I am tired and need to get to bed so I can get up for work in the morning, but I promise to update soon on where we stand and when we get started.

Until next time, Blessings to each and every one of you!

Exercise.....

2010-06-13T19:21:00.002-05:00

So since I have last updated we joined a gym that is literally one mile from our house and across the street from our subdivision. We have been going for a little over 2 weeks now and so far so good. We have made it a point since our surgeries to stay active and we have done lots of bike riding and lots of walking too. Of course in this part of Texas come July & August it is very hard to be outside if you are not in a pool between the heat and the 200% humidity. So we found this gym that is a month to month membership. No long contracts and its open to members 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We went and got a tour and talked to people there and decided this was the place for us. I told Chris, we are trying it out for a few months, and if we stick with it, then we will keep it up and pay a year in advance or 6 months in advance because you get a discount that way. But if we don't use it, then we can cancel with no penalty. So far and yes I know its only been about 2 weeks we are definitely sticking with it. Part of their enrollment gives you one session with a personal trainer for free and in this session you do a sort of exercise evaluation whereby they measure your flexibility and strength and give you recommendations as to the types of exercise you should do to improve in those areas or give you recommendations based on your goals. So since it is free we signed up. Well we loved the guy we signed up with for the first session and by the end of the session we had signed up for 10 sessions of couples personal training with him. He gave us an excellent price and better than that, so far he has been great. Not including our first meeting we have worked with him twice. He is gone right now on vacation for 2 weeks but before leaving he wrote us out a work out plan for the next two weeks. When he comes back we will continue our sessions. For those of you who know me well, you know I don't run....I walk fast but I don't run. Well believe it or not within the next 2-3 weeks he says we will be jogging and running on the treadmill. I can't believe it, but I am willing to try. I tell you a year ago I would have said you are crazy, but today I feel like I could do anything. I have already done more in the last 2-3 weeks at the gym then I ever dreamed was possible. The goal is to 3 days a week do 30 min of cardi0 and 45 min of weights. Then 2 days a week just 30 min of cardio. It is so funny how I can't wait to get home and go. I feel so good when I get done its just amazing. And something that blows our minds even more is I haven't had a single problem with my asthma. If I had tried this a year or two ago, I guarantee we would have been at the emergency room because of my asthma. My what a difference a year and hard work and determination make. Even last week, Chris was out of town for work and he exercised at the hotel (our trainer gave him stuff to do in his room in case they didn't have a gym) and I went to the gym by myself.....really I did. Again anyone who knows me knows that is a huge feat for me.

So right now we are doing great. Still having issues with the increased amount of iron I am taking and I will just warn you now I am heading into way too much info territory, so if you don't want to read skip down to the next paragraph. But if you are a fellow GBS patient and have any input in this area I would gladly appreciate it. What is the issue you ask....going to the bathroom and having a bowl movement. Can you say hurts like hell and constipated is an understatement. I am taking Metamucil 3 times a day which has helped some but not enough. Last weekend I took a laxative and I didn't think it had worked since it said it would in about 12 hours, well for me it took almost 24 hours and of course I was in the middle of Bed Bath and Beyond when it hit me. That's a whole other story that I just won't get into right now, I am sure you can imagine it. At any rate, for those of you who have had GBS do you have any advice on what I can do to make going to the bathroom easier while I am on 100 mg of iron a day. (I will be on this much iron for at least the next 5 months possibly longer depending on what happens at the fertility Dr.) I also still get nauseated from the chewable iron, but not as bad as I was at first. I have found taking it at night and having a few crackers or something like that after taking it then going straight to bed seems to make it better. Of course everything tastes metallic and at this point I think I have just gotten use to that feeling that it doesn't bother me as much. Again any input a fellow GBS patient has in this area would be greatly appreciated.

As for going to the fertility Dr which I spoke a little about before, our appointment is on Wed morning. To say we are excited is an understatement. To say we are nervous is an understatement too. We just can't believe we are finally at this point and we are so scared the virtual rug will get pulled out from under us. We have definitely put it in God's hands and we know he will do what is right for us. I will update on our plan once we meet with the Dr and we find out what his plan is. I know what my plan is so lets hope he goes with my plan but whatever the plan is we will do what is best for us and for our future baby/babies!

Also for those of you who don't know, our dear friends A & B had their baby boy Cullen on June 4th. Both mom and baby are very happy and healthy. They had a long difficult road, but in the end God brought Cullen into this world happy and healthy and he didn't have to spend a single day in the NICU. What a blessing indeed. So thanks from the bottom of our hearts for all your prayers for them over the last many months.

Until next time......Blessings to you all!
Amy :)

Vacation Pics......

2010-05-20T19:17:00.031-05:00

The beach when we first got to Destin about 5 pm after a storm earlier in the day.

Getting ready to go eat dinner on the beach our first night there at the Back Porch. We ate lunch there several times. It was great and right on the beach and you can go in bare foot in your swim suit. They had some of the best seafood gumbo I have ever had.

Walking down the beach the first day we found this sand castle.

Sunset stroll on the beach after dinner the first night.

The beautiful water of Destin. I still can't believe this is the Gulf of Mexico! The water is crystal clear and gorgeous!

The guy we rented the chairs and umbrella from took this pic. I can't believe I am actually posting a pic of me in a swim suit.

Yes we did cheesy writing in the sand on the beach.

Waiting for dinner at Dewey's in the garden. It was beautiful and the food......seriously they have the best crab cakes I have ever had in my life. If you are ever in Destin, you must go there.

I made us stop for front back and side pics since it had been a while since we did them.

Chris said since the water is too cold to snorkel he has to at least put them on! Crazy man and boy did we laugh after seeing the picture!

The guy next to the table and the drill is Michael aka Nick Nolte. He was the guy we rented our umbrella and chairs from everyday. He was so nice and gave us great recommendations on places to eat and things to see. Everywhere he recommended we go he said to tell them Nick Nolte sent you and they will treat you well. He was super nice!

Enjoying the sun!

If you go to Destin you must go to McGuire's!

We had the best ribs I have ever had in my entire life and yes I got them in FL not TX! Seriously if you are there they are the best ever! We got so much we split the plate and still had half of it left over.

We sat outside on the 2nd story deck and watched the sunset over the bay! Absolutely beautiful!

The waiter was nice enough to take a pic of us!

Inside there are dollar bills all over the walls and the ceiling. You put your name and the date on a dollar bill and they give you staples to hang them up. Really neat inside.

inside the gift shop.....too bad we can't drink anymore. You can get some amazing wine and beer!

Before we left for home in front of the hotel. These were beautiful snap dragons everywhere.

On the beach on the edge of town as we headed home to Texas after the best vacation ever. We could have stayed forever!

Can you believe I am 1 today???

2010-05-19T21:49:00.002-05:00

Wow its been a long long time and lots has happened. So sorry for the delay but we have had more computer trouble and both computers have been down. We finally have one back so I feel like I am connected again!

So can you believe I am 1 today??? No really I am 1 today! Today is my 1st Re-Birthday or the 1st Anniversary of my gastric bypass surgery! I can't believe it has been a whole year. We went out to dinner tonight and had a wonderful seafood meal. We brought half of it home but it was fabulous none the less. So one year ago today right now I had just finished walking for the first time and I was in lots of pain, but here I am a year later and I can honestly say it was all worth it! I feel amazing and I have so much more energy than I have had in years. A few days of pain and even the horrible protein drinks and the pureed food were all very much worth it. So my official stats one year later is I weigh in at 176 lbs and I have lost a total of 129 lbs so far! My goal weight is 140 lbs so I still have 36 lbs to go but I know I can do it. The rate at which I am losing weight has definitely gone down, but I have the tools and the knowledge and the will power to get the last of it off. That includes upping the exercise which I have been slacking on since I have gone back to work. I also need to intensify my work outs to include machines and weights and not just walking and bike riding.

Last week we had our 1 year appts. Everything went fabulous and Dr. Davis was amazed at us and couldn't stop smiling at us. He told us to keep up the good work and asked lots of questions to all we answered NO because we don't have any problems anymore! How amazing is that? So with that he said, here's your paperwork for labs (yes 12 more vials of blood and I was not happy) then he said do you have any questions for me? With that we said only one, am I released now to try to get pregnant again? With that he looked at us both smiled real big and said, now don't tell me you haven't been trying already because I know better than that. So I said, OK so that's true but obviously it didn't work so that means the weight loss didn't fix the infertility so do I have your permission now to go back to the Fertility Dr? He said yes absolutely.....just call me once you are pregnant and I will work with your Dr to make sure you and the baby are healthy. So with that we left with huge smiles on our faces and headed to have our blood work done. We got our blood results back and those weren't perfect. Chris's vitamin D is low and my vitamin D is low and my iron is very low. So he said no problem we can fix that. So we are taking additional vitamin D and I am doubling the amount of iron I take on a daily basis. Then is 6 months he wants to do more blood work and make sure everything is better. Other than that everything went perfect and we don't have to see him again for a year unless we have a problem or I get pregnant.

So with that we were very happy and the next day I called Dr. Dunn to get an appointment. He is the fertility specialist that our friends A & B use and several of their friends. So our next big appt is on 6/16! So we will have more to come on the baby front in the next month or so. Our plan is to start IVF between July and Sept at the latest. We will see what we find out on the 16th. So please say a prayer for us.

As for our friends A & B, if you haven't checked their blog, they have had complications but so far she is still pregnant and baby Cullen is growing. As long as her body cooperates Cullen will be born via c-section in two weeks. Please keep them all in your prayers.

Let's see so much has happened.....On May 3rd I started my new job! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I was so scared to start over but now that I have, I couldn't be more happy. I had lunch with a friend from Talent Tree last Friday because I get off at noon on Friday's now (how awesome is that?) and we have known each other for 12 years and she said she doesn't think she has ever seen me look better than I do and be happier than I am! That made me feel even better. We really are so happy right now because it feels like some of our biggest dreams are coming true.

Also we again participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies this year and it was an absolute success. We beat our goal and we walked the 5 miles without breaking a real sweat. We laughed because we remembered last year at the walk when we hit 2 miles we looked at each other and said, oh my gosh how are we going to make it another 3 miles. But we were determined and we made it. Then this year, here we are both over 100 lbs less than last year healthier and happier and when we got to mile 2 it felt like we had just started. When we finished the 5 miles we both looked at each other and said wow that was nothing I could go another 5 miles! My how a year can change you!

I know I owe you guys some pics so I will do my best to get some posted tomorrow. Until then, God Bless each and every one of you and we can't thank you enough for all of your support over this last year.

Lots going on in our world......

2010-04-19T17:13:00.003-05:00

Over the last few weeks we have had lots going on in our world. Its a good thing I have been unemployed to get everything done. Lets see where do I start? It started about a month ago when my husband's parents finally decided that they can no longer take care of themselves and their house and they are ready to move into a senior community. So I spent a week going to about 10 different places getting all the details, touring and talking to people. (this is something we have been encouraging them to do for several years but we knew it had to be in their time.....) That Friday we took them to tour 3 different places that were in their price range and that I thought they would like and that was close to where we live. Thankfully they fell in love with one place and we officially have them on the waiting list and have put a deposit down. This now means we have to get their house ready to put up for sell asap. So we have spent lots of time working at their house and this weekend we will be having a huge garage sale. The more they can get rid of now the less I have to pack and move with them. In the midst of all of this going on, I had two companies that were seriously considering me. One was a position that was something of a dream job for me. The other had the perfect location. So about 3 weeks ago I was told it was down to me and one other person for both of these jobs but it was going to take some time before an offer was made because both places had people on vacation who needed to sign off on the offer. So Chris convinced me if we had any hope of having a vacation this year we should take one right now and since he had so many free hotel nights all we had to pay for was gas to get there and food and lets be honest we don't eat enough anymore to amount to anything. So we planned it and booked it on Wed and left for Destin, FL on Easter Sunday. We had the BEST vacation we have ever had since we have been together. It was the most relaxing and enjoyable vacation I have ever had. We were seriously beach bums. We would get up everyday go down to the lobby and have our free breakfast around 9am and we were laying on the beach by 10:30am. We would then walk to the restaurant on the beach and eat lunch then back to lay in the lounge chairs some more. We took lots of walks down the beach and around 5:30 every afternoon we headed back to the hotel which was just across the street from the beach to shower and go have dinner. And just like old married people we were in bed by 10-10:30 every night! I know we were boring but hey that was exactly what we needed and now that we are home working our buts off to get his parents house ready to sell I am so glad I did nothing at all for a week. That brings us to last week which was lots of work at his parents house and oh did I mention I got the job offer on Friday! Yep I got the "DREAM" job offer and boy was it an outstanding offer. In fact it was such a great offer that I didn't even have to think about it, the recruiter asked if he could give a verbal OK and I said yes absolutely! So as of yesterday I officially signed my offer letter and tomorrow I have to go pee in a cup to make sure I am not on drugs. Once that is complete, I am set to start my new job on Monday 5/3/2010! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. When this whole layoff started back in Aug 2009 I couldn't even imagine working anywhere other that the Tree. I remember feeling lost and extremely sad. It's funny how you just get so accustomed to being somewhere that anything that puts a wrinkle in that makes you feel so unsure of things. And now here I am so excited wondering what I was scared of. For those of you who know me well, you know that I have a hard time with huge major life changes especially those that are NOT planned but I can honestly say that I couldn't be more excited about these changes now. I am nervous about starting over but I am so looking forward to doing something new at a new company that has so many new opportunities ahead for me. God is GREAT for sure! He has truly answered our prayers and I am beyond grateful. I wanted to thank each and every one of you who have prayed for my job hunt, as always God answers our prayers and helps us the realize that there is always good out there you just have to be patient. I promise to post pics of our fabulous vacation very soon. Also just a reminder that we will be walking in the March for Babies on Sunday in memory of Bennett David and in honor of Ellie Grace and soon to be Cullen. If you can make a small donation, please click the link at the top of my blog.

Until next time.....Blessings to each and every one of you!

March for Babies

2010-04-16T14:41:00.002-05:00

We are only a week away from the March of Dimes, March for Babies and we are a little over $100 away from our goal. I know that times are very tough right now, but if you can spare even $1 or $5 it would greatly help all the little babies in the world and their mothers. If you can spare even a small amount please click on the link at the top of the blog and make a donation on-line via credit card. Thanks in advance for your generosity......it is greatly appreciated.

A lot has been going on lately and I have tons to update, but for now, I will leave you with......prayers are being answered and God is wonderful. I promise to elaborate more very soon!

Until next time - God Bless each and everyone of you!

Pics I have been meaning to post since Jan....

2010-03-16T22:47:00.011-05:00

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Family pic - yes even the girls have Christmas outfits!

These front back and side pics were taken in the early part of Feb

the flowers my hubby gave me on Valentines

It's been a while....

2010-03-16T21:59:00.001-05:00

since I updated the blog and again I could give excuse after excuse, but I won't. The latest going on in our home is I am still looking for a job. It's going well and I have been on a few interviews and have several irons in the fire. I am praying that the right job comes along soon. I want the right job for me, one that I will enjoy going to everyday. So its in God's hands now and once I get that job I will let you all know. Other than that we have been finishing up laying tile in Chris's parents house and we finished it all this weekend on Sunday just in time for me to get sick! My allergies have been crazy and on Sunday it turned into full infections in the ears, throat and lungs! Fun times I tell you. So I am on the good drugs again antibiotics, steroids, inhalers and cough syrup. This is the first time since I had surgery that I have gotten this sick. I guess it was going to happen sooner or later but what has been so strange is how fast I am feeling better than I did before losing all this weight. Before it took about 3-4 days to start really feeling better and here I am the next day after going to the Dr feeling better not great but better. Let's see what else.......I guess not really much except I am asking for prayers for another dear friend. He and I worked together the past ten years and last year was fighting prostate cancer. He has been cancer free for a year and just last week discovered it has come back. I don't have any details yet, but please pray for his strength and that he can beat the cancer again. Our friends A & B are doing better and the little baby is still growing strong. Please keep them in your prayers too. Until next time, blessings to you all!

Happy Birthday Honey!

2010-02-23T16:18:00.002-06:00

Well I am a little late getting this post up since yesterday was Chris's B-day but I guess better late than never. We had a great weekend celebrating his birthday and a great day together Monday. Honey hope you had a wonderful birthday and can't wait for many more together. I love you more than words can say!

Well this week is my last week at my job of 12 years and I definitely have very mixed feelings as the week slowly comes to an end. On one hand I am excited about the possibilities that lay in front of me, but on the other hand I am scared to death. What if I don't find a job by the time my severance runs out? What if I don't find a job within 6 months? What am I going to do with myself not getting up and going to work everyday? What if I do find a job and get an offer and the drive is worse than the one I am making now....obviously I will take the job because well I gotta have a job, but what kind of stress will this cause and how will I be able to handle it? These are only a few of the million questions floating around in my head this week. I am trying my hardest to remember that God will take care of us, but being a person who always feels the need to be in control of things, I am having a hard time.

Our home computer is still in the hospital but there is hope we will have it by the end of the week. So hopefully very soon I will be able to post some new pics.

Also, one last thing before I sign off.......please please please say lots of prayers for our dear friends A&B. They are having some major difficulties with the pregnancy at 22 weeks she is having major contractions and they are praying for a miracle and that baby Cullen will not end up having to be delivered prematurely. There is a high chance that A will end up in the hospital for the remainder of her pregnancy. Please visit their blog at www.bennettandellie.blogspot.com for more info and to leave your thoughts and prayers. I know that their family can use all the support you have to give.

Blessings to each and everyone of you!
Amy :)

Odds and Ends.....

2010-02-16T11:36:00.002-06:00

Wow its been a while since I have posted and I feel bad for that and I could give all kinds of excuses, but I won't. I just simply have been busy with life. So we will call this post just some odds and ends that have been happening the last few weeks. Here we go:

I am down to less than 2 weeks left at my job and I am getting nervous and more sad by the day. I can't believe 12 years are really coming to an end. It has been exhausting here at work packing everything and cleaning stuff out. No need for working out at home when I am doing it all day at work! I sat this morning and shredded so much paperwork that I couldn't just throw away for security reasons and the dates on some of it were insane.
In the last 2 weeks I have had a phone interview for one job and an in person interview for another job. I am praying that I get the call back from one of these. Both are jobs with companies that I really think I would enjoy. But.....starting over is so unnerving to me. Please say a prayer.
I am officially wearing the same size jeans and clothes I was wearing my Sr year of HS! Size 14.....seriously I think I might have yelled out in the dressing room that day and scared a few people but who cares :)
The above reminds me I haven't updated our weight logs lately.....I need to get on that.
We have been collecting for March of Dimes and Chris & I are over 1/2 to our goal already! Yea us! If you haven't had a chance and have even $1.00 extra, please click the link at the top of the blog and make a donation.
We celebrated the 3 birthdays we missed due to my father-in-law being in the hospital finally. Mother-in-law 12/31, Step-Dad 1/8, and Father-in-law 1/15! And we have another birthday coming on Monday! My wonderful husband's birthday in on Monday. Actually Feb is a busy birthday month in our family.....we have birthdays for Chris, an Aunt, an Uncle, Chris's brother, our nephew, and 4 close friends! Wow!
We celebrated Valentine's Day this past weekend and it was a wonderful relaxing weekend together that we haven't had in a very long time. Topped off with a day at Kemah....it was cold but the food and atmosphere was out of this world!
I have found some dear old friends on FaceBook and reconnected with them. It has been wonderful to hear about their lives and reconnect. And it has been funny how so many of them live right near me. One even in my same subdivision. How weird is that? I have also found out that something crazy happened in 1975 because I have gotten in contact with so many friends from HS that have fertility issues that its unbelievable. I will have to expand on my feelings about this at another time and explain more of what I mean that something crazy happened in 1975!
I finally got my Christmas Tree taken down on get this Feb 5th along with the lights outside! I am serious.....and don't think I didn't just contemplate leaving them up til this Christmas....cause I did but I decided against it! LOL
We are doing lots of new research on adoption and trying to decide if we should try IVF or go the adoption route. Again something I will share more on at a later time......lots to think and pray about.
Chris & I both got sick right after we got his dad home from the hospital. And it was bad....sick in bed for like 4 days! We haven't been sick like that in a long time but I think we were both so exhausted that our bodies decided it was time for a break whether we liked it or not. We both recovered after a week and are good as new now.
We are still praying for our friends A & B and their little Boy, Cullen Spencer, who we hope will stay in mommies tummy as long as possible. For more details on their progress click on over to www.bennettandellie.blogspot.com

Hummmmmm.....I think that about covers it, but I am sure I have missed something. Oh yeah here's something I missed the computer at home is dead and currently hooked up to life support for the last 2-3 weeks! We are praying they will be able to salvage all my pics and everything we had on there. My plan the first week I was unemployed was to get all the pics and important info and download to zip drive or disk....apparently my computer had a different idea. So we will see what happens there. Here's hoping we have a computer soon so I can post some new pics on here. Just for an idea, when we had the pics done the end of Nov I was wearing a size 18 and now I am a size 14 so I have definitely changed since then and need to post some new pics.

Well Blessings to you all until next time!

God Bless!

March for Babies!

2010-01-22T15:49:00.004-06:00

Hey there to all my friends and family!

Chris and I are honored to again be participating in this years Houston March for Babies. We are again members of Team Chunky Monkey and we are walking in honor of all babies who have gone before us and all healthy babies too. Specifically we are marching in memory of Bennett David and Logan William and in honor of Ellie Grace and Olivia Paige. To learn more about the stories of Bennett David and Ellie Grace please visit their blog at www.bennettandellie.blogspot.com and to learn more about Logan William and Olivia Paige visit their blog at www.oliviaandlogan.blogspot.com. Please help us out by making a donation in any amount you can afford. I know times are hard, but even a donation as small as $1.00 counts and will make a difference. We are so proud to be able to participate again this year and we look forward to participating for many years to come.

Over the years of fertility treatments and via this blog we have met so many wonderful families who have and will potentially benefit from this wonderful event. When you enter into the land of infertility and proceed to fertility treatments, you find out all too fast how quickly tiny lives can be taken away without a moments notice from those who end in miscarriages all the way to those who are born prematurely and fight with everything they have to survive. Chris and I have longed to be parents for many years now and we know that one day our day will come, but we also know the realities of having fertility treatments and the realities of prematurity. No one in this world deserves to walk in the land of infertility, miscarriage or premature birth but it is a fact of life and I know that we can all get through it by the grace of God.

So I ask you again for your support for this most worthy cause. March for Babies has touched our lives in a way we never imagined and for it we are better people. So in honor and memory of every baby around the world.....let the marching begin! If you are so inclined and are able, please click on the link at the top of the blog to make your donation via credit card. If you prefer to donate via check, please send me an email at nordzoo316@att.net and I will contact you and make arrangements to pick up your check or give you my address to mail it to.

God Bless each and everyone of you and thanks in advance for your support! The Nord's

Baby its cold outside.....

2010-01-04T15:26:00.002-06:00

Seriously, its too cold outside and its only getting worse. I live in south Texas for a reason, its warm OK its hot but that's OK I like it! I can't believe we will be having low temps in the low 20's for 4-5 days and the highs one day only the low 30's and the rest of the time the 40's for highs! Seriously did I move and I just don't remember it? They are even talking about sleet and snow again on Wed & Thurs. Now it is very rare to get sleet and snow in south Texas but to get it twice in one season is almost unheard of. I am so ready for summer! Of course if it does snow, I will be outside in it acting like a 12 year old again, but then I will be inside by the fireplace with a big cup of hot tea!

Last Thursday was a very sad day at my job when so many left for the their last time. Then when I got to work today it was even more horrible, the parking garage looks so empty and the building is so empty and the quite is deafening! I can't even imagine what Feb 26th is going to feel like. I have been here for so long the thought of no longer coming here to work everyday is really crazy. When this all started back in August and we found out we were all losing our jobs it seemed well a ways away. Its crazy how fast it got here!

Things are getting better with Chris's dad and he came home yesterday which was an absolute blessing, but last night was very rough. None of us got much sleep as he was up all night with pain. After Chris spent some time on the phone with the surgeon this morning they have determined this is normal for where he is and he doesn't need to be readmitted at this time. Things are going better this afternoon but he will be going to see the surgeon in his office on Wed so we will see what happens then. For now until he is completely recovered Chris's parents are staying with us because its easier for us not having to drive to their house every day and since his mom can't drive at all and he can't drive right now we need them with us until they can take care of themselves.

Until next time, Blessings to you all!

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-01T16:19:00.002-06:00

Last night we said goodbye to 2009 and a big hello to 2010. We are ready for a new year full of health and happiness.

Just a quick update on Chris's dad, things are improving and they have now taken surgery off the table. Today he is allowed to have some liquids and hopefully he will continue to improve. Thanks so much for all of your prayers for him.

Blessings to you all and I hope you are having a very Happy New Year. May you all have lots of health and happiness in 2010!

14 years ago today.....

2009-12-30T13:55:00.002-06:00

We got married!

Now this isn't quite how I envisioned spending my 14 year anniversary in the hospital with his parents, but that's OK. We will just celebrate a little later. I had planned on doing a post today that included pics from the day we got married but that too will have to be postponned for a later day when we get home from the hospital.

A quick update on Chris's dad.....today hasn't been a good day and yesterday we had hope of no surgery but now its looking like surgery. They have been running tests and x-rays all day and by this evening a definite decision will be made as to the surgery and our next steps.

So it looks like we will be spending not only our anniversary here, but also New Year's Eve which is also my mother-in-laws birthday and New Years Day and who knows how much longer after that. So I will say that we will have a big celebration when we finally get home. I will update tomorrow with his status. Until then please say a prayer for him and please say a prayer for our patience and understanding.

Before I end this let me say, 14 years ago today was the best day of my life and I hope we have many many more years of happiness together. I love you babe!

Blessings to all!

Belated Merry Christmas.......Please say a prayer!

2009-12-27T17:50:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas a little late to each and every one of you. I hope you were on Santa's good list and I hope you enjoyed celebrating Jesus Birthday as much as myself and my family. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day, but we ended up in the emergency room Christmas day around 6:00pm with my father-in-law. He was having tremendous abdominal pain and nausea and when we got home from my Aunts house, we decided he should go to the hospital because all 5 of the heart attacks he has had have started with stomach pain and nausea. When we got to the hospital his blood pressure was 268/118. Luckily there was no signs of heart trouble or a heart attack. So they did a CT scan of his entire torso and determined that he has a blockage in his small intestine/bowl and at 10pm Christmas night he was admitted to the hospital. So here we sit hoping for some answers as to if and when he will have surgery. Right now he has a tube up his nose, down his throat and into his stomach and he is in lots of pain still. He is getting morphine and nausea medicine and today they inserted a PIC line because they are having lots of trouble drawing blood due to the all of his blood thinners he is on for his heart and since he is getting dehydrated due to not being allowed to eat or drink since being admitted. Hopefully sometime this evening or first thing tomorrow a decision will be made on surgery. He has 3 Dr's working with him including his heart Dr to determine the best plan of action. Of course since he has had triple bypass, valve replacement, he has 5 stints, he has a pacemaker and he has had both carotid arteries surgically opened working hand in hand with the heart Dr is very important to make sure there aren't any complications with his heart if and when they do surgery. It is looking like he will be having surgery because they haven't seen any improvement yet. Please keep him in your prayers and I will post an update when there are any changes.

Thanks and God Bless each and every one of you. Once we get him recovered and we are back home and back to normal I will post some pics from Christmas including pics of the puppies in their Christmas dress......they were so darn cute!

Blessings to you all!

Are you ready for Christmas??

2009-12-21T21:23:00.002-06:00

shopping done - check
wrapping done - check
grocery shopping done - check
maid coming tomorrow - Thank Goodness!
still have my brain in tact - check but sometimes questionable!

We were behind schedule with Christmas, but after this weekend we knocked it all out. All that's left is the cooking. And then finally enjoying our family and friends as we celebrate Jesus' Birthday! Its my favorite time of year! So are you ready to celebrate?

Can't wait for Christmas Eve.....we go to church with our parents and then to dinner at a great Chinese restaurant and then to look at Christmas Lights....that's my favorite part.

Until next time....God Bless each and everyone of you!

Finally some of our new pictures!

2009-12-13T19:19:00.032-06:00

The above are s0me of the pics we had done the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Believe it or not we have a disk with 248 great pictures on it. Picking our favorites has been very difficult but these are some of them. We plan to do this again in about 6 months when it will be 1 year after surgery. Its so strange to have lots of pics to choose from that we both like and we are both happy with the way we look.

Until next time Blessings to you all!

Friday = Snow + Allergic Reaction

2009-12-06T16:54:00.009-06:00

Can you believe it snowed in South Texas???? And not only did it snow we had some stick and it snowed for about 6 hours! Crazy just plain crazy!

The girls didn't think it was as fun as mommy and daddy....their little feet were freezing!

After playing in the snow we came in and snuggled with a fire in the fireplace and a cup of hot cocoa! Yum!

So you can see from the pictures that we had snow in South Texas which was crazy enough but on top of that and in the snow we had to get me to the Dr Fri morning because I was having a crazy allergic reaction that after 24 hours of Benadryl was continuing to spread and I was about to scratch my skin off of my body. I had these tiny bumps that started on the right shoulder on Wed, then on Thurs while at work I started itching like crazy so I put some Benadryl cream on my shoulder while at work. When I got home on Thurs evening and changed I noticed the same thing on my left shoulder. So I put on more Benadryl. Then about 8pm Thurs night my back and was starting to itch. Chris looked at my back and it had spread. So I took Benadryl by mouth after calling my mom and took an oatmeal bath however the oatmeal bath was a mistake. I got out and itched worse than before and really thought I would scratch my skin completely off. At this point I hoped that by Friday morning all would be good. That was not the case. On Fri morning it had all over my back, my legs and my chest. I told Chris, I know you don't want to get out in this weather (I worked from home because our office closed due to weather) but I have to go to the Dr. So we were there when he opened. Turns out I had an allergic reaction to the dye in a new shirt. So I looked at the Dr and said you are telling me I am allergic to my clothes! We all laughed. You see I always wash new clothes before wearing because I am so sensitive to dyes, perfumes, and everything else. Well apparently, I never washed one of the new shirts I had bought a few weeks ago and I wore it to work on Wed not even realizing I hadn't washed it. Well turns out there is something in the dye that I am very allergic to. So the Dr gave me some medicine and sent me home and said be glad it is so cold because if it was hot you would itch twice as bad. With that I told him about the oatmeal bath and he said that was the worst thing I could do. The type of rash I had spreads and gets worse when exposed to heat and especially hot water. So he told me no hot showers or baths until Monday morning! So here I am wishing like crazy I could take a hot bath but not wanting too at he same time because my itching is diminishing.

So seriously snow and an allergic reaction to you clothes all in one day in South Texas. Doesn't get much crazier than that, but I will say the snow was great while it lasted. Let me rephrase it was great for one day while I was snuggled up in the house. I live in South Texas for a reason......I hate the cold!

Until next time when I promise to post the pics from the photographer from a week ago, blessings to all! For a quick sneak peek, I have updated our profile pic on here to one of our new pics. Take a look!

God Bless you all!

Can you believe its been 6 months????

2009-12-03T21:18:00.011-06:00

So today was our 6 month appointments and we got the best reactions ever. First let me cover the details then I will explain the reactions. Both of us checked out great and he said we were progressing perfectly. Then we went for our lab work. Surprisingly enough they got me on the first stick and then they proceeded to drain half my blood out of my body.....12 vials to be exact. My arm is killing me as I type but that always happens when I have blood drawn. Chris on the other hand got stuck 3 times before they got his 12 vials of blood drawn. Poor thing he wasn't very happy but to be honest I think the first person that tried and stuck him twice was the person that prepares the labs not usually draws the blood. After she stuck him once in each arm and got nothing she called someone else in and this lady was great and got him one two three. Now lets back up real quick to our reactions at the Dr. When our nurse called us back we had our backs to the door and when we got up she said oh my I didn't even recognize you. As we walked down the hall to the weigh in area she was calling out to everyone in the office and everyone was floored and so excited for us. We got so many compliments I think when it was time to leave we sorta floated out of the office. Then we got to the weigh in area and around the corner came Tameka. (You might remember she is the one who worked with us for almost 6 months to get our insurance approval.) Well she came around the corner and her mouth dropped and she gave both of us big hugs and had tears running down her face. She then grabbed both of our hands and said, "I always thought you were a good looking couple, but now you both are absolutely gorgeous!" We were blown away by her reaction and she sat and talked with us for a while and we got a chance to catch up. Then we proceeded to the exam room. By now we were causing quite a disturbance in the halls and Dr. Davis on his way to another exam room said I can't wait I have to stop and see what all the commotion with the Nord's is about and with that he threw the door open and literally stopped right in his tracks with the biggest smile on his face I have ever seen. He then went and said Garth Garth you have to come here and see the Nords. (Garth Davis is his son and partner during surgery.....they are known to us and all their patients as big D and little D or the Doctors' Davis.) Dr Garth was equally impressed and smiled from ear to ear. We had our exams and he kept looking at the picture in our files of our very first visit with him prior to the 6 month diet and the surgery and he kept shaking his head and saying you look like completely different people. Dr Davis then said wait don't move and with that he went to his office and got his camera and took pics of the both of us. He gave us our lab orders and we were off to the lab. As our nurse escorted us to the lab area she said I just want you to know that very few people get that reaction from Big D and he rarely takes pics of patients until 1 year after surgery so you should feel special. Before we left we also told Dr Davis about our picture session over the weekend and he said "I better be getting a picture because I need to put you in the hall of fame!" As you can imagine we are on cloud nine today and feeling very confident in ourselves. And aside from that we feel better than we have felt in years. Oops I almost forgot our weigh in statistics......Chris is down to 282 lbs which is 97 lbs lost and I am down to 196 lbs which is 107 lbs lost. How insane is that!

So that's the latest on our quests to be thin! I promise over the weekend to post some of the pics we had done over the weekend. One quick request.....please say a prayer for our friends A & B. They have had some complications like those they had when they were pregnant with the twins but so far everything is going OK. She is on bed rest and will be having a small surgery in the next few weeks to try to keep this baby in place as long as possible. Please pray for a pregnancy that goes to full term and a healthy little one at the end. Also say a quick prayer for our friends M & J who just gave birth yesterday to a beautiful little girl Paige. Until next time, God Bless each and everyone of you.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-11-29T22:10:00.013-06:00

The stockings are hung waiting for Santa to fill!

The below pictures are of my Coca Cola Christmas Village. This year the Village has grown so much we had to break it up into 3 separate towns.
The town of Santa Claus from a distance...

The town of Santa Claus closer up...

The town of Frolicking Frosty...

The town of Red Rudolph...

Our beautiful tree with the lights on...

Our beautiful tree with lots of lights in the dark. I so enjoyed another year of unwrapping each ornament and remembering who gave them to me. I just love this time of year. Of course as always we had a mishap with the tree. Luckily for the first time in 5 years I didn't run out of lights...(it makes now sense because we have had the same tree for 5 years) but this year over half way thruputting on all the ornaments, 1/2 the tree went dark. After the mishap last year, I put two cords up the middle of the tree and thought I had split the lights evenly between the cords, but apparently not. I had blown the fuse on one cord so I carefully moved a few strands of lights to the other cord and Chris changed the fuse out and we were in business.

We got up early Friday morning to get the outside decorated.

Not a whole lot to report on our weight loss except we are still losing and moving along great. We are both feeling better than we have felt in years. On Thursday we go back to Dr. Davis for our 6 month checkup and this is the appt that they will draw the 12 vials of blood and check to make sure all is good. I am not looking forward to this at all and I hope they don't torture us too badly. I promise to update after the Dr. Also on Sat we had some wonderful pictures taken at Herman Park by a friend of mine and very soon I will be posting some of these pics.

Until then, may God Bless each and every one of you during this most beautifully joyous season!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T13:34:00.023-06:00

Peanut was a spider "Little Miss Scary"

Blondie was a "Little Monster" and oh how fitting that was for her

Helping Daddy hand out candy....we were so surprised how good she was and she loved all the attention from the little kids!

Helping Mommy hand out candy and giving love to anyone who gave her love especially her neighbor friends Ellie & Addison!

We had a fun Halloween as always. Lots and lots of kids in the neighborhood and absolutely no candy left! And just in case you are wondering, no neither of us ate a single piece of candy. Funny how knowing that it will make you sick makes you not care about eating it at all. The girls had a blast outside with all the kids and they were exhausted and slept good last night. This was Blondie's first time out with everyone and considering how hyper she is we were concerned but she was a very good girl....what a pleasant surprise.

As for our weight loss things are still going great. We are both feeling great and not having any problems. I met my first goal this week which means I have now lost over 100 lbs and in 3 more lbs I will meet my next goal of being under 200 lbs. I can't believe this has happened in less than 6 months. We had to go shopping for some fall/Texas winter clothes for me because with these cool mornings and evenings I have been freezing. I am officially out of the "Plus Size" dept and I am completely in the "Regular Size" dept, another huge goal for me. Chris is doing well, he hit a small plateau for about 2-3 weeks but is back to losing again. I did the same thing at about 4 1/2 months. He too is feeling great.

A quick update on our dear friends A&B....they are pregnant! On Friday they confirmed its one baby and she got to hear the heart beat. Needless to say they are on cloud nine. Now the hope is to carry this little one full term and not have any complications like they did with the twins. Thanks so much for your prayers for their family and thanks for the prayers for us too. Until next time, blessings to you all!

Lookin' Good before the fall on Friday!

2009-10-14T17:32:00.008-05:00

Hockey game, ER visit.....just a Friday night at our house!

2009-10-13T18:51:00.002-05:00

So on Friday night we were going to the Aeros hockey game with some great friends and well I had a little accident before we ever got to the game. We were meeting our friends at my husbands office and I fell or maybe its was more like went flying. I tripped when the tip of my shoe got caught on the sidewalk and I completely wiped out! I got up and my knees were very sore and so was my left wrist. Chris thought I had hit my head on the plate glass window but I didn't, instead I tried to catch myself with my left hand. So our friends got there we all laughed and headed to the hockey game. Once we got there, we were standing in line to get some snacks and I said to Chris, I think maybe I really screwed up my wrist! So we went and sat down and when I went to the bathroom between periods, I knew it was not good. I couldn't even pull up my pants. So when I got back to the seats I realized that my fingers were really swollen and discolored along with my wrist. I tried taking of my wedding ring and after lots of tugging got it off and put it on my right hand. After we left the game, the pain and swelling was really starting to set in so at midnight we made our way to the ER just to make sure it was ok. By now my knees were swollen and turning colors too. At the ER, they said there weren't any major breaks in the wrist but that I should wear a brace and sling that they gave me along with pain meds and keep it iced until I can get to an Orthopedic Dr. So I have an appt on Thursday morning. I am feeling much better, but still sore and still swelling and taking pain meds at night. All in a Friday night at our house. I am now known as the one armed bandit and since I am pecking with one hand right now, I am going to wrap this up. But before I do, please say a prayer that they don't find anything wrong on Thurs and please pray again for our friends A & B....they had 2 embryos implanted on Sat and she will have the blood test in 10 days to determine if the IVF worked and she is pregnant! Blessings to each and everyone of you!

Knowing is better than not knowing!

2009-10-06T23:12:00.002-05:00

I got the official word today at work. My last day of work will be on Feb 26th! That was the best news possible. Since as of 2/26 the office will be completely closed down. This means I was asked to stay and shut the whole thing down. The good news about this is I have a regular paycheck until then and then my severance will kick in. So now I can really start looking for a job since I now know when I will be able to start. So that is the final news and honestly I was so relieved at first and now reality is really starting to set in. Please continue to pray for me to find a job. Also a quick update on our friends A & B, after harvesting follicles and fertilizing they have 13 embryos that are on their way to the genetics lab for testing. They will know on Thursday how many continue to grow and are CF free and Saturday will be implantation day. Please keep them in your prayers! Thanks to everyone for their prayers for us and our dear friends. May God bless each and everyone of you!

Have you met Hank & Linda???

2009-10-04T23:11:00.006-05:00

My best friend Tara & her hubby Rafael
Me & Tara

Let me introduce you to Hank & Linda! Yes this is Hank & Linda!

So on Friday night we went out with Tara & Rafael and the last time Rafael saw us was in Feb when we all went to the rodeo. So needless to say he was shocked and he said well it was great of Hank & Linda to come but where the hell is Chris & Amy! We all got a big laugh out of it and most of all we had fun spending time together. We went to the Fort Bend County Fair for the first time in 10 years and we have decided we don't need to go back for another 10 years. So we officially have a date planned for 2019!

We are both still doing and feeling great. I will know by this week when my last day at work will be so at least I will know because the not knowing is the worst. Please pray for our dear friends A & B that are going thru IVF, tomorrow morning they will be harvesting her eggs and then she will go back for the implantation on Sat the 10th! Until next time, blessings to everyone and thanks for all of your prayers for us and for A & B!

New Pics

2009-09-28T22:59:00.010-05:00

I really love this pic of the two of us.....its been a long time since I could say I really like a pic that I am in!

Hi Everyone.....hope things are going well in your worlds. Things are moving along here. These were just some pics we took this weekend before heading off to a birthday party and I thought I would share them. Things are still going great for us and our health. We are still losing weight and we are still riding bikes almost everyday. And to be honest we are really enjoying riding bikes and while a week ago we both had a horrible stomach flu, we were really bummed not feeling well enough to go for our evening bike rides. Wow its hard to believe I just said that I missed exercising. Its amazing how your perspective changes throughout this journey. We both still haven't gotten sick while eating a single time which is definitely a blessing in my book! We are feeling better and better everyday. I just printed a few of these pics out tonight and put them side by side with some pics from before surgery and now I see what apparently everyone else has been seeing! I couldn't believe my eyes. Up until now I knew the scale was going down and I knew I was buying new clothes in much smaller sizes, but I didn't really see the loss in the mirror I guess because I see myself everyday. But my on my did I see a huge difference with the pics side by side! In the last 2 weeks I have seen 4 people that I haven't seen since before my surgery and I tell you their reactions we priceless and made me feel like a million bucks!

A quick update on my job before I sign off for the evening....I don't have much info yet but we are suppose to know when our last day will be by this Friday or Monday at the latest. Right now it looks like I will have a job until the first week of Jan, but that still remains to be seen. So please keep praying not only to have a job until the first of the year but also that I am able to find a new job rather quickly. Also our dear friends A & B are about a week away from the harvesting phase of their IVF cycle, so please keep them in your prayers that they have lots of mature eggs to use as well as please pray that as many as possible fertilize to viable healthy embryos. May God Bless each and everyone of you!

It's been a year since.....

2009-09-15T17:42:00.003-05:00

I had Diet Coke or soda of any kind. On Sept 14, 2008 I drank my last Diet Coke, and here we are on Sept 15, 2009 and its been a full year with none what so ever. For those that know me well know that this was a huge feat for me to accomplish. Chris had given up the Diet Coke back when he had his surgery the first time. But even though he had given it up and had no cravings for it, I had a hard time giving it up. After going to the Dr and Dr. Davis saying that I had to give it up for at least one month prior to surgery and for a year after surgery, I knew that I hadn't come this far to let something like Diet Coke stand in my way. You see I was drinking 6-8 cans of Diet Coke a day! Yes I know that was a horrible habit to get into but the truth of the matter was that was simply all I drank. So after going to Dr. Davis and insurance requiring 6 months with a nutritionist before they would approve my surgery I set my mind to giving up Diet Coke. I started weaning myself off on Sept 1, 2008 and on Sept 14, 2008 I drank my last Diet Coke! I was so proud of myself and its so strange to me how I don't miss it at all. Hopefully I can just stay away from it for the rest of my life. I can't tell you how much better I felt after giving it up. So today I celebrate one year without Diet Coke and have a big glass of decaffeinated iced tea.

We both weighed in today and were very happy with our results. As of today I am down to 214 lbs with a total lost of 89 lbs! And as of today Chris is down to 294 lbs and a total lost of 85 lbs! We are both still feeling great with the exception of a stomach virus we came down with on Monday. I tell you those are never fun but having one after gastric bypass surgery is miserably painful! Hopefully we will be in better shape tomorrow and I will be back at work.

As for work, we still don't know when they will be closing our office.....we are just waiting for the word. So please keep praying. Until next time, Blessings to you all!

Working hard on Labor Day Weekend!

2009-09-07T17:26:00.003-05:00

Things are still going well with the weight loss in the Nord home. We are still steadily losing weight and even though we don't go back to the Dr. until the beginning of Dec, we will post our weight loss monthly. We still haven't gotten sick a single time and Chris has met his first goal and he is officially under 300 lbs. Now this is just his first goal, not the ultimate goal. We are both feeling great and riding bikes about 4-5 times a week.

We spent our long Labor Day Weekend laboring instead of playing but it was well worth it. We finished laying the tile in our house. We had 2 bedrooms, 2 closets and part of one hallway to do so I took off on Friday and we got started. It has been a long tiring weekend, but we finished it and it looks fabulous! We realized having so much weight off was great because we could move around so much easier but I have to be honest, I missed the cushion on my rear and hips. My rear and hips are so sore and they have bruises from being on cement and tile for 3 days, but it was well worth it and I will heal. It was amazing to us how much easier laying tile went with the weight off. Don't get me wrong it was hard work, but not near as bad as it was in March/April when we laid the tile in the master bedroom and master closet. It took us quite a few days to recover from that, but here we are in Sept laying tile and the day after we finished we are sore in the muscles but not in bed not able to move. Oh what a wonderful thing it is to feel so good again! I promise, to take some pics this week of the floors to show you our good work. Now all we have left to do is move all the furniture and stuff back in the rooms and closets, which is a chore in and of itself. We plan to get that done this week and this coming weekend. This is the perfect time to go thru everything and get rid of stuff/junk!

In other news, our puppy Blondie, will be getting fixed tomorrow and she has to be there before 7:30 in the morning which means Chris has to leave to go to work extra early (the place its being done at is by his work.). The trick will be to keep her from jumping around for 4-5 days afterwards. She is not a calm puppy at all so this will definitely be a challenge.

One last thing before I sign off, please say a few prayers for me regarding my job. It has been a rough two weeks and I can't go into a lot of detail, but we have learned that they are closing the office I work in. I don't know when yet exactly but I could be unemployed as early as two weeks from now or as late as six months from now. I have been at this company for 11 years and this is very sad and very hard, but I know that God has always seen me through and I have faith that this will be no different. So I just ask that you add in an extra prayer for me if you have the time. So now you know why I haven't updated the blog in a few weeks, I had to get my mind straight and pray. And one last prayer request, please say a prayer for our dear friends A & B who have started their IVF process in the last week. With lots or prayer and faith, I know that in Oct they will be getting the results they have been praying for. With that being said, until next time, God Bless you all and thanks for your prayers and support, Chris and I greatly appreciate it!

Doctor Appt 8/20 Update

2009-08-24T20:00:00.010-05:00

I know its a little late, but my theory is better late than never. Above are the pics we took on the morning of Thursday August 20th before leaving for the Doctor's office. At the Dr everything went well. We lucked out and because we haven't had any complications, problems, aches, pains or anything else, Dr. Davis decided to wait until our 6 month appointment to do the 10 vials of blood and all the tests. So at least I didn't get tortured this time, but I will get tortured on our next appointment which is on Dec 3! Dr. Davis was extremely happy with our progress and said to keep up the good work and he can't wait to see us in 3 more months but that he probably won't recognize us. So for the record the official weigh-in for Chris was 304 which means he is down a total of 75 lbs as of Thursday. As for me, my official weight was 224 which means I am down a total of 79 lbs! We both feel great and I feel better than I have in years.

For my birthday this year I got a bike (yes its is what I asked for) which shocked everyone especially my husband. You see about 2 years ago we went to buy me a bike and I freaked out and started crying when I sat on it because I was scared to death I couldn't balance or anything. So needless to say I didn't get a bike then. Well a few weeks ago we were in Academy and I walked over to the bikes and found an old fashion bike (called a beach cruiser) that is very basic no speeds no nothing, just the old time foot brakes. So I told Chris to get it down for me, I wanted to try again! Well I was nervous but felt fine and wasn't scared to death and I had balance again. So I got the bike for my birthday and yesterday we went for our first bike ride. We rode for a whole hour and went like 5 miles! I couldn't believe it. I just knew I wouldn't be able to get out of bed this morning, but both of us did without a problem. We were a little sore but that's all. After it stopped raining here this evening, we went again for an hour and another 5 miles. Its amazing what losing almost 80 lbs can do for you. I feel great and so does Chris. Well that's the latest in our world. Hopefully one day this week we can get some pics on the bikes to post. Until next time, blessings to you all!