8dp 5dt

I have stuck to the plan! I have not tested at home! Well, I guess technically I did test, but it was an internet cheapie and I did it on 3dpo just to get testing out of system ; )
For those who know me well, they know that I test a lot, so waiting this time I thought would be difficult to do, but I really am resting in the Lord's Sovereign Will for these little ones. We still have great hope that they are all loving and growing still.

People have asked what symptoms did I have post transfer up until now. These hormones and medications can cause such confusion that one must be careful not to analyze symptoms too much after an FET. So here we go...

Tuesday 0dp 5dt -- Transfer day (5/21). Was famished after FET (thanks to steroid), slept most of the day (thanks to valium). No spotting, cramping, or pain.
Wednesday 1dp 5dt -- had cramps but nothing too bad, took it easy. Still pretty groggy (thank to progesterone at this point)
Thursday 2dp 5dt -- same as above
Friday 3dp 5dt -- same as above, but HAD to take a nap. Really wiped out. First full day back to regular schedule.
Saturday 4dp 5dt  Cramping stopped. No symptoms
Sunday 5dp 5dt  No symptoms
Monday 6dp 5dt  No symptoms
Tuesday 7dp 5dt  no cramps, but flutter/butterfly & tightening feeling
Wednesday 8dp 5dt  no cramps, but flutter/butterfly & tightening feeling continues
Thursday 9dp 5dt -- Blood Test Day!!

With my last transfer, everything is about the same. The only differences were:

0dp 5dt -- slight spotting, heavy cramping, low grade fever.
1dp 5dt -- heavy cramping, low grade fever
7dp 5dt -- no symptoms
8dp 5dt -- no symptoms
9dp 5dt -- no symptoms Beta: 5

So, I am hopeful that the "butterfly" feeling is a positive symptom! Our blood test is tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. We were going to take a HPT tonight, but Rhea will be here all day tomorrow. So, we decided since we will be together when Nurse Katie calls with the results, we will wait for her call tomorrow afternoon!

Transfer Is Complete!

Everything went beautifully. As we mourn the loss of one of our little ones, we rejoice in the survival of our other 3. They were transferred today at 11:30 and Dr. K said all couldn't have gone more beautifully!

We had lunch and then back to the hotel to sleep off the rest of the Valium. Feeling a lot better after a nap. Here is a pic of of our little ones that are with us now:

We all know grading doesn't matter, but for those who like to just see. They were 4AB, 3AB+, 3BB

Our Beta is 5/30.

PIO, Estrace Scramble, Ironman, & More

IToday started my first PIO shot. I have to say this time around, I just warmed the syringe and went for it. I did not use a heating pad on the injection area like I have in the past. Short of trying to stop bleeding afterwards, it was a breeze. I have decided that this time around I will listen to Paul Washer sermons. Each shot is a 15 minute process and I do it 2x a day. So, I can listen to a sermon every two days. : )

I misplaced my main Estrace bottle. I have two Estrace bottles. One I put one week's worth of pills in, and the other I keep put away and use it to refill my little bottle. Why do I do that? Well, it makes it a lot easier to count out pills if I am not sure if I took a scheduled dose or not ; ) This morning I took my morning Estrace (the last in the little bottle) and went to get the "master" bottle and, uh, well, it wasn't there. Now, thankfully, there weren't that many left, and I am sure they will turn up, but I had to call a refill in. Well, my pharmacy had 8 pills. Yep 8. Well, that wasn't going to get me through the trip to the NEDC. So, I started calling around. I finally found a pharmacy (not around the corner that's for sure) that had 20 more tablets. Since Dr. K reduced me to 2 tabs a day, getting 20 would work. I drove to the first pharmacy and picked up my 8 pills and then Rhea went to get the others after work this evening. Whew! None of that was on my to-do list, but very grateful for the results. I panicked for a split second when my pharmacy said they were out. I calmed down ever so quickly and trusted the Lord and his absolute sovereignty over even the smallest detail in this adoption as one of my prescriptions!

Tomorrow we will be attending a graduation ceremony of one of Dustin's very best friends. Of course the graduation would be on "Ironman Day". Yes, Ironman Day means that moving around our area is...ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE most of the day the competition is going on. This is the 3rd year for Ironman to be in our neck of the woods and I know we have a great bike route and all with the scenery and curving roads, but the rest of us everyday folk cannot get out of our neighborhood and run even one errand on that day unless you have hours to spare. So, we are packing a cooler and are blazing a trail, at a snail's pace in the morning. 

Finally, we received a donation for $200. So, to refresh your memory....We needed $7,805. We have raised $6,454, and now only need $1,351 with 3 days to go! Amazing!!! Speechless at what the Lord is doing here!

In Transit & All Clear

We received word that our 4 little ones are preparing for shipment today to arrive at the NEDC tomorrow. They will wait in their travel tank at the NEDC waiting for us to show up for our appointment on Tuesday. We are praying for safe travel for these precious babies. They have already been shipped around several times in their little lives.

Next, I went to the office where I am being monitored as a satellite patient. The doctor I saw said my lining was beautiful and that after seeing me through two transfers, she said "your body sure knows how to do this and everything looks beautiful". Okay, maybe not the words I would choose to describe everything, but it all says that we are a "go"!

I am now waiting on the call from nurse Katie to confirm and receive my appt time and Estrace dosage from here on out.

Exciting times!!

**edited: 3:00 p.m. CST I heard from Nurse Katie and she said my lining was 14 and my estradiol was 1,631. So I start the PIO injections tomorrow and lower my Estrace to 2x a day. I will have my transfer time given to me over the weekend.

Birthdays, Dr. K appt., & Lupron

Dustin and Rebecca were born on the same day and this week we celebrated Dustin's 18th and Rebecca's 13th! We had a fun family day all together.

Dr. K and I finally had my follow up phone visit and it went very well. We agreed on a couple of concerns I had and we are all set to come for our 5/21 transfer. I started Lupron this week and stop the OCPs tomorrow. My first U/S & labs are on May 1st. If all is clear, I will start Estrace that day. We still have some fundraising to do and will be posting more things to ebay this week. Good thing, because the NEDC office emailed today that they are ready for our FET payment by next Wednesday!

Our ebay Store!

Here is a link to our ebay store for you to browse or share with others. Some items are from our home or Rhea's A/V business. Other items were donated for us to sell. Thank you for taking a peek!

Here is a pic of our sweet little Sarah on Friday morning at our Yard Sale.

New Protocol--Slight Change

Well, we made a change. Our new transfer day is now Tuesday, May 21st. We will leave Houston on the 20th and will return on the 23rd. I have so many details to attend to. I will update soon and yes, I will have pictures!

We Have our Protocol for May

We were emailed our next FET date and my protocol for the med schedule for April/May. Our assigned date for our FET is May 19th. Yes, that is a Sunday. Rhea and I had many thoughts run through our head about the FET being on a Sunday. I remember that Katie, our nurse, told me that FET week for May was Wed. 5/15 - Tues. 5/21, but we didn't think Sunday would be a transfer day?

Getting my protocol for the meds did make butterflies flutter in my stomach. Our FET is 5 weeks away? Really? I won't bore you with the list of truly "must-do"s that must happen in the next few weeks. Throw in Dustin's 18th birthday, Rebecca's 13th, a couple of choir concerts, a piano recital, and 2 business trips for Rhea and I have a feeling that the next 5 weeks will fly right on by!

So, May 19th it is! We are all very excited : )

Final Total

I cannot keep my eyes open, but I wanted to post the final weekend total for our Yard Sale. The total for both days was $1,505. This brings our total so far to $4,265! Our Lord is truly gracious!

We only have $3,135 to go!

Yard Sale Day 1 Totals

Today would not have been possible without some amazing people in our lives. Thank you to everyone who came over today to help set up, sell, haul furniture around, reorganize, clean up, bring dinner, and help us gather things last minute today to sell tomorrow. All of you know who you are and we truly appreciate your love for us and these little babies. I have a dear family friend who took lots of photos of the sale today and she will be uploading the photos to share with me. I will post all of those in a couple of days so you can see our sale in progress.

We had beautiful weather and a great turn out of shoppers. At the days end, we raised $1,126! That brings our new total to $3,886. We just passed the 1/2 mark!

Rain Delay and Missed Call

Well today was pretty much a wash! The rain continued until mid morning, so we chose to not have the sale today and use today as an organizational day. I will take pics after it is all set up tomorrow morning. We have a few families coming to help in the morning until about lunch time.

All of the kids have worked so very hard. The boys went and made multiple runs with Rhea in the trailer picking up loads of donated items. The boys hauled stuff, set up stuff, and now are sleeping outside "guarding" all of the donations. Rebecca has been amazing helping price and care for the littles. Elizabeth is a huge help. If she isn't helping with Sarah, she is getting drinks, carrying boxes and helping keep things picked up. She always has a smile to share, especially as we grow weary.

As I was busily working today, I missed the call from Dr. K for our phone consult. I was ready on time, but he was running a bit late and when he did call, I didn't hear my cell ring in my pocket when I was outside. So, I emailed the office to reschedule.

So, today was a wash of sorts as both "big" things for the day were postponed. We are grateful for the Lord's timing in everything and we look forward to the big sale tomorrow and Saturday and my rescheduled Dr. K appt. very soon.

Our goal for the weekend sale is $3,000. I will post tomorrow evening with an update!

Tomorrow is Day 1 & Follow Up with Dr. K

Yard Sale Day 1 is tomorrow. Houston is having a VERY unusual cold snap for April. It will be 39 degrees tonight! We are usually in the 60's for lows this time of year.
There at least will be sunshine instead of the rain we had all day today. It will be 46 in the morning. We will need to sell hot cocoa instead of iced down water bottles! lol!

Praying the shoppers still come. There is always Friday and Saturday if not ; )
Did you see our thermometer total today? With grant donations and eBay sales, we are now at $2,560!!

I will have kiddos take pics tomorrow at the sale. I'll post tomorrow night with the Day 1 total!

Oh yes, I have my phone follow up appt. with Dr. K tomorrow. Busy day most definitely!!

Yard Sale Week Is Here

This will be one very busy week for our house! Today Rhea and the boys will leave late afternoon to go make pick-ups from 5-6  different homes to collect the furniture donations for the Yard Sale this week. We have previously scheduled appointments today and Wednesday. That leaves tomorrow to really get to sorting and pricing. It is supposed to rain most of the day on Wednesday, so truly, tomorrow is our pricing and sorting day. If you are reading this and live in our area we could definitely use some assistance with pricing items & sorting and hanging clothing on Tuesday/Wednesday. If you have the time to come help us Thursday or Friday during the sale, it would be most helpful.

We look forward to the coming week even with its busyness!! : )

Over the weekend, more eBay items sold and were packed and shipped. Our thermometer total is rising! We are now at $1,648! That means $5,752 to go : )

I will take some pics of our sorting and pricing time with our "little" helpers as we begin to dig into the clothes bags this evening. It's about time I get some pics posted ;)

The Heat Is Rising!

I installed a thermometer in the right sidebar for you to follow as we move forward to reach our needed goal of $7,400 for this next transfer of our 4 little ones in May. We started at $0 over the weekend. In 3 days, we have raised $593. That is $100 since last night's post y'all! : )

The Lord is blessing us and we are obedient to see this all the way through, even though we know we may never hold any of these babies this side of heaven. He is a gracious and loving God who loves and cares for these little ones. Yes, we pray He has chosen for us to raise more kiddos for Him, but we first and foremost trust His will and will follow as He leads.

There are so many frozen babies waiting to be adopted. Embryo Adoption is not for everyone. Adopting internationally isn't for everyone either. Whether the child is waiting to be placed by a birthmother, the child is waiting in an orphanage across an ocean, or the child is waiting frozen in a tank in a warehouse, we as Christians are all called to care for these through prayer, support, or bringing them into our homes.

We were called to bring these precious 8 tiny babies into our home and so many of you have been faithful to pray and to give monetary assistance to bring these babies home. Thank you for being faithful to His Word.

May the Lord bless each of you!

 "Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!" Psalm 115:1

Looking Ahead

Thank you for all of your kind comments in our last few posts. We have been blessed by family, church family, and friends who have grieved with us as we have mourned the loss of our 4 precious babies. As  I shared in our last post, we have 4 more little ones waiting in the freezer. The May cycle at the NEDC will be here sooner than we think, so we have been on the phone and communicating by email with everyone at the NEDC planning for our next cycle.

I had my final beta yesterday and the results showed that my hCG level was back to zero. So, now we wait for my next cycle to begin and I will be assigned my protocol for the next transfer. I talked to nurse Katie today and she said she may even have our transfer date ready by the end of next week!

When we adopted Sarah and her siblings as embryos we held a HUGE yard sale (see here and here for posts). We set a goal of $3,000 and the Lord brought the items and buyers and we met that goal! For this upcoming transfer, due to an additional cost we had not planned on and the fact that airfare is higher this trip for some reason, we will need $7,400 to return to the NEDC.

Yes, that seems like a large number, but did I ever share our final total for the first phase of this adoption? We needed over $13,000 during a time when Rhea had no work and we were living on savings. The Lord provided through many means over $11,000 for the adoption of these 8 little ones.

Monday, we set up a new expense page to calculate the cost for this 2nd transfer and as I shared it comes to $7,400. We have seen the Lord move in mighty ways through this current adoption and we looked at the $7,400 total and prayed and then got to work.

• I listed a good number of items on eBay and am continuing to do so with items people have donated and items we found around the house. If you would like to look at our items, contact me and I will give you our eBay ID. 
• We will be hosting a yard sale in 2 weeks and sent out requests for item donations.
• We still have our coffee account up with Just Love Coffee Roasters.
• We still have our grant fund set up with AdoptTogether (where donors will receive a tax deductible form for their taxes)
• We are thinking through some more ideas to quickly get going.

Now, since just this past weekend, look at what the Lord has blessed our family with:

• close to $200 in eBay sales.
• Several families calling today to say they have furniture, household, and many other items for the yard sale. Two of the calls were from families in the area who are moving and want us to come get all the stuff they do not want to move. 
• We received a check for $15 from Just Love Coffee Roasters for the profits on a sale of coffee that was placed.
• We received an anonymous $200 donation to our AdoptTogether grant fund just today.

So, in just a few days, we already have $415 and a yard sale inventory that is growing and growing! 

 "But as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him' " I Cor. 1:9 

The Wait Is Over

We received the call a little while ago. Our beta was 5. Dr. K said that this was what is called a chemical pregnancy where one or more of the embryos tried to implant, but were unsuccessful. The nurse told me that Dr. K wanted me to stop my Estrace and PIO and my cycle should start soon. I am to go in for another blood test on Monday to make sure my body has gone back to zero. 

This is a sad time for us, yet joyful. 

We are sad because we love and miss our 4 precious babies. 

We are joyful that they are no longer in their frozen state, but have great hope that they are in heaven this very minute with their Heavenly Father. 

We are joyful that the Lord entrusted us to parent these little ones for even such a short time. 

We are hopeful as we know there are four more siblings who remain frozen, entrusted to our care by our Lord. We are called to move forward to parent.

We are joyful for our Lord's mercy and love and patience and grace in our lives.

We are joyful for the beautiful grace given to us through the birth of Elizabeth (our reversal baby) and Sarah (our precious girl given to us by the Lord through EA).

We are joyful as we move forward, though sad, that He has great things for all of His children!

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! Psalm 84: 10-12


We love you sweet babies. 

Results This Afternoon

I just got back from our blood draw appt. We should have the results late afternoon.

5dp5dt

5 days post a 5 day transfer. That is where we are. Our Beta is on Friday and then we will see if our little ones continued to develop and implant. Friday. That would be........1, ........2, ..........3, .........4 more days after today. Thankfully, I have a lot to do this week to keep me busy : )

Our 2nd EA Transfer Story

The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Knoxville the morning of our transfer. I confess that I was full of fear and anxiety going in to our FET with Sarah, though Rhea and I had some dear friends through texting and phone calls all through the night and morning before Sarah's transfer remind us of God's truths and point us back to the Scriptures. Rhea and I stayed in touch with these same dear friends through this transfer, but in a completely different way. Rhea and I were not anxious, worried, or fearful this trip. We were just super excited though I did have quite a few butterflies an hour before we went, but they were the kind of butterflies of pure excitement.

With smiles and me feeling a bit woozy from the valium I had taken 30 minutes prior, Rhea drove us to the NEDC for our appointment. I was taken to the back promptly, changed into a hospital gown and had all my vitals taken by a nurse. Next, Dr. Keenan & Carol the embryologist came to visit with us about our embryos. Our little ones were stored 2 per straw. Carol thawed the first straw of two and one little one did not make it. She then thawed a second straw and both of those survived. She then showed us a picture of our beautiful babies and explained the grades she gave each of them. She also explained what each of the letters and number meant, but I have to say I didn't retain much because my mind was very marshmallowy from the Valium.

Within a few minutes, nurse Katie came to wheel me into the procedure room. The actual prep for the procedure takes the most time. The actual transfer is completed in less that a minute. After the transfer, I was wheeled back to recovery where Rhea was waiting for me. He quickly gave me a kiss and touched my tummy and smiled. We stayed in recovery and prayed and stared at the photo of our babies. When I was allowed to get up, I dressed and then had a couple of pictures taken and said goodbye and left.

We left to go eat lunch at a fabulous restaurant. It was a loved local establishment. Those are the kinds of places we like to find when we travel. Rhea and I both agree that the burgers we ate were most definitely in the top 2 of best burgers we had eaten of all time. (for me it was #1, for Rhea #2).

With full tummies, we went back to the hotel and I slept the rest of the afternoon. With Sarah's transfer, I did not cramp very much, but with this one I have had quite a bit of cramping. The nurse said this is very normal and expected. We had a light dinner since we pigged out at lunch. We laughed because we went to Texas Roadhouse while we were in Tennessee. It was in the parking lot of our hotel and so not only was it close, but I knew I could get their grilled chicken club salad and be quite content. We had a wonderful waiter and after a cup of decaf and some wonderful conversation together as a couple, we walked back to our hotel and Rhea put me back to bed!

Our flight to home to Texas was early yesterday afternoon. Walking through the airport my cramping increased and I could tell I had a low grade fever. The fever went away before I got home, but I am remembering how my reaction to PIO started last time. I started with off and on low grade fevers through the beta. Then between 4-6 weeks pregnancy my fever stuck around and slowly crept up to 101. At that time, the RE we used for Sarah's transfer took me off PIO and switched me to Crinone. Dr. Keenan said he wanted to try me again on PIO this transfer, but with a different carrier oil. I am currently injecting 1cc 2x a day of progesterone in cottonseed oil. We are praying my body can accept this carrier oil. I have no redness or knots or inflammation at the injection sites at all. So far, so good there!

We are home now. We are grateful to some precious friends for holding down the fort and caring for our kiddos while we were gone. We have a full weekend and I knew if I didn't make the time this morning to journal our trip, I probably wouldn't get to it for a good while. : )

Our appointment for blood work is 3/29. I will have a beta (pregnancy test) and progesterone drawn. The office will call with the results later that day. Will I test at home before that date. Well those who know me, know that that is a very likely possibility. Rhea and I are discussing which day to test. I will let you know.

For those who do not understand the grading of the embryos, I will dedicate a post to explaining that next time. We all know however, that the Lord controls this entire situation and we pray only for His sovereign will to be done. "that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." 1 Cor 2:5 We are blessed to be carrying these little ones for however long the Lord wills.

Rhea shared with me this morning a beautiful verse, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Cor 2:9  We have great hope that our babies will live, but we have greater hope in the One who brought us to this very place.

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Here are some photos from our special day:

We chose the Manager's Special when renting our car online. We paid up front online for a compact or better. We paid the compact rate, but when we got to the desk, the man asked if we would like a Mustang convertible as our free upgrade. Rhea said that sounded good to him even though he is a Chevy guy ; ) It was nice car to have even though we didn't put the top down (temps never got above 50 degrees)!

Here we are waiting for Dr. Keenan and Carol to let us know about our tiny ones. I was so groggy from the Valium.

 Here are our babies who were transferred. They were all 5 day Blastocysts. The one on the left was graded 3AC and the 2 on the right were graded 3AA & 3AB

Here is a photo showing where the babies were transferred. The dark area is my uterus and the "+" is the exact area in my uterine lining that Dr. Keenan placed the babies.

Here we are with Dr. Keenan after recovery was over and we were about to leave. Yes, I was still groggy from the Valium!

and one more photo this time with our wonderful nurse Katie.

And now we wait for March 29th. : )

"May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:11-14

Transfer Complete

Everything went beautifully! 4 of our 8 little babies were thawed, 3 survived and one sadly did not make it. The 3 remaining babies were transferred. We left after resting in recovrey for a while. We went and ate a big lunch and then came back to the hotel to sleep off the rest of the Valium that I had taken prior to the transfer. I am still groggy but resting in bed still. We head home tomorrow afternoon back to Texas. Our remaining 4 babies fly back to their storage facility tomorrow too.
Our blood test is on 3/29. Thank you onec again for all the prayers you have showered us with these past few days!