Out last pre-transfer day. =)

Relaxing on the couch in our hotel the night before our transfer.

Today we finished getting our house clean and organized before our transfer.  (I relax better in a clean environment.)  We made our way to our hotel and checked into our comfy suite just a few freeway exits away from Dr. K's office.  No stressful freeway traffic tomorrow morning!  We went out for an early dinner. I got a nice mani/pedi. Then we cashed in a gift certificate that we have been saving for a special occasion.  Now we are relaxing on the couch in our hotel room watching football and finalizing my relaxing music playlist for my mp3 player that I will use during the transfer.  Tomorrow morning we will arrive at Dr. K's office at 9am to begin to prep for the transfer and discuss how our embies did in the thaw.  We pray that the two we plan to thaw make it!  I will then take valium and drink lots of water so they can see my insides better for the transfer.   I will update as soon as I can to let you know how our embies are.  Thanks for praying for them, and for us. We are both very excited, a little nervous, and SUPER glad this day is finally here.  =)

My pre-transfer mani/pedi.

We cashed in a See's certificate we've been saving for a special day.

Supposedly eating pineapple core improves implantation.  I am not really big on this but I thought, "Hey, why not?  I love pineapple!"

Kitty Loaves

We came home from running some errands today to find all three of our kitties chillin' on our bed in the "loaf" position.  I am sure to have great company when I am on bed rest in a few days.  =)

First PIO . . . AKA Baby Glue

Today I had my regular delestrogen shot plus my first  progesterone shot.  I was super nervous and I am not sure I will ever get used to it.  Good thing Dan is a really, really good shot giver.

Delestrogen - .3cc / 1ml syringe - 2 times per week

In goes the delestrogen!  One shot down one to go!

Progesterone in Oil (PIO) - 2cc / 3ml syringe - every night until the second trimester

All done!  Whew we made it!

Beautiful Day in LA & Beautiful Lining!

Our view from the freeway.

Today was my last appointment before our transfer.  Dr. K said that my uterine lining looked great and that our transfer can stay on schedule for 9:45 am on Monday the 18th.  Alright!!!  I will continue my delestrogen shots on Mondays and Thursdays and starting Wednesday I will add one progesterone in oil (PIO) shot every night.  If I get pregnant from this transfer I will continue these shots throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. 

Nice clear day in LA.

Our 1.75 hr drive in today was MUCH better than the 3.5 hr chaos of last week in the rain.  Apparently it was a holiday (Columbus Day)???  How come teachers don't get this holiday?  Oh well.  The weather was beautiful today and we passed by all the touristy sites like the Hollywood sign, capitol records, and Universal Studios. 

Dan eating donut holes.

Picking out a treat from our favorite bakery

After our appointment we did our traditional post Dr. visit food hunt in the Farmer's Market at The Grove in LA.  Today we had a few donut holes, a Greek spinach and feta flat bread, and few goodies from our favorite bakery to take home.  I also peeked into my favorite French goods store but resisted the fabulous cheese counter this visit.  =)  It was a great day all around and we were able to get home just after noon so we had a nice chunk of time to get some chores done.

Our Greek spinach and cheese flat bread.

The French Market

I just have to say it one more time. . .I can't wait for our transfer on Monday!!!  Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.  God has indeed been good to us in provision and encouragement through friends and family. We will be spending the night before the transfer in a hotel near the doctor's office so we don't have to fight LA traffic the morning of the FET. I will be sure to keep you all updated on our transfer when I get back to our house that night.

Pregnancy Tests and Patrick Henry

This week I taught Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech.  It is hard sometimes to passionately teach such amazing and historical works of art when your "audience" just turns to their neighbor and says (in a whiny, breathy voice), "This is soooo stupid."  Anyways, I digress. . . in Henry's speech he states his life philosophy, ". . .it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth . . . For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it."  I had my students reflect in their journals on the wisdom or foolishness of Henry's philosophy and compare it to how they approach difficulty.  I don't think in this passage Henry intends to communicate that we should not ever hope.  Hope when put in the right place/being is a good thing.  Here he chides his fellow colonists for putting their hope in something that is not worthy of their trust- the English government.  He encourages them to be grounded in reality; to open their eyes to the "painful truth" that war with England is coming and they should begin amassing an American militia to prepare for this war. 
When I reflect on how this philosophy relates to our embryo adoption situation I can see how I have struggled at times to be hopeful.  I like Patrick Henry think it is better to know the WHOLE truth even if it hurts so that I can move on, fight it, get prepared, etc.  I find myself at times thinking, "I just wish I could get to the transfer and two-week wait so I can just know if this transfer will work or not."   True to form today Dan and I went to Dollar Tree to purchase gobs of pregnancy tests so that I can know of our transfer results (good or bad) as soon as possible.  I know though that the hope I do have for a successful transfer is not ill placed.  As a follower of Christ my eyes have been opened to the reality that our purpose in life is to serve a loving, just, merciful, and wise God and not to seek personal fulfillment.  Sometimes his plans for my life do not match my own plans.  He may choose to have us go through a painful situation or he may choose to give us the desires of our heart.  Either way I can have peace in knowing that the one whom I hope in, the one who is my source of hope in our embryo adoption, is one who is worthy of my trust.  No matter what happens with this transfer we are acting according to His purpose for our lives in pursuing parenthood and embryo adoption and He will sustain us in difficult times and rejoice with us in times of blessing. 

I feel like I have so many more thoughts on this matter.  I think my EA blog buddies, Aaron and Jennifer who are preparing for their third transfer with the NEDC (their first two transfers did not result in a pregnancy) have beautifully expressed in their posts "Moving Forward",  "Thoughts regarding our third transfer", and "Balancing our emotions with God's truth"  how Dan and I feel about our own infertility/embryo adoption experience in relation to our relationship with Christ.  Please pray for them and for Dan and I as we approach our transfers in the upcoming weeks!

Progress?

Last Monday Dr. K increased my delestrogen shots from .2cc to .3cc since my dosage was not helping the lining of my uterus grow.  Ever since my first .3cc shot I have had very noticeable side effects which I did not have when I was taking the .2cc shots so I am guessing that the delestrogen is doing its job and I will have a nice thick uterine lining on Monday and our transfer will not have to be postponed.  I already have my sub plans made for my students on the days I have to take off work so it would be great not to have to re-plan everything if we have to postpone.  Only 9 days left before our transfer!!  I feel excited and really positive.  I know there is a chance the transfer might not result in a pregnancy but until that time I am choosing to be optimistic and so thankful that God has FINALLY brought us to this exciting crossroads in our journey to parenthood. 

L.A. County Fair

Hello everyone, this is Dan.  I thought I would share our adventure to the L.A. County Fair...enjoy!

In all my years in SoCal, it's surprising I have NEVER been to the L.A. County Fair. I didn't even know where it was. Pomona, CA (in case you didn't know either). Our friends Craig and Janee invited us to go with them after work on Wednesday, so we were excited to check it out.  We didn't let the rain stop us, there was actually a thunder storm on the way there.

One of the things I was looking forward to most was the FOOD! I heard they had “Pinks” world famous hot dogs, as seen on Bobby Flay's Throwdown on Food Network. I also was geared up to try some of those evil deep fried goodies everyone talks about: fried Twinkies, fried Snickers, fried avocado, fried Oreos, fried peanut butter jelly sandwich, fried White Castle burger...no, I'm not kidding. Just to name a few. As we walked in the gates I immediately smelled the fragrance of funnel cake, kettle corn, and chocolate covered bacon in the air. Oh look, there's Pink's!

Time to EAT! What should we get? Classic Pinks dog...Nah. Jumbo Mustard dog...getting warmer. Ah yes, the Huell Howser, one bun, two Pinks dogs, extra chili, extra cheese, and onions.

The fair grounds are so huge, it took us about 30 minutes just to walk from one end to the other, and that didn't include going up and down each row of: food, games, rides, exhibits and shops. We decided to check out the animals first for the kids' sake. Okay, for the grown ups too!

There were 100's of animals but I was intrigued the most by the pigs. How ironic after just finishing off a ½ pound chili cheese dog. This bad boy was a dainty 675 pounds.

When we finished our rounds I was on a mission for a deep fried frenzy. And what a frenzy it was. Rather than pay $6.50 for a fried cookie or cake or candy bar, I decided...hey why not go for a pound of garlic curley fries served in a giant cone. Oh yea! Elizabeth got one of those fresh squeezed lemonade drinks. It was so refreshing.

What about dessert? A bucket of fresh, deep fried, mini donuts sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar, and...wait for it...powdered sugar. Yes, that is MY name on the side of the bucket. There were about 35 of the best-est, warm-est, yummy-est mini donuts EVER! I washed this down with a hot cup of fresh brewed coffee. So far, I'm loving the LA County Fair.

No, we didn't go on any rides...probably a good thing considering what we ate, if you know what I mean.