Monday Happenings

Summer seems to be going by too quick! I have a large to do list, that I haven't even tackled. Maybe I'll try to start on it this week.

This morning I went in for more blood work at Dr. G's office. They called this evening and said everything looks REALLY good. Our first ultrasound is scheduled for July 8th. Jeremy and I tried to figure out my due date, not sure if we're right or not. We estimate that it will be February 28th. Next year is also Leap Year, so it's possible that we could have a Leap Year baby. My brother-in-law is a Leap Year baby, so they could share the same birthday. We shall see!
Before school got out Jeremy
told me he wanted me to do two things this summer....carry his child and find new recipes. Luckily I've managed one of those. The other request I started tonight. I found a recipe for a Mexican Chicken Ring on another blog. You can find it at http://jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Main%20Dishes
She has some really good recipe's! Here's the finished product.



It tastes just as good a it looks.

Other than cooking and pondering my to do list, I've been hanging out with my puppies. Here is Madison lounging this afternoon. Ha ha!





Happy Monday!

SUYL - All the Single Ladies

This week Kelly's Korner blog is hosting Show Us Your Life - Singles. As soon as I saw this on the schedule, I knew I had to write a post about my sweet friend....Meredith.

Meredith and I meet several years ago when I joined our sorority, Phi Mu. Meredith later became my big sister in our sorority, my maid of honor and most importantly, a life long friend!




Meredith is full of life and so much fun to be around. Her laughter is contagious.

She went to the University of Oklahoma. Meredith loves a good OU football game....Boomer Sooner!




In her spare time Meredith LOVES to travel. She has honestly been to more places, than anyone I know. Here we are last summer on a girls trip to Playa de Carmen, Mexico. This is one trip we will never forget.




Also, she loves to spoil her sweet dog CeeCee.




Somewhere out there is a sweet, loyal, honest man that is perfect for Meredith.




P.S. - I forgot to mention she's an AMAZING cook. She can whip up anything in a matter of minutes. Guess what....it always tastes so good!!!!

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We are....

PREGNANT!!! Wow I cannot even believe I'm saying those words. Jeremy and I feel so blessed and excited. I will feel more comfortable once I finish my first trimester. We have had two miscarriages, so as you can imagine it's always in the back of my mind. Monday I go back in for more blood work, just to make sure my levels are good. Also, we will make an appointment for my ultrasound. At that time we will hopefully see one or two heartbeats!! Thank you for all your prayers.

Embryo Transfer

Today has been an awesome day! We went to the doctor's office at 11:45 and waited for them to call us back for the transfer. I had to go in with a full bladder. Honestly, that was the most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure. The embryologist talked to us before the transfer and gave us a picture of our two best embryos.



Hopefully, these are our future children!



The embryologist showed us where the beginnings of each baby are and the placenta within the embryo. The dark spot on the left one and the crater looking spot in the middle of the right one are the beginnings of a baby. He said hopefully today they will begin to hatch from the shell and turn into a blastocyst. After that happens then hopefully they will attach to my uterus.

Since we've been home I have been resting and taking it easy. I've spent all afternoon laying in bed watching TV. Tomorrow I will be able to move around a little more, but I still need to be very careful. Our doctor seems very hopeful and optimistic. He said that even though everything has gone so perfect, it's not a guarantee that we will get pregnant. Until then, we will continue to pray and leave it in God's hands. I know he will provide and take care of us.

Next Wednesday I go in for my pregnancy test. I will post, either way, after we talk to our family. Jeremy and I want to share the news with each of them first. Thank you for all of the prayers! We are both very grateful.

Update...

Yesterday the embryologist called with GREAT news! We have 10 embryos that have 6 to 8 cells, the other 5 embryos have 5 cells. So it looks like 10 of them are doing really good and the other 5 are just doing ok. Our doctor is very impressed with our numbers and seems very hopeful. Tomorrow I go in for the embryo transfer at 12:15. I'll post an update as soon as I can. Thank you for all of the support and prayers!!! We are truly greatful.

Good news....

This morning the embryologist called with great news! We have 15 fertilized embryos...WOW! Saturday he will call with another update on their progress. Our embryo transfer is set for Monday, just not sure what time yet. The plan is to transfer 2 embryos. After the transfer the embryologist will let us know which embryos we can freeze.

Jeremy and I feel so thrilled and blessed!! Thank you for all of the prayers. We truly appreciate it!!

Texas Caviar

To celebrate the end of school, several teachers gathered at a friends house for happy hour. Of course we had to include food to celebreate the end of the year. I thought I would share what I brought....Texas Caviar. I know it doesn't sound so appetizing, but trust me it is wonderful. This is the recipe I found on Allrecipes.com

                                    

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle zesty Italian dressing
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together onion, green bell pepper, green onions, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cherry tomatoes, zesty Italian dressing, black beans, black-eyed peas and coriander. Cover and chill in the refrigerator approximately 2 hours. Toss with desired amount of fresh cilantro to serve.

I served this dish with tortilla chips. Give it a try and enjoy!

Waiting, Hoping, Praying

WOW...it has been a long time since I posted. It's been very busy around here! With the end of school paper work, meetings, conferences, cleaning up my classroom, redoing bulletin boards...I have honestly only wanted to relax whenever I am at home. Luckily it is summer now, so I'll have plenty of time to keep you up to date.

As you know Jeremy and I have had a lot of trouble trying to have a baby. This has been an ongoing battle for the last few years.  Back in December, a fertility doctor told us our best chances to conceive were by doing invitrofertilization (IVF). Whenever he told us we already had a pretty idea that this is the road we would have to venture down. When the decision was finally made I knew that I wanted to wait until summer. Jeremy was on board with the decision, so we waited....

That brings us up to the present. May 24th we meet with our IVF nurse to go over many things. One of the most important topics was shot training. On May 29th I started a series of injections to stimulate my ovaries. I started off with two injections, one in the morning and one at night. Once my ovaries were stimulated, they but me on another injection to suppress my ovaries. Luckily, I responded VERY well to the injections. After a series of blood work and sonograms, Dr. G told me on Monday (6/6) that my egg retrieval would be today (6/8). This morning we woke up at 5:45 to get ready. We had to be at the Dr. G's office by 6:45 to get prepped and ready to go. At 7:45 I walked into the operating room and then woke up to great news. Dr. G was able to retrieve 20 eggs....yes you read that right 20!!!

After the retrieval the embryologist fertilized my eggs with Jeremy's sperm. He will call us tomorrow and report how many eggs fertilized. Now we have to wait! Dr. G said that we will have our embryo transfer on Saturday or Monday, just depends on how well our embryos progress. Ideally, he would like for it to be on Monday because he prefers to do a 5 day transfer.

Today I'm at home resting and taking it easy. So glad Jeremy has been able to work from home today. Please pray that we have good embryos that grow strong!!