Trip to California

Last week Jeff and I went to San Diego to visit my family. We usually do the every other year thing for Christmas and this year we stayed in Houston, so...it's been over a year since I have been home to see most of my family. My mom had the week off for "ski week" (seriously...how crazy is that for California) so it was the perfect time for us to go visit. I was determined to get lots of pictures this trip, even if everyone was annoyed with me by the end of the week. I am breaking up the trip into multiple posts so this doesn't become the longest post ever. To see all of our pics you can visit our Smugmug site.

We visited the lighthouse at the Cabrillo National Monument the day we got in. If you look in the picture below in the background to the right you can see downtown San Diego.


Some friends of ours from Waco, Chris and Teresa, were also in San Diego at the same time as us. We went to dinner with them to a really yummy restaurant called Sloppy Joey's in the Gaslamp Quarter. The owner also owns the restaurant next door and when you eat at either one you can order off of both menus (one Italian and one hamburgers). We got the best of both worlds...free breadsticks with hamburgers and french fries...bring on the carbs...I am pretty sure we ate our weekly intake of calories in one sitting!

On our way up to L.A. to visit my grandparents we stopped to see my Aunt Trudy and Uncle Bill (my grandpa's brother and sister). For whatever reason, in the entire 10 years we have been together Jeff has never met my Uncle Bill and only met my Aunt Trudy once. It's crazy that we haven't seen them more on our trips to California and I was so glad we got the chance to see them this trip.

My Aunt Joanie came to my grandparents house and stayed for a few days while we were in L.A. I love getting to hang out with my mom and my aunt together. Usually at Christmas they are in the kitchen fixing dinner and there is never enough time to just sit and hang out. This trip was great because all we did was hang. Of course two days in L.A. was still not long enough...if only I could just pack up the entire fam and move them to Texas.

Does It Get Any Better??

The Friday of Valentine's Weekend Jeff came home with a little present...what every girl (or least me) dreams of...my KITCHEN AID MIXER!!! Oh Be Still My Heart...could I have a cooler husband? I waited 8 very long years for one. 8 years of slice and bake cookies, 8 years with a cheap hand held mixer, 8 years of not so perfect mashed potatoes. I can already feel it...it is seriously going to revolutionize my cooking and baking.

And We Begin Again

On Wednesday morning this lovely little package arrived by FedEx...

With all of my new medicine and needles...

And a really cool little BIOHAZARD trash can...

Shoes would have been a lot more fun...but the cute trash can is definitely a close second!

This morning I started my first of many shots to get ready for our next frozen embryo transfer. We thought we were going to have to wait until April, but our doctor gave the go ahead for March. It will probably be around March 9th. At first I really wanted a month off of nothingness but now I am just ready to get things moving.

I have included a few needle shots below. Sorry if this way too much info and more than you want to see. If you don't like needles just scroll past them. I want to be able to have this to read and remember someday. Really I don't think I will forget the multitude of shots, but in 10 years you never know. Plus if a baby does result from all of this, he/she needs to be able to see everything their mama went through to get them here...

My lovely morning belly shot...it's not too bad. I barely even feel it and hardly ever bruise.

I will start this guy in my hip/behind in a few weeks...not as much fun as the other one.

It hasn't been a great few weeks after talking to our doctor about the last FET. We've basically been told my eggs/embryos are not of great quality and that is the reason it is not working. We've been told that even though we still have four embryos left, the likelihood of them implanting is very slim.

As impossible as it sounds, I refuse to believe everything we are being told. By medical terms, yes it is impossible, but by God terms it is not. The God I love and trust is bigger than all we are facing. He is not a God of statistics and percentages but a God of miracles. He already performed a miracle in allowing all of our embryos to survive to day five and I believe He can make the impossible happen again by letting one of them stick. The verse below gives me much encouragement for our remaining four...

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory...for ever and ever! Amen" Ephesians 3:20-21

If the FET is a success in March it will be by the power of God alone. Praying for the impossible, hoping for a miracle...