A little summer fun

Summer fun!! It's been fabulous!! Could my 70 degree temps possibly come back? Doubt it! We have had Lunch days with Jeremy! 2 new hot spots! Davenports and Gilchrist in mountain brook. They are only a hop, skip, and a jump away! With the new sidewalk coming we can walk there in no time! 

We also have pool days, play dates, sleeping late days, and make up days! Yes...make up! My girl was so good at the dentist that she picked out princess play make up. After her first "color the whole face" I decided we needed to learn how to use it haha! 

Some fun pool time with Jennifer and Blake at the pool! 

Snow White

Snow White is CHarlee Kate's favorite princess!! Not sure how that one became her favorite but it is! When we found Snow White at the magic kingdom CK was beside herself. Her little face, that smile, the excitement... made that trip worth every penny!! For her birthday in 3 months, she has really wanted a Snow White party so I think I found a Snow White to come. She used to participate on broadway shows but now she will rein act the whole Snow White story and include the kids. After I heard all about it, I knew it would be exactly what CHarlee Kate would want! It's 3 months away, but I can't wait to plan this for her!!

I love how the princesses spend so much time with the kids! It's so special and CHarlee Kate loves them all! Snow White deserved her own post, so the rest of the Disney pictures will come soon! 

Summer

I love summer days... no schedule, sleeping in, going to bed late, and all the wonderful things that are involved with "doing your own thing!". Charlee Kate has definitely enjoyed it as much as me! She has planted a garden with her daddy. They planted tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, squash, and jalepenos. She loves to help him water the garden, water the flowers, and check them everyday!

Charlee Kate is into talking about the baby! She wants to know what color hair will it have, does it need baby socks, a baby swim suit, and will it like her? It is so sweet. She doesn't really realize that we have a long way to go before this baby is born though.

We just love our neighbors and more and more of our neighborhood as we get to know everyone. One day the kiddos played in the sprinkler. When time was up.... they took some time to just sit and talk. LOVED LOVED these pictures!

CHarlee Kate, Ada, Thomas, & Sinclair 

And last...this will be the new kid on the block!

Florida trip, 1st part!

Well it's time to play catch up from being gone on vacation for 9 days then I have spent several days cleaning and reorganizing b/c I love to do it! It was a great break after school was out! We enjoyed family time at the lake for a big Memorial Day party then the Sunday before Memorial Day we flew to Tampa!

We started our day in Tampa on Sunday at International Plaza. That was my 2nd home when we lived there! It was nice to go back but things had changed! I did get a little snack at Bar Louie and Capital Grille, 2 of my old favorite restaurants too! Then we all headed to the hotel. We stayed in the bay. Memorial Day involved sleeping late, a long almost 2 hour exercise on Bayshore and then the pool all day! It was a perfect way to start summer and we just did so many of our favorite things that we loved about Tampa. We even met one of my friends for dinner that night at PF Changs. It was fun showing Charlee Kate everything, even though she will probably never remember it. Here a few pictures of Tampa... Orlando will have to come in the next post.

First picture.... riding the train at the Atlanta airport. She was so excited to get on the airplane. She doesn't remember all of those flying days when she was a baby haha!

Playing at the River. Charlee Kate still isn't too sure about this.

Spending the day at the mall! She was in rare form. 

 Taking our long walk on Bayshore and all through Hyde Park. This was one of my favorite places to go for a run/walk.

Going for a swim! It was a gorgeous day to swim!

Heading out to eat on Memorial Day!

Before we left for Orlando, we did make a few rounds where we used to live. That was a little interesting, but we did go see Charlee Kate's "Mimi" when we lived there. Her name is Marty and she kept her for 2 years. It was so nice to let her see Charlee Kate as a big girl now!

After we left Tampa, we were off to Orlando. My parents were in Orlando already and we stayed at a condo there. We enjoyed some time at the mall of millennia and the best outlets ever...2 other 2nd homes when we lived in FL. Charlee Kate had fun at this mall! She was a great shopper the whole trip. 

Then FINALLY.... It was off to Disney. She had absolutely no problem getting up and getting ready super early. I think I was just as excited because I couldn't wait to see what she thought of Disney World. It really is a magical place! This day was absolutely so exciting for Charlee Kate. She couldn't wait for the gates to open!!! The best part about this whole trip was taking her to magic kingdom for a day. When I say a day..I mean like 15 hours! It was very last minute when we planned it about 10 days before but sooo worth it! So we wanted to make the most out of that day.  Her face was priceless so many times seeing all the princesses and she held up all day!

Waiting sooooo anxiously to see the first princesses! I have a lot of Disney princess pictures... I will post those on the next post. 

Surprise...mommy has a baby in She's tummy!

This is how CHarlee Kate likes to announce it!! This is also the 3rd post so big news (for us) if this is the first time checking the blog. I am typing out my story. The previous posts give background info.

So...This was the final try and month for fertility. March.. the day came for me to come off birth control, i was hoping for my cycle to start immediately, so that we could start shots and get the process going. For some reason, everytime I started shots, I would get excited (minus going to purchase them). I guess I felt like there was a "chance" once I did that. I did start 2 shots a day for 5 days... the usual. Only this time when I went in for my first ultrasound/bloodwork, everything was MUCH slower in progression. The doctor attributed this to my body being supressed by the birth control. Also... in the middle of this I had a procedure done called HSG. I had this done in Tampa and it was absolutely the most horrible ever. Basically it is putting dye into your tubes and "flushing them out" to make sure they are not blocked. I compare it to putting draino in a sink (little humor), but this one can inflate the tubes a little and hurt!! However, cleaning the pipes out meant an even better chance so I was ready to take it on. This doctor here though was smart and numbed my tubes... much better experience and it all went well. So... I had to go back to lots more nights of shots, which has now pushed all the timing back and the monitoring and everything else will be when Spring Break was over. However, I told my doctor I didn't care. At this point, I wanted what was best for my body. So I went in and gradually we watched those follicles/eggs grow and mature and things were looking good. Everyday I would go back to the fertility pharmacy (which there is just ONE of in Birmingham) and get my shots. Everyday Jeremy would debate, "do I go out of town or stay in town?". Everyday was new news and everyday I was also asking my principal, "can I leave for a few minutes". Constantly something. Then the day finally came with mature eggs and they were really mature, 3 of them! What does that mean... 3 can drop. I received my ovulation shot from my fabulous fertility nurse (who I would visit at nights to GIVE me the shots when Jeremy was out of town), then the next day we decided to do the IUI. We decided the next day for this procedure, rather than the standard 36 hours because more eggs would have time to mature and drop and we didn't need that to happen...bc multiples made me nervous. I did take that day off, we all went to breakfast together, took Charlee Kate to school, then I had the procedure and then sat outside and read magazines all day. The next 2 weeks were long... really long. I knew this was probably close to the "end" of the process for awhile. For lots of reasons, but I just couldn't comprehend IVF which was next on my list and mentally, physically, chemically, I was exhausted from it all. In the middle of it, one of the 3 eggs turned into a cyst and burst, which caused us to go to the ER to have it checked out. I was so scared this had messed up my pregnancy chances, but the doctor assured me again it would be okay. 3 days before I was "expected to start" I began very obvious symptoms of my period starting. I was so upset but never really gave it up mentally. When the day came for me to start I was a nervous wreck but had somehow accepted it was okay if I did. That was a Wednesday... so later that day when I had NOT started, I put in for a sub for the next day. I needed that day off whether I started or not. I woke up Thursday morning at 4:00 am and took a test. It was so faint that it wasn't even there. I called the doctor when they opened told them I was a few hours late and they wanted me in to do a blood test. Again, I took Charlee Kate to breakfast then to school late before heading to the doctor. After the blood work, she said "do you want to wait?" I thought to myself... no. I need to go home and process this. Jeremy had the President from Life Fitness in town so he was so busy... I just needed to figure this out because I was preparing myself for what it "could have been". Trying to be positive but realistic of the possibilities too. In about 30 minutes the nurse called saying "Congratulations Mrs. Wilson, you are positive and pregnant". I froze, I teared up, I just sat there. I wanted that moment to stand still. There were numerous days of negative, negative, negative. This was positive. I just needed this moment. From there it is all history.... that moment was priceless. I told Jeremy it was a long year... in the middle of EVERY BIT of that we were moving, renovating, and trying to carry out normal working days. I learned so much, God used that time to really use me and teach me. I wouldn't take "that part" back for anything because I became a different person through it all; however, I hope those fertility days are over! I don't want to do that again! Now to enjoy every single moment of this pregnancy because if I am "planning" it, it will be my last. 

I still did a home pregnancy test about everyday for a week after my doctor's visit. Jeremy would laugh at me, but I wanted to see NONSTOP positives! About 3 days after my positive bloodwork, I saw my doctor in her yard. Her house is on my running/walking route and she is outside all the time so over the year we did become close and I would stop and talk. I stopped and ask her if she "heard". She got so excited and hugged me. She assured me she would keep me with her for awhile and monitor me each week. This was reassuring. Even though a goal had been achieved, I wasn't ready to leave her or the nurses. They were practically like family. We watched this baby grow from a follicle so small to measure to this point. As the weeks would progress I would see how that baby would grow and it amazed me that I watched this process from day 1! The day finally came when I graduated from the fertility doctor to a NEW OB (because I never had one here in Bham since moving back). That was bittersweet, but it was time. My stomach was very very bloated because of my hyperstimulated ovaries. One would have THOUGHT I was pregnant because of that but as the hormones began to release their job to other organs they gradually got smaller and my stomach was sort of getting back to normal until baby growth kicked in. 


After all of that being said... it is by all means not a pity party. It is something I want to remember I made it through and that God gave me faith to get through. So many people go through this. I was apalled at how full the fertility waiting room was everytime I went. To see all of the same people that were in a "club" with me and struggled. However, I myself read so many blogs and so many others' stories about their fertility process. For some reason, that is comforting to a person going through this. To know that others go through it and others get through. It took me days to type this post and remember the process but one I love to read and realize we made it through! We still have months to go but it's happy times (through all the sickness too!).

We are due in December, definitely before Christmas!! So much excitement! About to end our week in central FL. I have lots to post about with our trip to Tampa and Orlando. 

NEWS Part 2

So here is the fertility part in a nutshell. My blog is a great story of "our life". Some people enjoy reading, some may not, but it is for us, our family, to always have when I have the blog made into a scrapbook. I just love to read and see what was happening in our lives. This part of my life I "drafted" several times to truly get all the details in. I couldn't just type it overnight or in 30 minutes, but maybe someone else going through it will read it and realize it all turns out ok,

I started seeing my fertility doctor when we first moved to Birmingham 2 years ago. She lives here in Homewood, her students go to my school, and I just wanted to really get to know her first thing. I loved her and from day 1, she thought I would be an "easy fix". Haha... I wasn't the most difficult probably to me, but it was difficult enough. About a year ago, we immediately started off on fertility meds, same meds I did with Charlee Kate. However, we started off on the highest dose, which is what I had with Charlee Kate the last time. After a couple of months... nothing! No response. So... I did the meds again with ultrasound monitoring, meaning, we would check for follicle/egg growth. FYI... they have to be mature and a certain size before they are "released". Mine looked great, but still no response. After 4 months of meds, 2 months of constant monitoring and a shot to MAKE me ovulate at a certain time when the eggs were mature.... nothing. So... I needed a month off. That's a lot for the body (so I thought then... I didn't know what was yet to come). Now in between all this is constant bloodwork, timing of the ultrasounds, certain days, etc.. And... the absolute worst part for me was my hormones would shoot up, then go rock bottom. Chemically that makes you feel horrible.

October we started shots. Boy this was a big shock in a lot of ways. The shots aren't cheap to say the least, but they have to be given at the same time each night for 5 days starting on a certain day. So Jeremy started giving these each night in my stomach. Then you begin going in for bloodwork and ultrasounds every day to measure eggs. Mine weren't growing as fast, so she increased the shots to 2 a night. After several more days of ultrasounds and bloodwork, I=it worked... mature follicles, which meant I could get the HCG (ovulation shot), but.... on Halloween day, we figured out it didn't work. TIMING became a very big stressor! Of course... my husband travels so there is a little obstacle, and then the timing of ultrasounds and bloodwork, which means, leaving school at certain times of the day, right at break b/c it had to be in the morning and there was no way to take 5-6 days of school off every month, so the whole timing thing would stress me out!

November... we had to break. The shots really hyperstimulate your ovaries and put hormones into OVERLOAD so everything has to settle down. I decided for December to just do "oral meds" and then Artifical Insemination (IUI) with the meds, along with monitoring and bloodwork of course. That was my first IUI. That was another whole new experience where TIMING was another major factor again. Well obvioulsy... didn't work. Now with IUI you know to the day if it worked or not. So that makes for the longest 2 weeks! Very mentally draining.

January... last minute we decided to do shots again. The whole process repeated itself, 5 days of shots... this time we started with 2 shots a day, then the ultrasounds, bloodwork, and shots would continue every day or every other day. This time my body just shot up and responded immediately. It was still long with shots, but even better response than last time. We decided to do artificial insemination with the shots. All in all, it was a great month for the fertility process. Keeping in mind, when I do ultrasounds, I watch them measure every egg every day so I am LITERALLY watching the process unfold before my eyes. Well again... obvioulsy 2 weeks later... didn't work. Another very long 2 weeks.

Mentally, I was just hitting the bottom thinking about this because as you can see about everyday out of the month something is involved with the process so it is NON-STOP mentally, physically, financially, chemically, and luckily spiritually... because that is what kept me going. My doctor and I decided I would do 5 weeks of birth control to keep hormones level and to try and "time" the next process for the Spring Break time period to take a LITTLE stress off because of the whole TIMING thing again. It was nice for 5 weeks to think about a pill a day and that was it. I didn't have to worry about tests, bloodwork, ultrasounds, negative results, nothing. It was nice, not to say I didn't think about it but I didn't really worry as much.

More to come.....

Another wonderful day to be called mommy!

I was waiting until today to make this post because we had a huge Memorial Day party at the lake house and made the announcement to our family... who won't see this until after the party so.... I am not sure how it should start out. Definitely with the greatest excitement and with prayers that have been answered far beyond what I thought! We are pregnant with our 2nd child. This post is broken into 3 parts... each day I will finish the story, but the best way to start it out... is I could not have done it at all without those daily devotions on faith and then prayer. It was a hard hard road. Much Much harder than I ever encountered with Charlee Kate. I was pretty much at the end of the road... not sure where or if there was another road to go down and God blessed and surprised me. It was one of those blessings that I kept saying "Why me?? Why did I get to experience this joy and why did you chose me?" Of course, I was beyond excited!!!! Funny thing is.... all the many months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds before that point I kept saying "Why NOT me? I could handle it... I could be a good mommy". Then I finally learned it was all in God's timing. I will bring up the Infertility aspect in another post... right now I want to focus on all the positives and all the good things! This precious baby is already a blessing to me!

My fertility doctor did not release me until recently.... almost the end of the first trimester. She kept me to monitor me and watch and measure the baby every week. That was soooo exciting! It was so wonderful to have so many ultrasounds of the baby. I was used to having 2-3 ultrasounds a week, but I was always looking at my ovaries or the follicles. That got old after awhile. It was nice to see a little baby and that fluttering heartbeat! I always tell Jeremy that I watched this baby start out as a little bitty follicle and grow to this baby. The process truly is amazing! I do want to post about the infertility part soon. It wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination and looking back now, I don't know how we made it through some of those times. This devotion was probably one of the best ones and it got me through those tough times. I printed it off and read it many many mornings in my classroom!

What a great devotion!
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
Efficiency is my middle name. I like to get things done and get them done fast. Waiting for my computer to re-load a web page, or my kids to find their shoes, or even for God to come through on a prayer request isn't something I always do with patience.
In our hurry up, need it, gotta-have-it-now culture, it's easy to think we shouldn't have to wait. Think about it: within seconds we can know the weather in southern Mongolia, order a cute dress from a trendy store, or move dinner from the freezer to the table in five minutes thanks to microwaves. We can instant message our mom or send a tweet to thousands in the blink of an eye. No wonder waiting is hard!
What awesome instructions David's life gives for waiting! Waiting is less difficult and the future is brighter when we let God do His work in our waiting season. When we let our guard and defenses down, we're open to seeing how faithful He is to bring His plans for our lives to fullness.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS..
And I just want you to know that even small faith is completely able to hold you. It held me those nights. Through the minutes and hours I didn't know how to make it.

More posts to come with more details...