Fickes Family

Daddy's Helper and Fisherman

2010-07-31T23:33:00.002-08:00

Not a lot going on here. The weather has been pretty rainy so we haven't spent much time outside but when it's nice we've been going on bike rides. Jonathan loves riding in the bike trailer! He even fell asleep in it on the ride to town a couple days ago. Here are some random pictures from the past few weeks.

so I tried to upload pictures... it didn't work. I'll try again later.

Shrimping and a haircut

2010-07-03T23:36:00.005-08:00

Jonathan really likes to check out the shrimp

This is actually Jonathan's second haircut. My sister cut it the first time but it grew pretty fast. It was tickling his ears and it was getting to be a pain trying to get the food out of it after every meal. Here are before and after pics.

Before - I know you can't see the back where it was starting to curl again but I love this picture so I had to share...

After - Again, you can't see the back but you get the idea.

New Pictures

2010-06-21T00:53:00.007-08:00

My dear friend Ashley wants to see pictures. She is so good about keeping up with her blog and I enjoying seeing the pictures of her kids, so I figure its about time that I add some new pictures to my blog. I will add a few here and put a link to the rest that are on my facebook page.

We just bought this boat with my parents in the middle of May. We don't have a name for the boat yet so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Our Sweet Matthew

2010-05-22T22:33:00.001-08:00

Monday, May 17th my water broke and our sweet Matthew Isaac was born into the arms of Jesus. He was a perfect baby with ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes and looked just perfect. I miss him so much!! Brian and I both have our ups and downs but we're doing okay. It is so comforting to know that we will see Matthew in Heaven someday and that he is safe with the Lord. There is no way I could have made it through this time without my Savior and my wonderful Christian friends.

Jonathan's 1st Birthday

2010-04-07T17:01:00.001-08:00

Jonathan just turned one - WOW how time flies!!! We had a little party for him at the church. We have a good time. Jonathan was kind of grumpy until he ate his cake but I think everyone else had fun. It was a barnyard theme and I (and my mom) made the cake. We laughed a lot and I'll probably buy the cake for his next party=). We finished the cake around 12:30 AM and I put the cake in the oven for the night so the cats wouldn't get into it. The next morning I opened the oven to see the barn and the silo had fallen over=( Long story short... we stood the barn back up and fixed it the best we could. Click here to see the pictures from the party.

Here a few things about our little one year old...

Weight - 25lbs
Ht - 31.5 inches
He likes to - hang out with mommy and daddy, talk on the phone, eat, play peek-a-boo and read BOOKS
Fav Foods - fruit, peanut butter, green beans, broccoli, cheese, hotdogs and reeses peanut butter cups
Least Fav Food - potatoes - in any form
He is still is crawling but he will walk across the living room if he is coaxed.

We have really enjoyed him over the past year and I can't wait to see him with a little brother or sister.

Our New Ticker

2010-03-25T12:20:00.004-08:00

I'm sure you've notice the new ticker at the top of the page. We are expecting a new little miracle baby in November. We had an ultrasound yesterday and we were able to see and hear the heartbeat. We are very excited and we feel extremely blessed!!!

Christmas Time

2009-12-29T00:32:00.003-09:00

Well, I'm sure some of you are surprised to see a new post so close to the last post but SURPRISE!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and I hope you all did too. Jonathan didn't really get into unwrapping presents this year but he has enjoyed playing with all his new toys. Click here are a few pictures from Christmas

Almost 9 months

2009-12-21T12:18:00.008-09:00

Jonathan will be 9 months old in about a week. The time really goes by too fast!!! He is crawling all over the place and nothing seems to slow him down now. He is pulling himself up on EVERYTHING! He even used an upside down laundry basket to help him walk across the living room the other day. He says "dada" really well(and he has been for a couple months) and he's been working on "mama" but so far we've only been able to get "nana" out. It is so much fun to hear him "talk" which is what he does most of the day. He has one tooth but based on his lack of sleeping at night I think he's working on some more. If you ask him if he's a big boy, he'll throw his arms up over his head and smile - it's really cute!

We are really looking forward to Christmas this week. I will post Christmas pictures sometime this coming weekend - don't hold your breath but I will try to get them posted soon after Christmas. Here are some new pictures of Jonathan. I hope you enjoy and I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Helping Mommy!
He found the pots and pans!

"Is there anything else I can get out?"

The bib drawer

"Hello"

BIG BOY!!!

"Hello Frosty!"

A few random things...

2009-11-07T23:42:00.004-09:00

Jonathan is over 7 months old now! Where does the time go??? We've been having lots of fun with him and his personality is really starting to show! We had him weighed on Monday and he was 19lbs 5 ounces and 27 1/2 inches long. He is still tall and skinny! He is saying "dada" regularly but we've yet to get a "mama" out. I'm sure it's coming soon. He is trying really hard to crawl but he doesn't have it quiet yet. He loves his daddy and gets really excited anytime he sees Brian. It is the cutest thing in the world to me=) Jonathan is also working on sitting himself up. He is also eating puffs and crackers. He loves to sit in his high chair while I work in the kitchen. The biggest news we have right now is that Jonathan has been sleeping in his own bed in his own room. We've all been sleeping much better since that changed has taken place.

Family Pictures

2009-10-03T12:11:00.006-08:00

These were actually taken about 2 months ago now but I haven't posted them yet so... here you go!

6 Months

2009-10-03T11:59:00.004-08:00

Jonathan is 6 months old now and I can't beileve how much he's changing!!! We had his check up yesterday and he wieghed in at 18 lbs 2 oz and he is 27 1/4 inches long. He is tall and slender. The picture on the bear rug was taken two days ago. The nurse at the public health clinic has similar pictures of other babies she treats and she asked us to send her one of Jonathan. So, next time we go in, Jonathan's bear rug picture will be on the wall too!

I'll have to get some more pictures of Jonathan soon... he is sitting up and playing by himself really well! He loves books, the cats and his daddy! He still doesn't nap very well but he is a pretty happy baby so that's okay. We got him a high chair on our last trip to Anchorage and he really likes it. He can sit in the high chair in the kitchen with me while I cook or do dishes and he's just as happy as can be.

New Pictures

2009-09-08T01:37:00.002-08:00

I have posted a bunch of new pictures to my facebook so I thought I should add ehte links to the albums in here. There are pictures of... Jonathan's First Glacier Cruise Jonathan's first time swimming and A few other miscellaneous pictures from late this summer I will also add a little video of Jonathan in the pool... by the way... he LOVED it!!!

VBS

2009-08-11T10:21:00.004-08:00

Vacation Bible School is over for 2009. I think everything went really well and we ended up with 38 different kids. Not as big as some years but we had 15 kids that have never been to our church before. I have posted a lot of pictures on my facebook... here is the link to the first set, second set

And since I can't get the rest of the pictures to load right now... here is Jonathan the gardner and Friday's decorations. Friday's story was the Resurrection so the teacher was supposed to be dressed like a gardner.

Four Months Old

2009-08-01T00:15:00.005-08:00

Jonathan is now four months old. Time sure is going by fast!!! He had his well baby check on Wednesday and he weighed in at 15.5 lbs and was 25.5 inches long. He is very healthy and she was really impressed with how much he was doing physically. He has started rolling over and he reaches for EVERYTHING! He really like to be where ever we are and he loves to be involved with what we're doing.

We are coming up on Vacation Bible School next week and I think we're almost ready. We've been having work nights, every Monday night for the past month and I feel like the decorations are coming together... I guess we'll know by this time next week.

are a couple videos from last week. Brian's mom was playing with Jonathan during a VBS work night.

Pictures Pictures Pictures

2009-07-10T23:35:00.004-08:00

Pictures from the boys' dip netting trip to Chitna - they didn't get any fish this day but the seemed to have a good time anyway.
Pictures from the 4th of July and other miscellaneous times in July (including our first try at eating cereal).

Here is a video of Jonathan "talking"... I think it's pretty cute.

Teen Camp

2009-07-10T23:03:00.003-08:00

I realized that I didn't post any pictures from Teen Camp so here they are...

The kids had so much fun and the preaching was fantastic! All the kids have already asked if we're going back next year. The best news of all is that we had three teens from our youth group accept Christ as their personal Savior. Praise the Lord!!!

June Pictures

2009-06-27T23:22:00.002-08:00

I've decided that I will keep posting my pictures on facebook and just put a link here. Otherwise, it takes too long to upload them to both places and I don't ever do it.

So here are some new pictures from June.

Driving with Daddy

2009-06-23T23:37:00.003-08:00

There are more pictures from this trip on my facebook page... here is the link

Anniversary Drive

2009-06-06T07:18:00.003-08:00

It is so nice to have time off in the summer!!!! I love Brian's new work schedule and I couldn't ask for a better "job" right now! Since our anniversary was on Wednesday this year, we didn't do anything that evening (because we had youth group), but Brian took us all on a wonderful outing on Thursday. We drove about 350 miles and it was so fun! We left here and drove to Chitna and then all the way to the end of the road to McCarthy. We didn't go to McCarthy or Kennicott but we go information for when we go back next time. I have pictures of the day posted on my facebook account. (Ashley let me know if you can't see these and I will take the time to post them on here)
Just copy and paste and you should be able to get to them...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126708&id=644116250&l=ee9dd7a9ff

Pictures

2009-05-07T12:14:00.002-08:00

Easter Sunday

This is last Sunday after church.

May Already???

2009-05-05T12:55:00.003-08:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying by!!! Jonathan is 5 weeks old today! It seems like yesterday that I was sitting around praying that he would hurry and get here. He is doing great! He is getting closer to having a little bit of a schedule which is really nice for me. He is holding his head up pretty well these days, he loves riding in the truck (most of the time), he likes to be outside and he has been smiling a lot lately. He also likes to fight going to sleep which I'm guessing will only get worse as he gets older.

I'm so far behind in posting but since he's starting to wake up from his nap I'll post pictures later.

2 Week Check Up and New Job

2009-04-16T18:19:00.004-08:00

We took Jonathan in for his two week check up on Tuesday. The dr says he's doing great! He has gained more than a pound since his weight check last Monday putting him at 9 lbs 5.5 oz. I can't believe how big my baby boy is getting! He has also grown a half an inch since he was born. The dr said his is healthy and very strong.

We drove to Anchorage today (5 hours) and he is GREAT!!! He slept most of the way and we didn't have any problems! I'm anxious to see how he does on the plane on Saturday...

In other news... Brian got a new job. It is technically a temporary job but it will hopefully roll into a full time position. This is a great opportunity for him and we are all really really excited!! He starts on April 28th so we've had to make a few changes to our vacation plans but it will all be worth it. His new schedule will be 7 days of work, 7 days off, 7 days of nights, 7 days off. We are REALLY excited about the 7 days off=)

Pictures

2009-04-05T12:50:00.002-08:00

Here are a few pictures from this past week.

Jonathan Daniel Fickes

2009-03-31T19:36:00.004-08:00

Brian and Becky welcomed Jonathan Daniel into the world this afternoon at 1:16. He weighs 8lbs, 4 oz and is 21 inches long.

No News is...

2009-03-29T20:19:00.002-08:00

No news :)

We went in on Friday morning, they dr wanted to do a non-stress test and an ultra sound and then they gave me medication to induce labor. They monitored me for two hours after I had the medicine and then sent us home. We had to be back around 7 that evening for the second dose of induction medicine. Turns out, the nurses have change over at 7pm, so we didn't see anyone until 7:30. Then there were two ER calls the dr had to attend to before he got to us. So at 9 pm we got the second dose of medicine. They monitored me for two more hours. I was having contractions but they were pretty light and not patterned so they sent us home. The dr thought that we'd be back before morning but I didn't have but just two or three contractions during the night.

Saturday, we hung out at Brian's parents house most of the day and I was having pretty good contractions but they were still not patterned and they weren't getting any stronger. So far today, I've have TWO contractions. So, we are at home relaxing and trying to keep my mind off of how over due I am.

We are planning to go back to the clinic in the morning and seeing what the dr is planning to try next. Hopefully we'll have some good news soon. Thank you for your continued prayers.

41 weeks!

2009-03-26T23:03:00.002-08:00

We have an appointment in the morning at 10:15 and I'm so excited. We're finally going to meet our baby boy! I can't wait to hold this precious miracle in my arms and thank God for him!!! Tonight I started thinking about how "real" everything is now and I starting crying thinking about how good God is!!! This time last year was really tough on me and I'm thankful to be so close to holding a baby of my own. I know the wait will all be worth it very soon.

I will post, or have someone else post for me, when we're actually in the hospital and then again after he's born.

Update

2009-03-20T09:59:00.002-08:00

I had my dr appointment yesterday and it went well, he said I was at 3 cm. I had been at 2 cm for the past two weeks so I was glad there was a change. He also stretched my membranes and said that should help the baby come soon. We'll see... I had a few contractions on Wednesday and couple more last night but nothing significant yet. I have Jamey (my brother-in-law) ready to update here and on my facebook as soon as we head to the hospital and then again when the baby has arrived.

40 Weeks!!!

2009-03-19T09:17:00.002-08:00

As of today, I am 40 weeks pregnant! God is so good! What a miracle to have this little boy growing (and growing and growing and growing) inside of me! We can't wait to meet him and hold him in my arms instead of my belly. I have an appointment this afternoon so I will try to update again after that. Here is a picture from Tuesday night.

"At least another week"

2009-03-12T21:08:00.003-08:00

That is what the dr said at our appointment yesterday... I was kind of bummed, but that's okay. Our dr is out of town from today until Monday evening so I guess it's okay that we probably won't see our baby until at least lake next week.

It's done!

2009-03-04T09:45:00.006-09:00

Brian finished the trim last night and he and my parents moved the furniture back into our bedroom. Brian and my dad also hung the curtains for me! Here are a couple before and after pictures.

What a day...

2009-02-27T14:13:00.002-09:00

We had our 37 week appointment yesterday. The dr checked me and I am 50% effaced and a finger tip dilated. So at least something is changing, so there's the good news!

Here's the not so good news...
Brian and I started rearranging our room when we got home yesterday (so the pack n play will fit) and when we started to move the bed, we noticed that the floor was all wet behind it. Brian eventually found the leak (it's coming from a hose that is connected to the washer), but we're going to have to replace the flooring in our bedroom. The carpet is ruined, as is the carpet padding. We are also going to paint the room now too. Brian wants to paint before the new floor goes down (he's so logical). Unfortunately, there is a little mold growing on the wall where the water was coming in so he'll have to clean that up before painting. Then, he is going to paint it with white Kilz and then the light tan color I picked out. We are going to put the same vinyl wood flooring in our room that is in the baby's room. It goes in so quickly and easily that it is the best fix for now.

We thought we could just sleep on the living furniture but at 3:30 last night (when we were both awake and uncomfortable) we decided to go ahead and move the mattresses to the living room. After that, Brian slept much better... I was wide awake to I played on the computer for two hours until I was tired.

I am going to include some pictures of the damage and the way we get to live for a couple days. Normally, I would NEVER post pictures of my incredibly messy house but I figure you'll all understand that we were in the middle of a disaster and that's just the way it is. Please note, it's not normally like this.

Baby Shower #2

2009-02-27T11:06:00.001-09:00

Last Sunday, I had my baby shower at the church. It was lots of fun, the food was yummy and there were lots of people. Here are some of the pictures

The Baby's Room

2009-02-20T11:53:00.002-09:00

It's not done but here is a preview of the work in progress...

Like I said, we still have some work to do... I have to put all the little clothes away and get the curtains hemmed and hung up. I also need to find some thing or make some thing to put up on the walls... maybe my creative friends will have some suggestions for me:)

Mirror Mirror on the Wall... Who's got the biggest belly of all?

2009-02-20T11:08:00.003-09:00

I do! Well, at least I feel like I do. Here is the latest picture. I don't look the greatest but at least you can see how huge I'm getting. I hit 36 weeks yesterday, so only about 4 weeks to go... YAY!!!

50 Days!!!

2009-01-28T11:21:00.003-09:00

50 days!!! 50 days!!! I know I keep say this but... I can't believe it! People told me three weeks ago that the last 10 weeks drag by and it feels like it takes forever... blah blah blah! I feel like this whole pregnancy has flown by so fast. It feels like just a couple weeks ago I was telling people that we were pregnant and now we only have 7 weeks to go! I'm sure the closer I get to the due date and the more uncomfortable I get, the slower it will go for me but as for now (most days anyway) I feel like it's all a whirl wind.

Last weekend we went to Anchorage and came home with so much stuff!!! It is all still in boxes around our house but hopefully will be set up and in place by the end of this weekend. If the baby's room is done or at least to the point where it is presentable, I'll try to get some pictures to post.

Last night we had our second childbirth class and I am really enjoying it. It is nice to have some form of education as to what to expect. I've been reading a lot but for me, it is really nice to hear someone talk about it. Last night was particularly fun because Brian got to wear the empathy belly. That was hilarious!!! I wish I had taken my camera, but I didn't so you'll just have to use your imaginations.

I sure can't wait to meet our son!!!

My Kitties

2009-01-19T13:53:00.006-09:00

Moo and Midnight are such sweets cats! They have been our babies for the last three years and they really don't understand what is about to happen to their peaceful little world! I just had to share these pictures...

Since they were kittens they've liked to sleep on the heater. They used to be able to fit on the top together, now... not so much. I guess Moo thought is was her turn on the heater:)

Moo is not usually the cuddle bug you'll find on Brian's lap but yesterday she apparently needed some "daddy time"

Watching the football game on Sunday afternoon.Midnight, who is normally sitting with Brian, was pouting I think...

New Belly Picture

2009-01-19T13:38:00.003-09:00

I don't have much to report other than the fact that I only have TWO months to go!!! I finally remembered to have Brian take a belly picture last night but they just were not coming out right. So, I decided to try to take one of myself this morning. Believe it or not, this is the best picture including the ones from last night.

So, there you have it... my ever growing belly! I get really excited thinking about holding my sweet baby boy in just a couple months. I still freak out (a lot) thinking about all the things we have to get done before his arrival but Brian is so good at calming me down and talking some sense into me. He is so good to me... I think that's why I married him :)

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T09:38:00.003-09:00

I really don't have any New Year's resolutions to make but WOW! 2009 is definitely going to be a year full of new adventures! Brian and I are going to learn so much in the coming months! I think the ticker seems to be moving very quickly these days... 78 days!!! I really can't believe how fast this is all going. We have 11 weeks to go as of tomorrow (to the due date anyway). Brian has started working in the baby's room and this weekend, hopefully, he will have it ready for a crib and decorations. He has ripped up carpet and taken down closet doors and shelves and is painting... it was a mess. After it's all done, I will post the before and after pictures.

As for the baby... he's doing great! I'm feeling him move more and more each day and he is definitely getting stronger and stronger=). We have another appointment on the 8th and we will start childbirth classes on the 13th or the 20th.

Brian and I are doing well also. Brian is still working hard everyday and spends most of the day outside... I really don't know how he does it! He was outside all day yesterday and it was only 3 degrees (not including wind chill). BURRRR!!! Praise the Lord he is getting another four day weekend this weekend!

For unto you

2008-12-24T10:09:00.005-09:00

is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

It's a....

2008-12-05T09:53:00.010-09:00

BOY!!!

We had another appointment yesterday and thanks to a cancellation in the dr's schedule we were able to do the ultrasound last night. I apologize for not posting pictures but my placenta is in front of the baby and the face pictures didn't come out very clear. Everything looked great with the baby! It was such a blessing to hear the dr say, "that looks good, that looks normal..." Since I don't have any ultrasound pictures for you I will just post a couple pictures from Thanksgiving Day. The first picture is everyone that was at the ultrasound last night, except Brian's mom (because she is in Kentucky).

Dr Appt.

2008-11-07T09:58:00.002-09:00

We had our OB appointment yesterday and everything is going well. They said we have to wait until there is a medical reason to do the ultrasound and that makes me really impatient but it's okay - it doesn't change the sex of the baby if I find out today or have to wait 4 more weeks. I would like to think that the dr could come up with some medical reason (or excuse) to do the u/s but that's okay... I'll be patient. The dr did find the heartbeat really fast and that was (as always) fun to hear. Not much else to report...which I guess is good.

I know I haven't posted pictures from vacation yet but I will really try to do that soon.

We're Home!

2008-11-03T11:44:00.002-09:00

Vacation was great! The weather was SO WONDERFUL!!! I didn't take many pictures but my parents both took a lot so I will get some from them to post. My sister had a baby shower for me and it was really nice. I will post some pictures from that too. We have another dr appointment on Thursday and then we will schedule our ultrasound (the big one!). I'm hoping we'll be able to have it next Monday afternoon, but we'll see.

In case you want to know...

2008-09-25T09:57:00.003-08:00

I, unfortunately, ended up going back to the clinic yesterday. Thankfully, though, everything is okay with the baby and we got to hear a strong heartbeat. I'm really hoping that was my last visit to the clinic for about a month. Brian and I are very thankful for all the prayers for us and our little one!!!

Movin' on up....

2008-09-18T14:39:00.002-08:00

I had another ultrasound today... I'm hoping this problem will go away and not come back!!!! It was really neat to see the baby again, moving and wiggling all over. My mom and my grandma were able to come with me and neither of them had ever seen and ultrasound before, so that was pretty fun to watch. I think they were both pretty excited about it. Also, they recorded the entire ultrasound on a video so Brian will be able to watch it when he gets home!

Well, for those of you who have been keeping up with my ticker at the top of the page (I know I'm a bit obsessive), you'll see that it has changed! As of today, the baby is measuring at 14 weeks, which makes my due date March 19th!!!!! That is much closer to where I originally thought I should have been according to my cycle dates. I would have left it the same if it were only off by a day or two but this is a whole 9 days! I will try to post the picture from the ultrasound later.

Under 200

2008-09-10T10:11:00.002-08:00

I've been waiting for this day for about 45-50 days. I am so excited to see that little ticker at the top of my page change from 200+ days to 199 days to go. I know lots of you are praying for us and our little one and we appreciate more than you know!

Another Ultrasound

2008-09-08T17:08:00.003-08:00

We went in for another ultrasound today after a little scare. Everything is fine and the dr wasn't too concerned. It was nice to get to see our "little jumping bean." It moved around so much. I don't know if it was more fun to watch the baby move or to watch Brian watch the baby move. He was pretty excited!!! I will try to post another picture later after I get it scanned but here is one that she gave me on a cd.

Update

2008-09-06T08:30:00.004-08:00

We went for our first real OB check up yesterday and it went well. There isn't too much to report... the dr said everything seemed to be fine. She tried to find the heartbeat with the doppler but she couldn't - I was a little worried at first but she said its still a little early (we're only at 11 weeks today) to hear it with the doppler. I think I would be more worried if we haven't already heard the heartbeat at the last ultrasound.

In other news, Brian leaves to go moose hunting on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. He hasn't decided yet but hopefully this year will be as successful as the last few years. Here is a picture of the moose he shot last year

It really doesn't matter who gets to actually shoot the moose, we just need the meat for the freezer. I LOVE to process moose meat, well, I enjoy the wrapping part. I'm really hoping I'll still enjoy it this year with my ultra sensitive senses... I guess it's a good thing they don't hunt chickens :)

6 weeks 6 days

2008-08-08T11:22:00.003-08:00

PRAISE THE LORD!!! We had another ultrasound this morning and it was GREAT!!!! We got to see the little heart beating like crazy and we even got to listen to that precious sound for a few minutes. What an amazing blessing from God!! I will get the u/s picture scanned in tonight or tomorrow so you can all see our baby!!!!

The thing that you might think is the head, isn't - it's the yolk sac. You can barely see a tiny little arm bud on the bottom if you look very closely!

Camping and Fishing

2008-08-02T12:56:00.003-08:00

Here a few pictures from our camping/fishing trip a week ago. We had a great time! I wish the weather would have been better but we still had fun! Sorry about the sideways pictures... I'll get it all figured out some day :)

The first Ultrasound

2008-07-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

We went to our ultrasound on Thursday and this is what we saw...

PRAISE THE LORD!!! That is the gestational sac in my uterus!!!! We are so excited. I thought I was around 6 weeks before we went in but at the appointment the baby was measuring at 4 weeks 5 days. We go for another ultrasound in about two weeks so we can hear the heartbeat. I'm not really sure, but I think Brian might be even more excited than I am.

Results

2008-07-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

The lab FINALLY called... my levels we way up where they're supposed to be. YAY! Praise the Lord!!! Now I just have to for the ultrasound on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to that.

Just FYI... I won't be posting an update until at least Sunday. We are camping out Wednesday night after church two hours from here and then we're driving to Anchorage for my appointment early Thursday morning and then driving back to our camp site Thursday night where we'll stay until Saturday night. I'm really looking forward to getting away for a couple days. Normally we only get to go for one night but this time we're going for three nights!!!! I love camping and fishing and LOVE LOVE LOVE to be away from work!!! Hopefully, I'll remember to take my camera and I can post pictures when we get back.

Another Blood Test

2008-07-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

I have a blood test scheduled for this afternoon. My dr wants to check my hcg levels again before we go for the ultrasound on Thursday. I'll post the results when I get back.

Unbelievable Update and Title Change

2008-07-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

First of all, Brian and I want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for all the prayers!!! They must have worked because, you'll never guess what we found out... WE'RE PREGNANT!!! Praise the Lord! Our God is an AMAZING God! I took a home test on Thursday morning and then another on Friday morning. They both had faint lines so I called my doctor. She sent me for a blood test right away. It came back positive and so we did another one on Monday. The HCG (pregnancy hormone) level had over doubled over the weekend which is exactly what we wanted. When I talked to my dr again this morning she set up an ultrasound for next Thursday (July 24th) and then a short dr appointment to discuss the u/s. She also said she wanted me to go in for one more blood test on Monday. The dr is still pretty leery about all of this so that's why we're having an ultrasound done a little early. Since I have problems with my tubes, she wants to make sure there is a gestational sac in my uterus before she releases me to an OB. It is kind of nerve racking but I know that God's will is perfect!

Please pray for us this week especially as it is so hard to play the waiting game. Thanks again for all the prayers, we really appreciate it!!!

Phone Consultation

2008-07-10T11:52:00.001-08:00

I just scheduled our phone consultation for Wednesday, July 16th at 3:30 Alaska time. Please pray as we prepare for this phone call.

Good News!

2008-07-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

I called my dr in Anchorage yesterday afternoon to see if she had heard of any of the clinics/doctors we were looking at. She hadn't heard of the one in Houston (I wasn't completely sold on that clinic anyway) and she had previously worked with the dr in Seattle and said he was a good dr. Then when I told her about the clinic in California she said she hadn't ever heard of it before, but then she asked who the dr was at the clinic. When I told her his name, she about flipped out. She was so excited!!! She said he is definitely one of the best drs in the field. This made me feel a LOT better about picking this clinic. Brian and I have been praying over which clinic to use for a while now and I feel like God has really given us a peace with this one. So, today I will set up our consultation appointment and we'll have the ball rolling. I can't believe we're actually getting starting with our IVF.

Well here we are...

2008-07-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

I finally did it! I joined the blogging word. I guess it's about time. I think I need an outlet for all the infertility stuff we're going through. I figure this might be a lot easier to keep people updated than trying to call everyone each time something changes or we get more news.

Here's the scoop!
For those of you who don't know, Brian and I have been trying to have a baby for almost 2 and half years. Last October (2007) we decided it was time to head to the dr and try to figure out what the problem was. About a month ago all the test had come to an end and we found out that we can not have children naturally. Even with fertility drugs it would "be a miracle" (quoting my dr) if we were to get pregnant. I was devastated!!! She told us the only real option for us was in vitro fertilization (IVF). The problem is that there are problems with my fallopian tubes so the egg (fertilized or not) can not travel to my uterus. I also have PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) with insulin resistance. There are no problems on Brian's end so that is a definite praise!

We are currently researching our IVF options and are planning to have the procedure done in October/November. There is not a Reproductive Endocrinologist in the state of Alaska so we are going to have to travel somewhere and we figured we might as well go where they have the highest success rates. After looking into many many clinics. I think the clinic we are planning to use is in Southern California. I am working on setting up a phone consultant for the beginning of next week.