When I Don't Understand...

I'll just let this song speak for me today...  I don't really have any words better than this.

Another negative pregnancy test today.  I don't understand why God doesn't bless my friends Adam & Natalie with a baby.  I don't understand why they have 6 babies in heaven.  I don't understand how He could ignore thousands of prayers for this.  I don't understand why His answer appears to be no.  I don't understand why it's so hard for good people to have babies.  I don't understand miscarriages.  I don't understand infertility.  I don't understand cancer.  I don't understand heartache and broken dreams.  I don't understand this fallen world.

... but I will choose you God!

Gun Shy Confidence {6dp5dt}

Feeling anxious today.  I hate the waiting period.  I'm just crying out to God to make this surrogacy attempt successful.  My God can make dry bones live, can make all things new, and can certainly do this!

Our last go-round I was SOOOOOOOOOO confident, so this time I'm very gun shy, but still cautiously optimistic and trusting God, because what else can I do?  I faithfully did my bed rest, I have avoided lifting over 10 lbs (much to Kenzie's dismay), and have been eating eggs, avocado, black beans, & salmon + drinking whole milk!  It's in His hands now.

Today is 6dp5dt (6 days past 5-day embryo transfer).  If you spend too much time on surrogacy and IVF blogs you will become fluent in crazy abbreviations and also a little crazy!  I shared this last time, but here's a look at what's going on with these 2 little embryo-babies!

5-Day Transfer

Days Past Transfer (DPT)	Embryo Development
One	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
Two	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
Three	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
Four	Implantation continues
Five	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop
Six	Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream
Seven	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Eight	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Nine	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy

Naps, Books, and Netflix

Ok our last surrogacy attempt was obviously the first and having nothing to compare it to, everything was fine; but I will say today was so much smoother and easier and just felt better. Hoping that leads to positive results in 12 days! (January 27th is test day!)

Luckily I also had a couple clowns in the recovery room to help me out! (Thanks Eli and Adam!)

So today's been a nice day of rest (thanks to Uncle Nick and Aunt Caitlin for watching the kiddos!) watching some Netflix, reading a lot, and even napping. Plus spoiled rotten by treats!

Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers!

Lucky 13 Pills Per Day

I'm a little late to update here, but it's been a hectic week!  I started a really great real estate training program so I've had class from 9-11 every day AND homework plus balancing my normal duties and real estate clients and kiddos and I've felt like I'm struggling to keep my head above water, but it's good to be busy in my world!  :-)

Anyway, Janaury 7th was an important day for several reasons.  I started the morning at 7:30am at the doctor's office so they could check on my progress with all the estrogen.  My uterine lining was 10.73 and my estrogen levels were at 1550  and apparently that's perfect so YAY!

And then I got to go out with my lovely husband to celebrate our 9th anniversary!  I was craving meat (odd for me, probably all the hormones!) so we went to Fogo de Chao for the first time and then to my favorite date place - Barnes & Noble.  LOL!

Today I got to add several things to my daily estrogen doses: progesterone, steroids, and antibiotics.  A grand total of 13 pills a day + 3 patches!  5 days away from surrogacy!

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy this diet!  ;-)

http://www.top10homeremedies.com/superfoods/top-10-superfoods-boost-fertility.html

Trusting God that January 15th is going to be successful!

Patches & Pills

Well, we are back in the baby making business! LOL!

Back in November, Natalie harvested more eggs and she & Adam have 6 good looking embryos in the freezer. They upped Natalie's hormones this time and that seems to have yielded really terrific results!

On December 26th, I went in for bloodwork and a scan to check on my estrogen levels and to make sure my ovaries were "quiet." Everything looked good, so I started estrogen patches & pills on the 27th!

Please pray that my body responds well to the hormones! If everything goes well, we'll be doing an embryo transfer on January 15th.

Still Waiting... {A Surrogacy Update}

Lots of people have asked where we are with Round 2 of this whole surrogacy journey, and I guess the best answer is we still haven't started yet!  Man, this waiting thing is hard, and patience has never been a strong trait of mine!

However, Natalie and I did get to go visit with our doctor Tuesday morning, so we have a very rough timeline, and it looks like it we'll be doing another transfer sometime in December.  Dr. Milory is taking the month of October off and we are doing some extra steps and testing beforehand, so we'll have to practice a little patience and lean into God.  Probably the point, huh?

We were/are a little bummed for the long wait, but I also know that it will go quickly.  On the bright side, I've always been pregnant in that season (McKenzie born in August, Micah in October) so all my old maternity clothes will be perfect.  haha!

Ironically, our grow group met tonight and we've been studying the book of James this summer, and tonight we were in chapter 4 where it says "You do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, IF THE LORD WILLS, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:14-15, ESV, emphasis mine).

So, my update is this:  Lord willing, I'll be getting pregnant with Adam & Natalie's twins in December!

Anyway, that's the latest...  thankful for your continued thoughts and prayers!!!

He is Faithful

Tonight (errr, last night since I'm posting this after midnight), my amazing in-laws hosted a BBQ fundraiser for Adam & Natalie's IVF/surrogacy fund.  We had the best night!  There was karaoke, a silent auction, cotton candy, and an iPad mini raffle, and we raised over $3,000!!!  We didn't get an exact count, but about 100 people came out to support us and celebrate with us!

And God provided through all our amazing friends and family!  So thank you all for being there and giving generously!

Between tonight's fundraiser, cash Adam & Natalie have received, and the GoFundMe site (which we are closing down August 1st), we have pretty much entirely met our goal in just 3 weeks!!!

I can't express here how humbling and amazing it was to sit down tonight and count all the donations.  I think we were all (barely) holding back tears.

Praising Him!  Thanking all of you!

Goodnight friends!  :-)

Through it All, Our Eyes Are on You

I know most of my readers here know Adam & Natalie, but some don't.  So for those that haven't had the great pleasure of meeting and knowing them, Adam is our Pastor of Worship Arts at Grace Community and Natalie often joins him on stage leading us in worship on Sunday mornings.  Inevitably, she is up on that stage after every round of bad news or traumatic experience they've had in their journey to have children.  They are absolutely amazing people and their willingness to share their hurts has touched so many people, and I know many are watching to see how their faith stands these tests, and I can tell you it is NOT broken.  Natalie sang this song at church this morning - I don't think there were many dry eyes afterwards (mine certainly weren't!).  I don't know how she got through it...

    

Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You

It is well with me

I still don't understand, but I can assure you all that our eyes are on God.  

Far be it from me to not believe

Even when my eyes can't see

And this mountain that's in front of me

Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

We are excited to give this surrogacy thing another shot and we're trusting that this mountain's gonna get tossed in the sea!  We continue to ask for your prayers, and if you are able, a donation towards Adam & Natalie's next round of IVF & Surrogacy.  Even if it's just $5, please consider helping us reach our goal of $13,000!  

Have you heard about the guy on Kickstarter who asked for $10 to make a potato salad and it somehow went viral and he now has $49,336 pledged to him?!?  I figure if he can get that much to make potato salad, we can get $13,000 to make a BABY!  Please visit our GoFundMe page, give what you can, and share it with all your friends too!  Thank you for your support!

A New Day

So, the last couple days have been a blur, but the sun's out and life goes on.

When we got the awful call 2 days ago, both kids were still napping.  When Micah woke up, I asked Eli if we should tell him, and Eli said yes.  I sat down with him and I said, "Micah, you know Adam and Natalie's babies that the doctor put in Mommy?  They went to heaven."  He replies with the saddest, most serious face I've ever seen on him, "Oh man, why?!?"  My only answer was "I don't know buddy, God just wanted them with Him" and he immediately accepted that and was content with that answer.  It took me a minute to stop crying and realize that his incredible faith and simple understanding of life was exactly what I needed too.  Faith like a child.

I also have to brag on our incredible pastor Joel and wife Linda (who also happens to be Natalie's aunt), and they are supposed to be on sabbatical, but they made an exception to come to our house that afternoon, just hours after our bad news to pray with us and hug on us.  Love them so much, so thankful to be part of our local church family and under their leadership.

And then, we went out to eat with Adam & Natalie.  I thought we would go out that night, but I was convinced it would be a night of celebration.  It was not what we expected certainly, but it was a wonderful evening where we could begin healing and hoping again... and I am happy to announce here that we are going to try again!

Adam & Natalie have already invested a lot in this journey, but there are a lot of expenses that they will not have to repeat (initial doctor consultations, blood tests, legal work, counseling fees, etc.). However doing another round of IVF and another attempt at embryo transfer will entail another $13,000 in expenses for them.  One of my friends (thanks Trishelle!) pointed me in the direction of GoFundMe.com to help raise money for them, so please consider making a donation for them.  We expect that Dr. Milroy may slightly change our medications to give us a little better edge, AND we are hopeful that this time we will be able to do a fresh (not frozen) embryo transfer which will also improve our odds.  We are all so thankful for so much support from friends & family, and would be thankful for any financial contribution you can make, but most importantly we covet your prayers! Please pray that God would grant us success.

http://www.gofundme.com/babyjohnson

Not the Blog I Wanted to Write

After much anticipation, the call we got today at 3:04pm was bad news.  My pregnancy test this morning was negative.  The call only took 27 seconds, but shattered me.

By the grace of God, Eli's back was really hurting him this morning and he drove halfway to work and decided there was no way he'd be able to lift a patient, so he called in and drove home.  I am so happy he is here with me.

I held up OK until Natalie called me and I heard her ringtone.  Broke down.

I just felt so sure that our results were going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOO different than this.

I don't understand, but I am still trusting God.

I am thankful for all our friends and family who have been so supportive, loving, prayerful for us, and I know that everyone has been on the edge of their seats all day waiting for our news.  It's so miserable to have to share bad news with you instead of good news.

I already told Natalie that I'm game for trying again, but it's a great expense both financially and emotionally for her and Adam, so it's too early to know what's next, but keep us all in prayer.

Love you faithful readers!

Not in Control (Surrogacy Day 9)

I am a control freak, and you know what this surrogacy journey is teaching me / reminding me more than anything else?  I am NOT in control.

I know this is a weakness of mine.  In fact, it was one thing I prayed a lot about before embarking on this journey.  I wanted to be sure that this was in fact God's idea, God's way of blessing Adam & Natalie with a baby (or 2!) - and not my idea, not my way of trying to take control.

Well, God's having a good laugh at me now!  I am so NOT in control of any of this!

Even if these babies were conceived with a little help from science, and even if I'm on tons of hormones to make my body the perfect environment for them, there is NOT one thing I can do outside of God's will to ensure that this works.  I would like to tell you I am at peace about this, and sometimes I am, but it's a peace that I have to fight for every day.

I am so anxious for July 7th to get here!  Monday morning, I get to go in for the pregnancy blood test, and oh, I just can't wait to get that good news that all of us are praying for!!!  I probably will have my phone in my hand all day Monday waiting for the call after blood work is in!

I have been so hesitant to blog for these last few days, because there's not much to say except that we are waiting very expectantly, but I will say that I'm feeling increasingly confident...  I know that symptoms can be created from hormones alone, but I have never been so happy to experience heart burn, ab cramps, sensitivity to smells, general body changes, and "pregnancy brain!"

Ironically, or actually probably not ironic at all, but in God's perfect timing, we have been studying Abraham & Sarah's faith journey at church.  One of my favorite take-a-ways is that I have to let go of my "what-ifs" and focus on the "God-saids."  Working on that!

Until Monday...

The Waiting Game (Surrogacy Day 2)

The question on everyone's mind today is NOW WHAT?

I continue to be on modified bed rest today and then get to resume normal activities tomorrow, although I still plan to take it as easy as possible!  I'm feeling good today, been able to get lots of rest, slept well last night, and so optimistic that these babies are making themselves at home with me!

I found this chart to find out what is going on with these precious little babies these next few days!

Source:  http://www.nyufertilitycenter.org/ivf/embryo_transfer

On July 7th (Day 13) at 8:30am, I go back to Dr. Milroy's office for a blood pregnancy test.   If (WHEN!) we get a positive result, I'll have to go back a couple more times so they can monitor the hCG levels and make sure they are increasing as appropriate.  When they deem that everything is progressing normally, they will transfer me to the care of my normal OBGYN, Dr. Wright!  

My understanding is that they may be able to *GUESS* if we're pregnant with 1 or 2 babies by the hCG levels, BUT we won't know for sure until we get our first ultrasound around 7 or 8 weeks!

So a whole lot of patience will be required these next few days.  Pray that Natalie and I can stay somewhat distracted and calm (and keep us from driving Eli & Adam crazy too!)!

Transfer Day!

Today was the big day!  Here's a little video I took of the kids this morning before we all left:



Big thanks to the Popes for taking care of them today!  They had the best 4 girls watching them, making marshmallow shooters, swimming in the pool... So thankful to all our friends & family for your support and love and prayers!  We have all been so absolutely blessed by your texts, Facebook messages, likes, comments, etc.  Amazing!

Anyway, today went very well.  The whole procedure was relatively simple and incredible to be part of.

When I got there, they had me go ahead and take my valium and put on my hospital gown, then Natalie scrubbed up to go back with me.   Meanwhile, Adam & Eli got to hang out in the waiting room together, and apparently even had time to slip out to QuikTrip for energy drinks!  ;-)

In the operating room, they had an ultrasound screen on so we could watch the catheter work it's way to my uterus.  The worst part of this was that my bladder was so full and the nurse had to press so much on it to see where they were going. Whew!  Anyway, after a few minutes, Dr. Milory had the catheter where she wanted it and pointed out where my uterus was on the screen to Natalie and me and commented that the lining looked nice and inviting (yay!).  Then the embryo specialist came in, and put in "Natalie Johnson's twins" as he called them!  He then walked out to confirm that the tube was empty, gave us the clear, and we were done!  I had to remain lying down for a few more minutes and then they wheeled me out in a wheelchair.  Eli drove the car around to pick me up, and then we all got to go to lunch.

For the next 2 days, I'm to be on modified bed rest - no aerobic exercise or lifting over 10 lbs as they put it - but can sit (blog, facebook, haha) and walk a little.

I took this photo of Eli and me as he was driving me home this afternoon, and I wanted to take this time to tell you all how amazing this man is!  He has been so supportive of this crazy surrogacy thing, so willing to follow God wherever He takes us, and has sacrificed no small amount putting up with me on hormones and steroids I'm sure!  And even now, while I'm on bed rest and can't lift either kid, he's joyfully and wonderfully taking care of Micah, McKenzie, and me!!!  I am so thankful for you and love you so much, Eli Casey!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow at 11:30am, I have marching orders to arrive at Dr. Milroy's office with a full bladder and  my 1 valium pill in hand!  It's go time!  :-)  Tomorrow I officially become a "surrogate mother."

Natalie says it best here in this wonderful video - God knows what's going to happen and no matter what, I think he's teaching us all so much through this crazy adventure of what can happen when you say YES to God!




Please be praying for us, and the doctors, and those 2 precious embryos that are hopefully going to take up residence with me for the next 9 months!  :-)

Collaborating in the Miraculous (A Surrogacy Update)

Had a good ultrasound and blood work today! Estrogen levels are good and my uterus is nice and thick... getting ready for a baby or 2 in there!  LOL!

On June 19th, I get to add several pills to my regiment...  Right now, I'm just taking estrogen pills and patches.   On the 19th, I will add progesterone plus antibiotics and steroids to get my body ready!

 The big day is still June 24th!  It'll probably be around noon, but I'll post more details when we find out so
our prayer warriors can get busy!  :-)  The whole procedure is like 15 minutes, but I do have to remain lying down for an hour afterwards.  But still, in-and-out in 90 minutes!  Amazing world we live in!

We are transferring 2 blastocysts (5-day old embryos), and I learned something new today!  They have totally separate due-date calculators for IVF-conceptions!  So of course, I had to plug in June 24, 2014 just to see... praying all goes well, we'll all get to meet Adam & Natalie's precious baby(babies) around March 12, 2015!  Whew!  Here we go... it's getting more and more real every day!  :-)

I am so excited to be on the miraculous journey.  I'm so believing in God to do something beautiful here. I'm thankful for what he's already doing in my heart and teaching me in this big journey of faith and friendship.  I stole this beautiful graphic and quote from one of my favorite authors and bloggers, Ann Voskamp:  "Only those who believe in the beautiful can collaborate in the miraculous."  Read her blog here!

You can read more about all this on my post "The Back Story!"

Surrogacy Reads

OK, if you know me, you know I like to read... a lot... so of course, I've been reading up on surrogacy...

There are a lot of sites and forums out there on the world wide web that I've spent some time on.

And oddly enough, I was looking at a friend's Facebook wall, and noticed that one of her friends commented about having strange cravings being pregnant with a baby that wasn't hers genetically, so that peaked my interest, and I've been corresponding with her and following her blog too... "Their Pea in my Pod."

In books, I've read "Embryo Culture" by Beth Kohl and found it informative, but my favorite has probably been "Delivering Hope" by Pamela MacPhee.  The author of this one recounts her story being a surrogate mom for her cousin and his wife.  So it was nice to read a story from the surrogate mom's point of view, and helped me know what to expect... psychically, emotionally, etc.  "Everything Conceivable" is still on my to-read shelf.

Maybe one day this crazy journey of ours will be a book too!  For now, I'll just keep blogging away!  ;-)

Hormone Time!

My Regiment

Thursday morning at 8:30am, I went in for some blood work and an ultrasound to make sure I am where I should be to begin the hormones.  After a good report (thin uterine lining and low estrogen = good I guess), I got the green light to begin taking estrogen pills and wearing estrogen patches.

This is actually my 2nd attempt at this because I mixed up 2 of the hormones back in May.  I was very distraught at the time (just ask the poor nurse who I was crying to on the phone last month!), but this round is already going smoother, so I know it's all for the best that we were delayed a month.

For the curious, all of these special IVF/Surrogacy medications come via a mail-order pharmacy (Walgreens).  Natalie and I both got all our prescriptions delivered to our door.  I guess our local Spring Hill pharmacy doesn't carry all this stuff!  LOL!

Now, the goal is to get my body ready for the big embryo transfer day on June 24th!!!  After June 24th, I have to take it easy for 2 days, and then my understanding is that after 12 days, I will go back for a test to confirm pregnancy!  I already know those are going to be the LOOOONGEST 12 days ever for me, but also for Adam & Natalie and probably Eli too!

I will go back in on June 16th for more blood work and another ultrasound to see how everything is progressing.  After that, I will start adding additional hormones to my regiment.

So far, I'm feeling just fine.  I've had some headaches, but I'm attributing that to being a little worn out from a big fun weekend we just had in Iowa to see some friends (Eli's work partner & her now husband) get married!  Our kiddos partied hard and we had a pool in our hotel so we went swimming at least 4 times in 2 days!

Micah, McKenzie and Me on a Covered Bridge in Madison County, Iowa

Surrogacy & Kids

Wow!  We have just been overwhelmed by everyone's love and support after our big announcement!  Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!  We appreciate every one of you so, so much!

We just heard back from the doctor's office that the big embryo transfer date is set at June 24th!  I'll have an ultrasound and blood work done on June 5th, and then if all looks good, start my round of hormones the next day!

But in in the meantime, I wanted to answer everyone's biggest question:  What will Micah and Kenzie think? 

Kenzie is only 22 months old and not quite vocal enough to voice her opinions, but perhaps she might be at the end of the pregnancy.  Micah, on the other hand, is pretty aware of what's going on.  He was old enough to remember Adam & Natalie's 2nd miscarriage (if not their 1st) and often references their baby being in heaven with other things going on in his life.  For example, when my mom & Steve lost their dog Champ, Micah immediately said, "he's in heaven with Adam & Natalie's baby now."  These are the moments that make a proud mommy's eyes water!

Adam & Natalie with Micah

So, we've been pretty honest with him from the beginning.  God's making Adam & Natalie a baby at the doctor's office and the doctor is going to put it in Mommy's tummy and then Adam & Natalie will have a baby for you to play with when he or she gets bigger.  He's very happy about this.  One morning, Eli & I went to one of our initial doctor visits/consultations, and Adam & Natalie came over to watch the kids.  Apparently, as soon as Micah woke up and saw Adam & Natalie here, he proudly announced "Mommy & Daddy are going to get you a baby!!!"

So, I think they'll be OK.  They are at the glorious age where they don't know enough to think it's weird, and they don't know enough for me to answer awkward questions either!

Adam & Natalie with McKenzie

On a side note, when I first started thinking of this surrogacy journey, I googled it (of course) and I remember coming across a website for a surrogacy agency recruiting potential surrogates and it suggested that the ideal surrogate already has 2-3 kids of their own and is in their 20s or 30s.  Eli and I are quite content with our biological offspring, and feel very complete having 1 boy and 1 girl, and now hope to help Adam & Natalie complete their family by God's grace!

The Back Story

I feel like I'm writing a prequel to this really great story that is still being written... a story that's being written
by the Greatest Author; the One who knows the ending, the beginning, and everything in between; and the Creator of all things! But I am sooooooooo excited to be a part of this little story, and I am ready to share it with the "world" (or my little world who will stumble across my little blog at any rate!)!

 This is going to be long... here goes...

 Eli & I left some of the best friends we could have ever imagined in St. Louis when we moved back home to Kansas. In fact, it was kind of a lonely 1st year back here, we were close to family, had a church home and served there in the youth ministry, but missed our small group. I think that sometimes God gives you empty spaces in your life so you'll appreciate what He fills them with all the more. In September 2010, we decided to start a grow group with a fun young couple who'd been serving in the youth group with us - Adam & Natalie Johnson!  Our group has grown to 9 families that are our family. It's the most amazing thing to see what doing life together can really look like. I wish I could get everyone in a small group (grow group, life group, community group) for this experience. You celebrate a lot of joys together (new babies, promotions, weddings, moves, graduations, birthdays), but you also have someone to go through all the harrowing times with.

Celebrating New Year's Eve 2013

Adam & Natalie's first miscarriage (@ 11 weeks) actually started at one of our Thursday night meetings. They left for the hospital, and we prayed together like we'd never prayed before. We grieved with them and tried our best to comfort them by bringing them meals, always knowing that only God could heal this hurt.  Not long after this, Natalie visited St. Jude's hospital where as a little girl she had been treated and had beaten cancer!  We were having dinner one night (summer 2012) and Natalie told us that their take on her situation was basically "It's a miracle that you ever got pregnant.  Maybe you should consider surrogacy."  I think I pretty much immediately blurted out, "I'd be your surrogate."  Eli probably raised his eyebrows, and we left it at praying and waiting and seeing.

That night and lots of following nights, Eli and I talked a lot more about my crazy offer.  Thankfully God blessed me with an amazing husband who was willing to support me and shares my love for Adam & Natalie, and he didn't totally freak out about the idea.

Some time passed, Natalie's OB told her she could try again, and one day, Natalie was telling me she was pregnant again!  It was truly another miracle and we rejoiced and prayed and prayed.  There are so many horrible things about what happened to my sweet wonderful faithful friend that awful day in June 2013, but while at a Nazarene District Assembly with her worship leader husband and our pastor and his wife (who happens to be her aunt and uncle), Natalie had her 2nd miscarriage (@ 14 weeks), just hours after announcing to our church via video their good news.  This time, Natalie's life was really in grave danger, and by the grace of God, she survived though her baby boy did not.  When they made it back to KC, we went out to dinner and I remember eating on the patio at a restaurant while Adam told us how narrowly Natalie survived this one and insisting that he would not allow her to go through this again.  At this point, I reiterated that my crazy offer was still there.

Carriage Ride on the Plaza

For the next couple weeks/months, we prayed, talked, prayed, talked, prayed, prayed, prayed.  I remember one night praying to God, "God, is this just my crazy plan or is this from you?" and very clearly getting the answer spoken into my heart, "Katie, no one would think of this on their own."  HA!  That was so comforting and reassuring to me.  Yes, my pregnancies had been healthy and relatively easy, I'd had plenty of energy and no problems; but at the same time I needed that word from God that this was His will.  He reaffirmed this for me in so many ways - through friends & family, through Pastor Joel's sermon on Ruth (of all things!) through His Word and in my prayer-time - that Eli and I went back with a resounding "YES!"

And so that's when it all began...

Now, fast forward through Natalie getting the green light to go, my OB giving me her blessing, trips to the doctor for blood work and interviews, an afternoon with a counselor making sure all of us were mentally and emotionally fit for this journey and had thought through all the worse-case scenarios (yuck!), lawyer visits, a lengthy contract with more scenarios that you hope you never go through with friends, and now here we are.

I'm going to be a "gestational carrier" for a baby that is genetically 100% Adam & Natalie's - in other words, Natalie's egg, Adam's sperm, my uterus, Eli's patience.  ;-)

Natalie has been taking all kinds of hormones and shots and yesterday (May 14, 2014), our wonderful Dr. Milroy of the KU Med's Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine retrieved 8 eggs from her.  Adam made his biological contribution (lol!) and now they have 4 fertilized embryos growing.  After 3 days, they will freeze them, and in about a month, Lord willing, 2 of those will be implanted in me.  (The stats on 2 embryos are very good, roughly a 75% chance that 1 will make it, a 25% chance that both make it).  I'm game for twins, in fact, I'm hoping for a boy and girl for them, though I know God already has a plan in mind!

OK, this is where you my faithful reader who has made it to this point comes in.  We need your prayers.  This is a crazy cool medical miracle that God is working on, and we covet your prayers for this process and the future baby(babies) of our best friends.   My prayer has been and is "O Lord, God, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to Adam & Natalie" (Genesis 24:12).  Please when you think of us, pray for us.  I appreciate you so much!

Check out Natalie's video-blog for her side of this amazing story.