HSG and Colorado

This will be a long one! I will post some pics here but if you want to see all of my pics from Colorado, make sure to visit our web site. I also do not have all of my pictures on my computer yet because my camera got full and I had to unload some onto Brian's lap top, which also means that most of my pics here are from the last part of the trip. I don't know when I will be able to get those off of his computer but, I will be sure and post them as soon as I do.

First off, the HSG went excellent, PRAISE THE LORD! Everything was perfect and as it should be. Hopefully this will be just the thing we need in order to conceive, God willing. It wasn't too painful, just a brief minute or two of discomfort, but then it was done. I am glad and relieved that it is over and done with and it looked great. It was pretty amazing to see that dye flow up my uterus and through my tubes.. just kinda weird to see your "innards" like that. Jared came to the appt. with me and followed me to the door where the nurse called my name but, the nurse very nicely told Jared that he could not come back with me. I really wanted Jared there by my side but, I did just fine. I think he would have liked to see the x-ray scan as well.

Onto the Colorado trip.. We had a blast! Dad, Mom, Jared and I started off Thursday morning at 5:00 in Dad's Dodge Ram with the snowmobiles in tow. We made a few stops along the way and landed in Grand Lake approximately 12 hours later. Lisa made a delicious Spaghetti dinner and we got settled in. Jared and I spent the next 4 nights on the most uncomfortable hide-a-bed with a plastic cover on the mattress that made me sweat.

Friday morning when everyone awoke, I started a pancake breakfast. They weren't very pretty and were too brown but, they filled everyone's tummy. Frying pancakes has proven to not be my "thing".. it is hard cooking on a new stove and new cookware and not to mention the ridiculous spatchela that I had to use. Oh well.. once my mom stepped in to help, things went a little smoother.

Shortly after breakfast was finished, the boys and Lisa ventured off on the first snowmobile ride of the trip. Mom and I stayed behind with the kids. Ashley and I were able to play in the snow and make a run to the grocery store while Mom and Andrew took a short nap.

When everyone returned and got cleaned up, we all piled into Brian and Lisa's minivan to make the short drive into town to do some shopping. Grand Lake is a beautiful little town with the cutest little shops.

Friday night, I redeemed my cooking skills and made my delicious taco chili. Everyone was happy again.

Saturday morning came soon enough and breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, hasbrowns and toaster biscuits. Much better than my brown (yet still uncooked in the middle) pancakes. Later on we made our way to the sledding hill. This was so much fun! Ashley had a great time and kept saying "One more time, one more time!" Even Andrew got to enjoy this event. After sledding, we ate at the most delicious Mexican Restuarant.. we sure have done a lot of eating this trip!

When we returned to the condo, we all got to enjoy a short nap. Later on, the boys went to the grocery store and purchased some cobbler and Yahtzee and also picked up our Pizza dinner. The eating continues.

The next day, Sunday, was the last full day that we had to spend in Grand Lake. We had cereal for breakfast and then went to the Coffee shop for a morning drink. Brian and Dad then took off on their last snowmobile ride this trip while the rest of us hung out at the condo and watched "The Kitty Cat movie" (or Titty Tat movie as Ashley would pronounce it) with the kids. Later on, we went shopping again in Grand Lake and then also returned there for a dinner out.

We awoke around 4:15 on Monday morning and packed up all of the remaining items that were not packed the night before. We were out the door and on the road back home a little after 5 AM. We made a stop for breakfast at McDonalds and then later ate lunch at Arby's where Andrew got to enjoy his first ever Chocolate Milkshake.

When we returned to Independence and after we left Mom and Dad's with all of our belongings, Jared and I picked up the pugs from Gary and Judy's. They were so excited that we were home and we were so happy to be back. No more trips planned for a while now! January has been a very busy month!

Hysterosalpingogram (HSG)

My HSG is scheduled for Tuesday, January 30, at 3:00 in the afternoon. I am praying that everything is normal and that it can help "clear out" my tubes and anything that could be blocking the way of fertilization and conception.

Tonight, Jared and I are staying with my parents so that we can just get up and leave early Thursday morning. I am really excited to go to Colorado! Obi and Princess will be staying with Gary and Judy. They will get lots of treats and lots of walks.

I have lots to do tonight to get ready for our trip and probably won't write again until we get back. I will have lots of pics to share!! I am really excited to spend a couple days with my favorite little niece and nephew. They are the best!

My favorite color

is turning out to not be my favorite anymore. I see PINK tonight. I imagine tomorrow will be CD 1 of cycle #10.

Who would have ever thought TTC would be so hard? It should be fun! What an emotionally draining experience this is.

When will it end?

So, AF still has not shown up. And I have not had a BFP yet.
I adjusted some information on my chart and it changed my ovulation date to CD33. Based on my new O date, AF is due tomorrow now.
Here is my new chart:

I tested this morning again and it was a BFN. I didn't get my BFP with Abigail until 12 DPO (which is tomorrow) but still. I am starting to lose hope for this month.
I am really getting tired of TTC. I just want to get pg and be done with tracking my cycle, trying to figure out when I O'd, etc...
It's like, the longer this is taking, the more obsessed I am becoming with it and it is getting really really old.
I will post if AF comes tomorrow; otherwise, I will test again on Wednesday.

In other news, we are supposed to have an offer coming through on our duplexes. Hopefully it will be an acceptable offer and we can close the deal on it.

We still have not had 1 call on our home. Our land is still sitting out there with not much action on it.

Hopefully in time, we can have everything sold and make our move back to Independence.

This weekend we are going to Colorado. We are actually leaving Thursday morning and won't return until next Monday. I can't wait!!!

We will know shortly...

It's Saturday, the dreaded day that AF is due. I woke up around 2 this morning needing to take a potty trip and I could have sworn AF was on the way. I had bad cramps that last about 15 minutes and then... nothing. I just knew I would wake up this morning to her but, still nothing and I had an extremely high temp. Go figure.

I did get my progesterone level back and it did indicate ovulation but, it is on the low end, which is not great. It was 7.9. Everywhere you read, it will say that Dr's like to see it above 10 on a natural cycle. They say anything above 3.3 does indicate ovulation but, it's not a real strong ovulation. So, who knows. I guess only time will tell. The nurse didn't say anything else about the level other than it did indicate ovulation. I dont know why the Dr. doesn't make these calls so I can actually talk to someone other than a nurse.

Anyways.. today is a busy day so I best get a move on. We are having our friends, Cory and Jodi over for dinner tonight and they are bringing their little girl as well. So, I still need to make a trip to the grocery store and clean up!

Sorry no picture this time.

Sell Sell Sell

Today, our realtor who has our duplexes listed is showing one of our empty units. The investor looking at it is interested in buying all 3 of our duplexes and maybe even 2 that Brian has for sale. It would be so wonderful if he bought all of them!
Also, our land and my dad's land in Buckner went in the paper this morning for the 2nd time. Hopefully that will generate some calls and offers!!

We have not received 1 call on our house but, have gone through about 100 flyers. We have stopped putting flyers out but, we have agreed to a "co-op" with the Realtors in our neighborhood. Since our neighborhood is a new subdivision, we have a sales home just up the street from us and it is always staffed with a couple realtors. If they send someone our way, and it results in a sale, they will handle all of the paperwork for us and they will receive a 3% commission. The head realtor came to our home and talked with us and he felt that our house was a little under priced and also felt that we should not have any issues selling it since it is the only model of it's kind that is available right now. If someone came into our subdivision and wanted our same floor plan, they would have to have it built and that is about a 10 month wait. Our home is also the cheapest in there right now and it is priced about $10,000 less than the next available home.

So, we are hoping that the inactivity is because of the weather and hopefully we get some action on it soon.

Well, really no other news except that I am 2 days away from expecting AF and 3 days away from hopefully being able to test!! I should be receiving my progesterone levels soon.. I am thinking of calling later on, leave a message on the nurse line and maybe that will get them to get goin with it. I'll write as soon as I know anything.

Our trip!

We are home and back to work. We had a great time in Phoenix though and really enjoyed staying with Grandpa and Grandma Lottie. Jared did well in the marathon too.He finished in 4 hours and 56 minutes. He was very glad with his time and very glad to be done.
Here are some pics of the trip:
Grandpa and Lottie:

Me at a really neat Restuarant. Saddles for barstools!!!

Jared outside of the restaraurant, reading the history of that small town.

Jared before the marathon. Our rental car is in the back!

Jared finishing up the marathon. GO JARED!!!


In other news, I had my blood drawn yesterday to check my progesterone level. I should get the results before the end of this week. This will tell us if I did in fact ovulate.

Af is due on Saturday and I will be testing on Sunday, if I am late. I am hoping and praying that this is our lucky month!

That's all for now.

YAY! I have crosshairs..

On my chart! Fertility Friend drew in my O date as CD 30, which was on Monday.
Now, let's hope my egg has been fertilized and it is on it's way down to implant. I was reading some info on the web last night about late ovulation and while it is possible to conceive with a late ovulation (obviously, we conceived Abby when I O'd late), your chances are decreased. I read in multiple places where it says egg quality is decreased and also that the uterine lining may not have as many nutrients needed for an egg to implant. That said, many women have conceived perfectly healthy babies with a late ovulation so, I do still have a good chance.
We shall see!

I also haven't mentioned that Jared and I are heading out of town this weekend to Phoenix. Jared is running a marathon there on Sunday and we will be staying with my Grandpa and Lottie. We are really looking forward to going and I will be sure and take lots of pictures.

Is it the weekend yet?

This week has just been crazy and stressful with lots going on and lots to think about.

As I mentioned before, Jared and I were seriously looking into buying an already established franchise of 1-800-Got-Junk. To make a long story short, we are not going to be able to meet all of the deadlines that Got Junk was giving us and will be unable to purchase the business.

Since we have started looking into it seriously though, we were forced to put all of our properties for sale. Now that we are not going to go through with the purchase, we have still made the decision to keep our properties for sale and purchase a less expensive home. This way, we can be so much closer to being out of debt and we can live alot more comfortably.

When we first heard about this Got Junk opportunity, we were really excited and I knew that God was guiding us. I felt as if it was an answer to prayer that the Got Junk became available.

Jared and I had been thinking of starting a business for a few years and when this one came along, we had to jump at it.

Now, after the struggles we have gone through just recently to attempt the purchase, I realize that maybe indeed it was an answer to prayer but, our initial thoughts is not what God intended. Had this business not came available, we would have never put our rental properties for sale and it would have taken us much longer to put our personal home for sale. I just believe that the Lord wants us to be better stewards and not be in so much debt. The only way to help us achieve that would be to sell all of our things and the only way we would have sold all of our things is to attempt to buy a business.

Since we have started trying for another baby, I have always had the thought in the back of my mind that perhaps Jared and I are not in a position to become pregnant again. In order to maintain our current lifestyle, we really could not afford to lose my income. With our desire for myself to be a stay home mom, we really needed to make some changes with our financial state and I am just so thankful that the Lord is working in our lives and blessing us daily.

Hopefully with these new changes that will be taking place, we will be closer to our goal of being able to have a 1 income household and the Lord will bless us with a baby.

In other news, I have given up on the OPK's, after taking 12 of them this cycle. That is just out of control. My temp has risen the past 2 days and I believe that I have O'd within the past few days. This month has been so confusing, I feel much less confident about a specific O date as I have in the past. So, only time will tell. I imagine I will test on January 22nd, if AF is not here.

I had a dream this morning that I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. How I wish it were true. I can't wait until that day!

Aaaaaalmost..... Or is it?

Here I am on CD 29 and I think I have got myself an almost + OPK. I would call it a + but, I think tomorrow's will be more definate. Hopefully I follow the same route as I did the last time I O'd on CD 30 something and I get a BFP real soon. Here are a few shots of my OPK from today, CD 29:

I think I will probably be O'ing on CD 31 again, just like when I got pg with Abby. CRAZY!

We just got home from church a little bit ago and ate some lunch. Now Jared is watching some football and Princess and I are relaxing in the office.

Princess just left because she heard Jared getting some cereal. As you can see, she is looking out the door. At least she waited until I took the picture.

Results!

We have received results on Jared's sperm analysis and the result is..... NORMAL!

YIPPEE!!! Thank you, Lord! Today is a good day. I also noticed alot of EWCM today and my cervix is soft, high and open. (see what I mean about TMI in my Warning disclaimer?)

I am expecting a +OPK when I get home today and I will be sure and post the pic.

I have a dentist appointment at 3:30 and will head home after that.

I just have a renewed excitement today, knowing that at least Jared is "good to go" in the baby making department. Now, we can check more into me and see what is going on there. I have a feeling that our BFP blessing is right around the corner. I hope and pray that it is.

No news

Still nothing from the Dr. and still nothing from my OPK. I have never had this many dark/almost + OPK's in a row like this. I do remember the cycle I got pg with Abby, I had an almost + OPK on CD 19 but then didn't O until CD 31. I thought my OPK from CD 19 was a + but it really wasn't. Maybe this many almost + OPKs is a good sign. ???

Here is today's OPK:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, we have made it to 2007. I wonder what this year has in store for Jared and I. My New Years Resolution: GET PREGNANT! hehe I am also giving up all pop (which I don't really drink alot of anyways) and sweet desserts, except for birthdays, holidays and special occasions. hehe

Jared and I are going to come up with a list of things of where we think we will be next year (this year) at Christmas time. And then we will seal it in an envelope and open it at Christmas to see how correct or wrong we were. I think we are in for alot of changes this year and I am excited to see what happens.

I know the Lord has many more blessings in store for Jared and I this year. As long as we remain faithful and thankful to him. It's wonderful to see him working in our lives.

Well, we had a nice time last night. We went to Jenny and Chris's house to have dinner with the family and play games. We left and went over to James and Laura's around 9:00 and stayed there to ring in the new year. We didn't get home until around 12:30 and then we went to bed.

I took another OPK yesterday and it still isn't a + yet. I am not really showing many fertile signs either so, I think we are in for another late O. I did have a huge temp jump this morning but there are a few factors that played into that I think. For 1, my alarm didn't go off at my normal time. Or it may have gone off but, I turned it off without waking up. So, I didn't take my temp until 6:30 am, instead of my regular 5:15 am. Also, I wore pajama bottoms to bed last night because the comforter we normally keep on top of our quilt is dirty and I thought I would need an extra layer to keep me warm, which it did indeed as I woke up really warm this morning. Another thing was we kept our ceiling fan off because we thought we would be too cool without our extra comforter on. So, I am not really putting much stock into my high temperature because of all those other factors.

Here is my OPK from yesterday. Doesn't look much different from day 21:
I have 1 OPK left and I will probably take it today. Maybe will go buy some more so I can keep taking them. They're only $1 each and they are fun to use.

Edited to add my OPK from today. Still not + but, I do see some EWCM!! I bought 4 more OPKs tonight so, hopefully we will see a + soon!

OPK and Ted

Ted is at his new home tonight. The Kemper family who owns the farm where Jared and I used to live bought him from us and I am really happy that he is at their home. He fit right back in to the herd of horses and is going to be very happy there. We dropped him off this afternoon and I snapped 1 shot of him as we were leaving in the truck. He is eating hay with Will and Bubba.

I took an OPK last night and it was a little lighter than the one from the night before:

But then I just took another one tonight and it is back to being almost positive. This is the darkest yet this cycle.

I am probably a day or 2 away from seeing a definate + though and if that's the case, we are looking at a day 24/25 O. We'll see anyways. I like that I am temping this cycle so I will know for sure.

Well, I think that is all for now. Oh, I don't know if I mentioned this but, our house is for sale. We stuck a sign out front earlier this week. We are also putting our duplexes for sale and of course our land is still for sale. We are getting ready to buy a 1-800-Got-Junk franchise.

OPK

I went ahead and bought 5 OPKs tonight. I saw my first hint of EWCM today so, I think I may be getting closer to O time. Thankfully, I think I am Oing right on time this month. Last month was a pain Oing so late.


Here is tonight's OPK. It's getting there. I imagine in another day or 2, it will be +!

I haven't heard anything from my Dr yet so, I went ahead and called them this afternoon. The lady I talked to wasn't a big help but she said that they would call me as soon as the results are in and as soon as the Dr. has time.

Anyways, that's about all of my news today. I have been shopping the past couple days with my Christmas money and have bought a few new tops and a pair of brown church shoes. I love to buy new stuff :)

Christmas

Whewwww.. I have been busy the past couple days.

Christmas Eve (Sunday)- Went to church. Played the piano for Sallie's solo and Jared and I sang "As With Gladness Men of Old". Got lunch at Burger King, came home and made cookies. We left a little before 5 for Jenny and Chris's home to have a lasagna dinner which was very yummy. After dinner, we went over to Gary and Judy's to watch a movie with them and Grandma Zelma. My parents came over as well and we started watching "It's a Wonderful Life". Jenny called and said that Michelle had stubbed her toe really bad and that she wanted administered to so, they came over to Gary and Judy's house. Michelle was administered to and then my mom wanted adminstered to then Zelma. Once our little service was over, we finished the movie and Jared and I went home. We got home around 11:00 pm and started cooking the potatoes and got the turkey ready for the next day.

Christmas (Monday)- we woke up at 6:30, got showers then opened presents. We drove 2 cars to Independence because Jared would have to come home and put the turkey in the oven. We stopped at Gary and Judy's first and opened gifts with them and then were on our way over to Brian and Lisa's for breakfast at 9. Brian and Lisa made delicious french toast. Jared left at 9:40 to come home and I left about a quarter after 10.

We got the house and food ready and the family arrived at 1:00'ish. We ate at 2:00 and had a great time.

One of the gifts that Jared gave me was Photoshop. I love it and have been having fun playing with it and figuring out how to use it. Here is a sample of one of my first projects:

That is a quick run-down of our weekend. I now have this whole week off of work and am so glad to have a little time to spend with Jared and the pugs before our regular routine begins again. Tomorrow is when we take in the sperm sample. I think we will be putting a for sale sign out front at some point this week. More later.

Our Christmas card

Here is the photo we used for our Christmas card:
Here is another attempt:

Here is our house decorated with the lights:

Our next step

We have our next step arranged and that is for Jared's semen analysis. We will take that in on Wednesday December, 27th and have the results a day or 2 later.
I am really interested to see what type of results we have.

The next step is for myself to have my progesterone checked. I need to have that done 7 days after I ovulate. I am glad that I am temping this cycle so that I can know the precise day. Hopefully 7 DPO won't fall on a weekend when the lab is closed.
The lab is just walk-in on a first come, first serve basis so, I will go after work.

Christmas is just around the corner and I have been busy preparing for that. We are having Christmas dinner at our house, so I have groceries to buy, house to clean and food to bake. I am also organizing the music for the Christmas service at church and although it is pretty much done, I need to learn a song on the piano that I am playing for Sallie to sing to. It's not an extremely difficult song but, I haven't had much time to prepare and that just adds to the whole stress of Christmas.

I do have new pictures to post, including the one on our Christmas Card but, I'll do that when I am on our home computer.

That's all for now!

The Appointment

Our appt. went pretty well yesterday.
We went over things that Jared and/or I pretty much already knew but, we do now have a game plan in place.
The Dr. described to us, the way conception occurs and what all needs to work in order for that to happen. It did help me realize how conceving a baby can be very tricky and how it sometimes does not happen very easily.
I discussed some of my concerns that I have with my late ovulation and short luteal phase and even my longer periods but, none of that seemed to concern him. He did mention that an 11 day luteal phase was a bit on the short side but, that probably was not "the reason" that we were not conceiving.
Our game plan will be to first have a semen analysis. Hopefully we can get that scheduled for next week when we are both off of work. The lab that we need to take the sample to is all the way over in Kansas. We will get the results from that within a day or two after they analyze it.
The second step would be to have a progesterone check about 7 days after I ovulate or 7 days before my period starts (based on a 14 day luteal phase). That will basically confirm if I have ovulated. This test will also be done this cycle.
After these 2 tests, if my period comes again, I will have a procedure known as an HSG performed. This is where they place dye into my uterus and the dye flows up into my tubes. While the dye is being placed, they perform an ultrasound to see where the dye goes. This will tell us if one or both of my tubes are blocked or if I have any cysts on my uterus or ovaries or if I have an oddly shaped uterus, along with many other things.
The Dr. also told us that if we do have this procedure done, I am usually pretty fertile for a few months following it. The reasoning the Dr. gave us was this:
He said the best way he can desrcibe it is if you compare it to a shirt that you have just ironed with starch and how after your done ironing it, the sleeves will be kinda stuck together. Once you put an arm through it, it opens up. He said alot of times, the tube may be kinda like that sleeve and once the dye is put it there, it helps open them up.

So, that is our plan for now. Hopefully all of our tests come out great and we get pregnant very soon. It just helps to know that I am being proactive about it and if something really is wrong, we can catch it now instead of a few months from now.

Monday

Well, Ted is still here. The deal with the family in Kansas fell through. I am a little dissapointed. I was really looking forward to Ted having a wonderful home with them but, it will all work out. I love having Ted but, it can really be a burden when we don't have a place of our own.

Our fertility appointment is today. I am looking forward to that and seeing what the Dr. has to say.

Christmas is sure coming quickly. 1 week from today, exactly. We are having dinner at our house and I am really looking forward to that.

I had a good weekend. Jenny and I cleaned Gary and Judy's house on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, Jared and I went with my dad to stick a for sale sign on our 5 acres in Buckner then we came back to Independence and hung out with dad for a little bit, then we went home.

Sunday was church and I played the piano. Then we came home and I did a little Christmas shopping, drove back up to Independence to hang out with my sister, then we had Jenny and Chris and Peter over to see the Chief's game. Brian, Lisa, Mom, Dad, Ashley and Andrew stopped by for a little bit. They had just gone to see the Christmas lights at Longview Farm.

That pretty much sums up our weekend. I will post after our appt. today.