Sunday Afternoon On the Frozen Tundra

Sunday afternoon and Annie's new haircut

The Dyson Airblade

Here are some more Phoenix pictures and one of the many stories from our trip ... lone-time readers may recall a reference to a super-powerful bathroom hand drier called The Xelerator ... well, let me just tell you, I encountered one in the airport that put the Xelerator to shame ...
It was called the Dyson Airblade, as in the people who claim to have the strongest vacuum cleaner. I was immediately afraid because it looked NOTHING like other hand driers (dryers? I don't know how to spell that word) plus it had the word "blade" in it. Anyway, you put your hands down into the mechanism, and I had an instant horror that they would not come back out because my skin was literally being sucked down by the air. Nonetheless, there were others in the bathroom, so I tried to be cool about the situation even as parts of my clothing were going into the Dyson Airblade.
I have to say, though, after the terrifying experience of removing my hands from the machine (this required MUCH effort on my part) and being afraid they had been ripped from my arms, they were actually remarkably dry. Of course, they're still numb from the incredible air power, but 'tis a small price to pay ...

Phoenix

Pictures from Phoenix ... more to follow ... our rabbit friends were everywhere -- it was amazing! They hid in these cactus things, and the bottom picture has 3 hiding in there ... they were incredible at camouflaging themselves ... we'd be walking along the grounds, and out would pop 5 rabbits. And I swear you could stare in the cactus things (and yes, that is OF COURSE the actual scientic name of these plants) having just seen some hop into their little hiding place and not be able to find them. We had so much fun, though. Oh, and that is a most lovely self-portrait ...

Phoenix

These pictures are courtesy of our favorite babysitter, Kayla ...
We leave tomorrow for Phoenix for a conference Anthony has and return on Friday. Annie's staying with her Grandma and Grandpa Barclay, and it goes without saying how quiet it's been today without her. Luckily, I've had myself to talk to!

Post-Miscarriage Update

For those of you wondering how I'm doing since the miscarriage, I will definitely say things have not been easy. There are good days and bad days; there are even good hours and bad hours. However, Anthony and I are getting through this together ... we met with our doctor on the 9th, had some testing done, and we'll see where we go from here.
In the meantime, Annie continues to be oh such a joy and such an exuberant child. Not only is she a miracle but such a blessing ... there are no words to express the love we have for her.

Our Annie

Let It Snow

More random pictures, including the snow we had yesterday ...

Random Pictures Before Christmas

The Challenges of Infertility

wow, how many times have I had to share bad news with you all?? For those of you who do not yet know, I had a miscarriage the week before Christmas, but if it weren't for those early blood tests I might have never even known I was pregnant. Nonetheless, it is a loss and one we're still coming to grips with. We meet with our doctor on the 9th to discuss our future options, and then we'll decide where to go from here.
In the meantime, Annie (the miracle) is keeping us very occupied, as usual. Her zest for life continues to amaze me, even if she is going through a phase (hopefully short-lived) where she absolutely does NOT like me, and her new favorite word is "NO!" Ah, parenting just keeps challenging us ... Pictures coming soon, I promise ...

Blessings Continue To Abound

And so the good news continues ... had second blood test today, and beta number had tripled ... excellent, excellent sign, and we are very excited! As always, thank you for the calls, comments, prayers, etc.

The Wait Is Over, At Least for Now

alright, for all you people checking the blog ... I am pregnant! Now don't misunderstand ( and this is not to be pessimistic but realistic) this is a VERY fragile time, so be excited but in a cautious manner. My beta test was higher than last time, but I still go back Monday for another one (just standard practice.) And yes, these blood tests and the wait time for the results are absolutely torturous ...
This cycle has been like apples and oranges compared to the last one, and as I've said before, we are so at peace right now. Of course we hope this pregnancy turns out perfectly, but if not for whatever reason, we have our little family right now. As always, this is in God's hands now, and we are very aware of how blessed we are ...

Tick Tock Tick Tock

so the wait continues ... I'd be lying if I said Anthony and I aren't a little anxious about Friday ... nonetheless, I'm so much more at peace with this cycle than with the last one. It's hard to explain. Of course who knows what Friday will bring, but in the meantime, we are so enjoying getting back to our lives and getting ready for the holidays. I've said it before, but no matter what happens Friday, we are incredibly blessed.

"Normal" Life

The Transfer

sorry it's taken me so long to post this, but the transfer went flawlessly (always a good thing) ... 4 embryos were transferred back, which is more than we were thinking, but I understand why, plus it was our doctor's recommendation ... one of the embryos looked pretty good with very little fragmentation; however, the other three weren't growing as well, so nobody's quite sure what's going to happen there ... by putting all 4 back, it increased the chances of even one of them implanting because they continue to get growth factors from each other ... the odds of all 4 implanting are extremely slim, but we could still land on the cover of "Good Housekeeping" or whatever and be looking for someone to donate a 16-passenger van because we had quadruplets ... you just never know ... oh, one more thing: the pregnancy test is December 7 ...

Deja Vu

ok, embryo transfer will be tomorrow morning at 8:30 ... little embryos still growing ... will know more about them tomorrow ...

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting

many apologies for absence here ... had stomach virus for the majority of last week but do have IVF Update: had egg retrieval on Thanksgiving Day, where 16 eggs were retrieved, 6 of which were mature, and 4 of which went on to fertilize (compared to only 1 fertilized egg last time) ... still watching and waiting but embryo transfer likely to be Sunday or Tuesday ... will know for sure tomorrow ...