Prayers, coaches, and SHOTS

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming amount of prayers that have been lifted up during the past week on our behalf. We have not only felt them, but know that God has heard them. What a difference your prayers are making during this process. We have felt more at peace during the past week than at any other time during our married life. We know that God is in control and we know that He is hearing your prayers. We want to especially thank the amazing group of friends and family who loved on us and prayed for us before we left! Thursday night we were truly in the presence of God!

On Friday, we left at 6:00 am for our first sonogram and bloodwork in San Antonio. We took my parents along for the ride so that they could see the doctor's office and also because we were heading from the doctor to Coaches Outreach. As soon as we walked in the door, they rushed us to bloodwork, which I was very thankful for because it is my least favorite part! Afterwards, we had an ultrasound to check for any cysts. If there were cysts, we would not be able to move forward with IVF until they were gone. Thankfully, the ultrasound and bloodwork were both fine, so we got the green light to move forward with our shots! Our lovely nurse spent some time going over all of my medications with us and letting us practice loading the needles and shooting them in the trashcan! We also got a visit from Dr. Neal who went over the process for the next two weeks and what we could expect. I was really glad Mom and Dad were there, because they reaffirmed how happy we are with the doctors at San Antonio. They were both amazed at how willing everyone was to spend time with us and answer any question we had. We have truly been blessed by FCSA!!! Once we left the office, we got to go and write our BIG check to pay for the procedure! Everything is lined up for this week, and we have appointments here in San Angelo on Tuesday and Thursday to monitor my process. We are hoping to be growing lots of eggs that they can extract sometime the following week!

Me getting ready for my sonogram. Derek likes to take pictures to pass the time.
He also likes to pretend to be the doctor and play with all the supplies!

After our doctor's appointment, we headed to Kerrville for Coaches Outreach. Coaches Outreach is an organization that ministers to coaches and their spouses by offering marriage retreats. We have been going ever since we got married and did not want to miss this one due to IVF. We brought our medications with us, because I had to take my first shots on Saturday morning. Right now, I am taking two shots each morning, one that is in a pen-type thing with disposable tips, and one that I use a syringe to fill and inject. These shots have little needles and we are injecting them into my abdomen. I made the decision that I wanted to try and do these injections by myself. Somehow in my mind I thought it would hurt less if I was in control...ha! Plus, Derek will have to give me plenty of injections next week in my hip and then for the next three months, so I thought I would do these on my own.

Me about to give my first two shots!!! YIKES!

I have to stop here and tell you that I HATE needles. I have always gotten sick with shots and bloodwork in the past. I have passed out before and usually lay down with any type of needle!!! So for me to be about to give myself TWO injections was a HUGE thing for me. Saturday morning we woke up and Derek prepped the shots. I held the first one right above my stomach and then decided I didn't want to do it. I kinda cried out and Derek said to me..."just do it on three...one, two, THREE!!!" I screamed and poked it in my stomach and then pressed the medicine in. I was AMAZED at the fact that it did not hurt AT ALL!!! And I was thrilled that I actually did it! The shot from the pen did not go in as smoothly and I did not like it near as much as the other one. Afterwards, I laid on the bed and cried...ha! Derek told me how proud he was of me, which made me feel so good! I cannot believe how much God has provided in this area because there is NO WAY I could do that on my own. This morning, our shots went much more smoothly. I gave them both to myself with no crying, no screaming, and no pain. Praise God!

We were very blessed by our weekend at Coaches Outreach. God continues to amaze me at putting people in our lives who are there to show His love. We had a sweet couple in our group who had struggled with infertility and have two precious boys. They mentored us and prayed for us and were such a blessing to our hearts. We had other couples who encouraged and prayed for us and even supported us in ways that shocked us! God is SO GOOD!!! We are in AWE of his power and love for us during this journey.

I will update this on Tuesday when we hear back with our results. Right now we are praying for these eggs to develop so that they can be harvested and turn into healthy embryos. Also, keep us in your prayers as we continue our shot process! We love you!

"Consider it nothing but JOY when you fall into all sorts of TRIALS, because your know that the testing of your FAITH produces ENDURANCE." James 1:2-3