It's getting closer...

The end of school was such a whirlwind of activity that I cannot believe that it is already June 12th! Time seems to fly without school going on...which can be both good and bad! We had a crazy last week of school with the addition of Luke Kemp Pritchard being brought into this world on May 31st! We were blessed to have Kortney, Kyndall, Brian, and Laura all stay with us at some point during the last week of school while we welcomed Mr. Luke into the world!

Luke Kemp Pritchard

Things were crazy for all of us trying to get finals taken care of, classrooms cleaned, and everything packed for our big trip to Florida. We left the Saturday that school got out and headed to Springtown to watch Jordan as the flower girl in "Uncle" Josh's wedding. She did great and the wedding was amazing!

Derek and Jaxson at Josh's wedding

The next day we rested up and packed two cars full to the brim to get ready to head to Florida. We decided to drive through the night to give the babies a chance to sleep. The drive went really smoothly and we were thrilled to enjoy a great vacation in Destin. Mom and Dad rented a house that was a 5 minute walk to the beach and we spent our days playing in the sand, ocean, and in the pool. It was the perfect vacation to shake off a crazy school year and help us to relax a little bit before we begin the in-vitro process.

The beach crew

We love Destin



Dinner out in Florida

So where are we on in-vitro??? It shocks me how close we are to actually beginning this process. This has been on our thoughts and minds since November of 2010 and I cannot believe that it is actually here. During the month of May, I had about 10 vials of blood drawn to test for everything imaginable before we could begin. Since everything came out normal, we got the green light to begin taking birth control pills. I am scheduled to take my last pill on Monday and then we will head to San Antonio next Friday, June 22nd, for my first sonogram and bloodwork. If everything looks good, we begin injections the following day and get to come home to be monitored the following week. As of right now, it is looking like the extraction and transfer will be around the first week of July, but I've been told the schedule could very well change at any point. So pretty much everything is getting started next Friday.

Deep breath in...deep breath out...

This process is so overwhelming and exciting at the same point that it is very hard to describe how I feel about it all:

I am so excited that we are finally here after such a long wait.
I'm nervous about the process, because the whole thing is unknown.
I'm scared about the needles and shots and worried about how I will handle it all.
I'm hopeful that this process will work and we will be blessed beyond belief in the coming year.
I'm thankful for the partner I have beside me that will be here with me every step of the way.
I'm blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who lift us up daily in prayer.
I'm joyful that I have a Lord who loves me enough to wrap me in his arms daily.
I am confident that God is working in our lives and will be glorified throughout this process.

More than anything at this point, I'm coveting the prayers of everyone around us. I believe that God will meet us here in this place and walk with us through the valley of the unknown. God knows the desires of our hearts and knows how greatly we long for the blessing of children in our lives. We ask that in the weeks to come, you join with us in this journey by lifting us up in prayers for peace, comfort, and strength. We know that our precious babies will be the most prayed for and loved babies before they are even here. We love you!



Dinner in New Orleans

DELIGHT yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the DESIRES of your HEART! Psalm 37:4