Info Package has Arrived

We received our packet of information on Saturday. We were hoping for more detailed information regarding the how's, when's, where's and why's of our appointments and specifically for our upcoming orientation but unfortunately none of that information was in the packet. I guess I will have to make another phone call to WR to ask where we go for orientation and what time it starts (kind of important information to have :-) ). It did however, contain a list of of blood work that is required and other medical documentation that they want before they will fully accept us into the program. Most we have already completed, I just have to get the notes from my last annual check up and I had to get a few more blood test on Friday ( I think that brings me close to 30). I have become such a familiar face at the lab they know me by name now. It is very imbalanced in how much info/documentation they want on the female partner and how little they require for the male (boys have it so easy) :-). It is all worth it though. The other documents that were in our info pack were five different consent forms that we will have to sign during the orientation basically they are not claiming any responsibility for what happens either way, nothing really out of the ordinary. We got all of our reservations made and will be staying at Bolling AFB for just $40.00 a night, you cant beat that for DC. It will be a bit more of a drive then if we have been able to stay at Bethesda Naval Station, but they were booked and twice as expensive so it will all work out, plus I am kind of partial to AF facilities. We made plans to meet up with one of my former bosses from Wright-Patt, for dinner one of the nights we are in town. She was very instrumental in helping me prepare my application package for OTS so it will be a treat to see her and her husband again. Her husband is an USAFA grad so he has that in common with Chad. It should be a very fun trip. Not sure how much sight seeing we will get in as we are flying in on Mon Aug 6 and flying out Wed Aug 8 (1 day before our 4th anniversary) and of course we will be doing our appointments on the 7th. The orientation itself is 4 hours long. We will be sure to scope it out and make plans for our sight seeing for our future trips. Anyone who has been to DC that has recommendations for us, please pass them our way. I know both sets of parents have been there...any suggestions?

Until next time....

Hugs to all
C&G

HI HO, HI HO....

....it's off to DC we go!! Walter Reed called us during lunchtime to ask when we wanted to attend the program orientation, which is a requirement prior to actually getting into a cycle. Ecstatic for the call and progress, we're set for an 6-8 Aug trip to DC for the 7 Aug orientation. In addition, we'll be getting an information packet sometime next week which will spell out the process a little more....all of which will point us to a Jan or Feb cycle (we hope)....we'll know more in the next month or so. We're elated about getting going and fulfilling this requirement so we can move closer to the actual cycle....this is the first main milestone in the progress, and a big answer to continued prayers. With airline, rental car, and hotel reservations in hand, we're waiting to pack our suitcase and head to the capital. We'll be staying at Bethesda Naval Station, which is close to Walter Reed and will allow us to preview where we might stay during our two week trip there for the actual cycle. All in all, huge smiles here with this update and appointment.

Until the next post....His blessings be yours

In Him~ C&G

"Shih-Tzu Shout-out"

Hi everyone...it's Nash and Teebo on teh compooter...we just want to say that weeer wishin for wun or too little rompers (or romperettes) to chase us around and pull our tails...and maybee even give us some tabel scrapps...hope mom and dad down't seee that. And Uncle Bill...if u are reeding...what can we do for sum mor ribbb bones??!!??

Gotta go....dad is coming!

ARF N & T

"The Waiting Game"

Right now we're pursuing Walter Reed's IVF program. We have sent in our referral and are awaiting a packet of information that should be arriving to us sometime the week of 16 Jul. That will have the information we need to proceed for an orientation, which is required prior to us getting into an actual cycle. We are praying and aiming for an Aug orientation (they are avail on 7 and 21 Aug.) All along the way God has asked us to rely on patience and focus on Faith in knowing he has a plan for us....and we know He does!!

Sidenote of inspiration...check out the song at the following link...great message to us as we continue our journey towards holding a little one in our arms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ

Until the next post...love you all....C&G

Our Journey

After two long year of trying to conceive we are so excited to move towards a treatment that might actually work for us. Of course this would never be our choice but we will faithfully take the journey God has chosen for us. The past two years have been filled with much excitement and anticipation that eventually turned into frustration and a simple desire to understand why we are going through this. Not even sure until May of this year as to what the real issue was. I started feeling pretty foolish for separating from the Air Force after 12 years of service (maybe I should have waited until I actually had a child before making such a decision). But what's done is done, all we can do now is look forward. As the first year went by, I dismissed my fears as all the stats show that it can take up to a year even for those w/o fertility issues. Meanwhile we were flooded with one pregnancy announcement after another. At first it was really easy to find joy for others, believing that our turn was right around the corner, we just needed to be patient. We were constantly reminded that God's timing is perfect, and we wouldn't want it any other way. As the time went by it was harder and harder to hear other's good news, often for me it brought a new batch of tears and that ever nagging doubt and wondering why this seems to be so easy for others and is quickly turning into the greatest challenge of our lives. I will always remember sitting in the doctors office being told that IVF was our only option. We were in total disbelief. I was just thinking this man can not be telling me that I will never have children (at least not naturally). I truly thought that we were going to be told that everything was fine and he was going to put me back on Clomid (I had been on it for 2 previous cycles). All of our test up until this point came back normal and we were in the unexplained category, I thought for sure that we would continue to be "unexplained". Of all the things I thought could possibly be wrong with me I never dreamed it would come down to a blocked tube. Our diagnosis brought tremendous grief and very difficult decisions to be made. We had previously thought that we would not journey down the path of IVF, of course when we made that decision we thought we would have already been through several other treatments, we had no idea that this would be the only viable option for us. So we had to do some soul searching and figure out exactly what we wanted and what emotional roller coaster we wanted to hop on first, IVF or adoption. We decided that trying IVF first was what we needed to do. Those first few days were the most difficult. All I could do was thank God that I had Chad and for the wonderful man and husband he is. We did our best to comfort one another and gain some understanding of our situation. Only when we had begun to discuss the possibility of IVF did we find some new hope and found the strength to move on and accept it for what it is. I still struggle on a daily basis trying to find some meaning in this journey, still try to understand what seems to be such a disparity in life, knowing my only option is to accept it doesn't really make it any easier. Some days are better than others. I look forward to the day when they do our first embryo transfer as that will be the closest we have ever been to having a child. I know I will be a nervous wreck afterwards wondering if those little guys will implant and then if they will stick around for the 9 months that they are supposed to. I wonder if we will be one of the 35% that end up w/ twins or if it will be a single or at all. I wonder if we will be one of the couples that don't have any obvious problems but end up with poor quality embryo's. Poor quality embryo's = poor prognosis for pregnancy. Or will we have great embryo's and be able to take them to day 5 before transfer. Day 5 transfers have a 50% implantation rate vs. a day 3 transfer which has a 20% implantation rate. At this point only God knows the answers. In the mean time we will be praying very hard.

We feel very blessed to be able to share our journey with those we love and care about. Hopefully we will have a happy ending to share.

Love,
Gena (and Chad too) :-)

Welcome

Greetings from GA; we are glad you stopped by our blog...and
we encourage you to both check back with us often for new news
as well as to post comments and share with us. We are going to
profile our journey towards the miracle of life, sharing the latest
and highlighting what's ahead for us. Your support, prayers, thoughts
and love mean the world to us! Thanks for sharing in our journey.

In Him,

Chad, Gena, Nash and Teebo