The last several months.. what a roller coaster they have been

The last several months have been a roller coaster of emotions and events. 

Lets start with the kids(Josh, Brea, and Jeremy), shortly after the last post the kids returned to their mother and moved to TN. The toll of having the kids on a day in day out bases was very hard on all of us. I thought that I would be able to handle it all. Turns out I(we) bit off more than I could chew. While some days were great and wonderful; other days were very hard and trying both physically and mentally. Their mother wanted them back and did what was required for her to do in order to get them back. The day that the kids were reunited with their mother was very bittersweet for us but they were very happy to see their mother and she was excited to see them. Now all we can do for them is pray and that is what I do every night. They deserve so much in life and I hope they get it all. 



Now for the IVF process.. Boy oh boy!!! Well, I completed my medications and went in for the egg extraction on 9/6/12. They extracted 19 eggs, most all were of good size. The next day we got a phone call saying that 13 of the 19 eggs were mature and 11 of the 13 eggs fertilized. We now had to wait for them to get to blastocystic stage(which takes about 3 to 5 days) so we could send them off for genetic testing. A few days later we got a call saying that none of the embryos were at blastocystic stage so there would not be a fresh transfer that week. We were really discouraged and upset; we really thought that everything was looking great but as we know we can make plans but only God has the real blue prints of our lives. The next day we received another call saying that 6 of the 11 embryos grew to the size they like to see them and the others just weren't growing. They sent the 6 off to have genetic testing down. In doing the genetic testing we found out that 3 of the 6 were perfectly normal and had no genetic defects. However, the other 3 were abnormal and unsafe to transfer. We were very delighted to hear that we had three healthy "babies" and even learned the gender of them. We were told we had 2 girls and 1 boy. How awesome is that- well it was great to know until we realized we had to choose or let the doctor choose what we would transfer. What parent gets to pick the sex of their child? That just didn't seem fair but it was an awesome feeling to know that we had three "babies" that were waiting to be transferred. We had a couple weeks to decide and trust me we took all of that time talking about it and weighing our options. Draw a number out of a hat, take a poll, let Jade pick, let the doctor pick, or just make a decision on our own. I wanted a baby no matter the gender, Bill the same but really wanted a boy to carry the name on and to have a football buddy, Jade wanted a sister because they have cuter stuff to buy; so yeah I was the deciding factor. So, I asked several people what number they would chose: 1,6, or 7?  Most people including Jade picked the number 6. So six it was! Number six is the only boy. Bill has super happy I agreed to have a boy, Jade was not so happy about it but is coming around to the idea. I told her that I have her and that I didn't want her to have to share all her girlishness with a sister.  On October 8, we transferred the boy and prayed for 10 days that the transfer took. On October 18 I went in for a blood test to confirm I was pregnant. 


Prayers answered I set here today typing away on my blog at FIVE WEEKS pregnant :D with baby boy, we have named William Owyn. I am still hoping I can talk Bill into adding another name, cause I like different and Jade has four names as well. Who know if it will happen but for now William Owyn is his name and he is due to be here on June 26, 2013 and we could not be happier.  We go on November 7th to hear his heart beat and make sure everything is progressing like it should.  

While all this is happening my baby girl started playing volleyball and is very good at it. She also turned 13, yes I said THIRTEEN!!!! I can not believe I am a mother of a 13 year old girl and pregnant with a baby boy! For Jade's birthday I woke her up like any other day, she came into my room were I had her a birthday outfit and several hair styling tools. She seemed really happy with all she got, then I sent her off to school(which she was not to happy about). Around 10 am I surprised her by checking her out of school and taking her on a girly day full of surprises. First stop was at Phase2 to get her hair "did"; she dye the underneath blue and got highlights throughout the top. Next stop was Claire's, where she got a second hole pierced in her ears; then we went to Belk, where she got a make-up make over and picked out a couple make-up items. Then off to dinner at
 Ol' Charley's (her request)where The Evans', Nana, Bill, and SueSue were there to celebrate with  us. It was a nice supper. Oh and Bill gave her a special present just from him- a bear and an opal and pink diamond ring from Kay's Jeweler; which she loved. 

Until next time- remember life is what you make it and what you pray for. 

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH PRAYER AND FAITH!

Tough days, Good days and a lot of HOPE

As of today we have been a house hold of 6 people and 5 animals for 2 months and 3 days. Man, have things been tough around here.  I have taken and been to more doctors appointments within the last 2 months than I think I have been to in my life. Over the last couple months we went to the beach,  started school (all four kids),been to many doctor visits and been waist deep in IVF medications. We have also celebrated Joshua's 5th birthday and Brea's 4th(which is today); as well as dealt with a stomach bug.
  

On August 8th Joshua and Jade started school. :D Both were very excited and nervous on their first day.  My baby girl is a beautiful 7th grader; which does not seem real. She has a good group of teachers and really seems to be enjoying school so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way. She is playing the oboe for the JR High Band.  Joshua started kindergarten. He really likes his teachers and playing outside on their big "play park."

On August 14th Brea Ann and Jeremy started Pre-School at First Baptist . Brea is in K4. She really likes her teachers, class mates, and painting. Everyday she says she paints "foot with toes." Jeremy is in the K2 program. He really likes going to play with all his new little friends. He is the biggest two year in all the 2 year old classes and even bigger than some of the three year old. They both seem to be learning a lot of new songs and lots of manners. :D Brea is learning to write her ABC's and her name.

Of course we had to get the little things taken care of before school started but first we "needed" a get-a-way. So we joined my mother and step-father on the beach in Panama City Beach, Fl. 

The kids really love looking for sea shells and playing in the sand.  Jade even dedicated her love to her favorite band at the moment (One Direction) with sand.  We even ate at Pineapple Willy's. Jade and I got to enjoy a walk on the beach while watching the sun set. That was an awesome moment to get to share with my daughter. It really is all about the little things in life. <3




After we returned home from the beach, we got hair cuts at Zany's in Newnan. Brea set in a pink doodle bug as Mrs. Crystal cut off 6 inches of her hair. Joshua and Jeremy both set in Thomas the Train while they were getting their new do's. Joshua want a"lay down  but Mohawk do".  Jeremy got a big boy hair cut. I think they look a lot better with their fresh new do's. Maybe not the best smiles from the kids in this picture but I promise they had a great time and really like their new hair styles. :D


My first doctors visit with ALL FOUR KIDS was ok. They all set very quietly in the waiting room for what seemed like FOREVER (1.5 hours) and did really well when we finally got in to see the doctor. We found out Joshua had a sponge in his nose that was cause him to have terribly nasty breath. Lord only knows how long it had been up there. We also confirmed that he has ADHD and possible OCD(we go to another dr starting in October about that and other issues). Jeremy on the other hand was healthy as a horse and was in the 95% of both weight and height for his age. He is a big boy. He does have a wandering eye that we will need to get looked in a couple weeks. Hopefully glasses will help with that but will not know what the doctor will do for it until we get in to see him. One Day at a time and one doctors appointment at a time. Brea is suppose to go in on September 4th for her 4 year old check up and we will know all about her health and all then. 

This past Sunday (8/26/12) we celebrated Joshua (8/21) and Brea's (8/29)Birthday. The Evans', the White's, my mother, stepfather, mamow and papow were all here to join the celebration. We played in the sprinkler, jumped on the trampoline and played on the swing set. We also had cake, ice cream and open present. Brea got two baby dolls, a my little pony, bubbles and a bike. Joshua got a fire truck, lighting McQueen car, bubbles, workbooks, a bike, and some work truck. 

 And then there is the IVF process...As of today I am on day 6 of all the hormones medication. In total there are 4 shots that I have to take nightly. As you can see from the picture there is a lot. I went to the doctor on the 20th, which is when I was originally suppose to start all the hormone shots, only to find out that my body was not ready for them but I had a total of 9 egg sacks. I returned on the 24th, did more blood work, waited for the results and the results were great. So, I started all the injections that night. I returned to the doctor on the 28th to see the progress of egg growth- they found a total of 12 egg sack. 9 of the 12 are growing nicely; right now the largest is like 7mm. Doc. says they will grow to about 18mm before they extract them. He upped my dose of one medications and added a blood thinner injection to my list of medications. So, if everything goes as hoped the egg extraction will take place on Wednesday(9/5) or Thursday (9/6) and three to five day following that they will do the implantation. 12 days after that will know if the process worked.  
Prayers and good thoughts all the way to the end. 

Romans 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Crazy Indeed!!!

Well, there has been a lot that has happened since school let out. Where to start?

I had a follow up appointment for all the fertility issues on July 3rd. At that appointment, I had more blood drawn and talked to the doctor. He was VERY pleased with the amount of weight I have lost (18 lbs at that point) and said that we could start getting my hormones and body ready for a round of in-vitro.  This was very exciting to Bill, Jade and myself. According to the doctor we will be pregnant with in 6 to 8 weeks. Dr. Perloe said that we had a 35 to 40% chance of conceiving on the first try. :D   Those are very good odds for us.
 So, we are looking forward to completing the journey--with the hopes and faith that we will complete it with a new bundle of joy. Happy thoughts and prayers!

And then the crazy hit the fan... crazy things happened in my extended family and because of it Bill, Jade and I decide that if the youngest children within this family needed a home we would open ours to them. Well, just as Bill and I thought would happen, the mother emailed me to ask me if I would take custody of the children.  We agreed and now we are a family of 6 humans(Bill, Jena, Jade 12, Joshua 4 ,Brea 3 , Jeremy 2), 3 dogs, 1 cat and 1 guinea pig. Our house is quite full. Before you even think to ask-- Yes, we are still going through with in-vitro!!
We are not sure how long we will have the children but we know at least a year. Joshua will be 5 August 21 and starting Kindergarten on August 8th. We are trying to get Brea, who will be 4 August 29, into Pre-K as well.

At one point last week I had 5 children in my home 24 hours a day for 3 days.  Talk about CRAZY! Jade is doing great with the kids in the house; she just wants to be mother hen and very controlling. She wants to teach them like I have taught her. We are still working on that, but over all, she is awesome.  We are only 1 week into our temporary custody; although it has gone pretty well, it has also being trying and overwhelming. However, we have gotten the children in a pretty good routine and sleep habits are starting to get better; which means sleep for me :D. That, I am very happy about!





Joshua- Age 4 above
Brea Ann-Age 3 Above right
Jeremy-Age 2 right


Joshua is a helper! He loves to make sure everything is in its place and all the lights are cut off.

Brea is a bubbly little thing with lots of facial expressions. You definitely know what she is thinking. She is also very loving.

Jeremy is a rambunctious two year old. Always looking for something to get into. As bad as he can be he is also a very sweet and loving child. Oh boy, does he have a smile that will melt your heart.







Outside in the new pool, just big enough to splash and jump around in. 7/15/12

Enjoying a little sprinkler fun out front. This was before we got the pool. Every kids needs sunshine, water and smiles on a hot summer day.  Boy oh boy, do they sleep well after hours outside in the water.














That about catches you up on MY CRAZY WORLD! I will try my best to keep you all informed on the process of in-vitro, as well as my life as a mother of 4 kids.









Matthew 6:34 Jesus said, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall worry about its own matters. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

School is out and Summer is in!

Jade is officially out of school and was promoted to the 7th grade with Honor Roll status (A's and B's). I couldn't be prouder. She worked really hard over the last year and learned a lot of life lessons in 6th grade. So, needless to say we are all glad the school year is over.







We started summer with a bang...


A trip to Disney! 

 Well,not just any trip to Disney but mine, Jade, and Payton's first trip to Disney. We spent 5 days and 4 night enjoying, soaking up and being amazed by all the magical ways of Disney. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort on Disney and had the best room. It was a Pirates of the Caribbean room; deck out with pirate ships as beds, pirate flag as a curtain and boxes and barrels as dressers. Oh and a pool area that was just amazing. 

 


          

While at Disney we, like most people, turned into kids. It was a wonderful experience that we will always remember.  I got to meet my favorite characters, such as the Mad Hatter and Sitch. Jade was able to ride Dumbo, which has been her favorite Disney movie since she was around 6 months old. Bill enjoyed the beauty and magic of Main Street and Payton, well, he enjoyed all the girls; as well as all the fast, scary, dark and frighting rides at each park. 

 As, you can see through the few pictures I have posted we had a very magical time at Disney. After leaving Disney we went to Bill's Great Aunt Ellen and Uncle Rick's house, where Jade, Payton and I got to meet Bill's Uncle and cousins for the first time. The Shelley Clan are a bunch of great people, who welcomed us with a smile and a hug. We all enjoyed their company and homes a great deal. While there we got to experience their farmer's market, where Rachel's sister sale her homemade bread, jams, salsa and lots of other tasty items. We also let all the children enjoy Danny and Rachel's pool at their old house and afterward had a shrimp boil at their new home. It was great seeing all the kids get alone so well. In all there were 6 kids; 4 boys, ranging in age of 5 to 12(Gavin5,Ryan 8, Riley 10 and Payton 12) and the 2 girls (Jade and Kaila, both 12). 

Vacation was wonderful but now we are back to reality: doctor's appointments, camps and keeping up with everything, while keeping the kids entertained. 


 Happy Summer Break Y'ALL!
 

The Game Plan or should I say the Changed Plan

Where to start... Our visit with Dr. Perloe was exhausting!! There was a lot of information that was thrown at us in a very short amount of time. Lets start with we have to drive 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to his office, through Atlanta traffic (HORRIBLE on a good day is putting it mildly).  Any how, so we get there and we find out to start that the only way we will be able to conceive will be through IVF(In Vitro Fertilization). What a blow!  That really hurt both Bill and I... We knew that it was a possibility but never really gave it a lot of thought. We had hope for at most an IUI (Intrauterine insemination). Those dreams shattered and we only had a moment to move on from there. We find out that there was a lot more to the "wrong" factor than we could have ever thought.  On Bill's side his swimmers are not 100%; only 1% of his swimmers were what they called "Good, usable" swimmers. This would be the main reason for only being able to do IVF to conceive. 

One would think that the story stopped there but Noooooo. We still have to talk about ME, ugh, not a good subject.  In all the tests that were done we found out that I have A LOT wrong with me (more than just the obvious,lol).  My blood work showed that I am a "per-diabetic", my thyroid levels are high, cholesterol levels is a smidge high, and my ALT (Ala nine transaminase /liver enzyme) is also high. On top of that through my genetic blood work they found that I am a carrier of Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency(disorder that may cause lung disease and liver disease) and Factor V Leiden thrombophilia (disorder of blood clotting). 

To give you the over view that my doctor gave me: 

Insulin level was a 150.2, should be less than 50

C-reactive protein was 3.94, should be less than 3.00

ALT (Liver)was 78, should be less than 40

LDL Cholesterol was 101, should be less than 100

TSH(Thyroid) was 6.18, should be less than 3.00 

As you can tell there is a lot going on with me... A lot of which I would have never known if we weren't referred to a specialist. Bill and I both are very thankful that we found all these things out now. If all these things were to go untreated I would most likely developed heart disease, liver failure, and full blown diabetes. Not to mention that PCOS in and of itself causes heart and gum diseases, obesity, serve acne, etc.    

So, now I have a little pharmacy of my own.

From this day forward I have take metformin for diabetes, Levothroxine for thyroid, aspirin for Factor V disorder, fish oil for cholesterol, Prenatal Vitamins, Juice Plus Vitamins, Omega 3 and keep track of my BBT.  

So, our game plan for now is to get me 100% healthy through medications, changing my eating(diet) and exercise.  I have to go back in 1 month for follow up for the ALT and then again in 2 months for a overall follow up. At that point we will know whether we will be able start IVF or if we have to continue to get my health up to par. So until then I will be working hard on getting healthy and emotionally dealing with all that is happening and that will happen.   And Bill will be seeing a different urologist to get a second opinion on the results of his past surgery, and to see if there may be something else that can be done.  

Opening the door to infertility

Finally got a call from the  Reproductive specializes office today. After almost four weeks of lots of blood work and more test we will be going in for "The Game Plan" meeting on Tuesday, May 2. 


As I told you in the welcoming post we started our journey with the reproductive specialist on April 4. On that day we  met with Dr. Preloe; a doctor who specializes in patients with PCOS(Polycystic ovary syndrome ). He really seems to be a good person and a doctor who 
really knows his stuff. At our first visit he told us that I would have to change my way of eating
 for the rest of my life. I have been put on, what I like to call, a cave man diet. Lean meats, Low 
Carbs and gluten free foods. Being on this type of diet I will be at less risk of diabetes, heart 
problems and obesity. Which in my eyes are all good things. However, I must say I miss my 
cakes, pasta and cookies.  This girl LOVES to bake but there will not be a lot of that around here
 anymore. I also have to work out 5 days a week and most likely be put of a medication call
metformin. I believe all these things are a small price to pay in order to expand our family. I 
know God will bless us in his time. However, I also know that if I don't work for it I will not
receive it. 


In my blog I would also like to open the door to talking about infertility.  There are a lot of 
women and men in the world that have fertility issues and are suffering in silence. This topic is
somewhat a "HUSH HUSH" subject and I would like more people to open up about it. I 
personally struggle a lot with all my emotions. I know there are other people in the world that
struggle as well. We just do not know where to turn.  After a lot of research about PCOS I have
came across a  blog and a website for people that have some of the same things going on as I do.
However, I find myself holding back when it comes to engaging in the topic. Why? Well a lot of it
is the worry of people judging. As women it is our job to conceive and carry a baby-- then love,
care for and raise those children. Some days I feel like I have failed at this job because I am 
unable to conceive... again. I know a lot of people are probably thinking, "You should be happy
with what you got". Yes, I have a daughter,whom I am very grateful to God for. I thank him
everyday for my miracle. After learning what I have (PCOS), that is what she is. I should not
have ever gotten pregnant and knowing that makes me love her so much more and be that 
much more thankful for her. I do not want anyone to think this is a "oh poor, Jena" type of blog 
because I do not want pity from anyone. I do not pity myself nor my situation.  I simply want to
OPEN the door and get people talking and praying for those who are out there that desperately
want children and are unable to conceive naturally or at all. 


Life is hard when you know you have a whole in your heart and sole, where you 
know a child should be.   


Here are the links to the website and blog I was referring to above. Also if you click on the bold 
underline words Polycystic ovary syndrome and the word infertility in third paragraph you can 
learn what it is.


http://bridgetobaby.com

http://pcosdiva.com


This is a picture that the PCOS Diva posted on Facebook.. Found it to fit my though.

Jade

JADE 

Life with Jade is simply amazing!

                Jade is now 12.5 years old, 5'4" , 93.4 lbs and the prettiest young lady in the world. I may be a little partial but she is a wonderful daughter and a beautiful human being. 

She made it to middle school and has done great. 6th grade will never be the same again. She was inducted to the JR Beta Club on my birthday, February 28, 2012 and has managed to stay on the Honor Roll all year long. I am a proud mom, there is no doubt!!!