Ultrasound January 27, 2010

Lisa and I went in yesterday afternoon for another ultrasound. The news was great! She is further along than we thought 10 weeks 4 days. Also, the baby flipped backward on the screen when Dr. Slocumb moved the probe. It was freakin awesome! Another great suprise was getting to hear the heartbeat. It sounds fast!!! What does that mean? HEAR IT BELOW!!!!

Ducks!!!! MLK

Dad, Perry, Branden, Nicholas and I took off to Arkansas on January 16th. We hunted 2 1/2 days and ended up with 40 ducks and 3 geese. One of the gems of the trip was a banded duck shot on the second day - shot by yours truly. It was a great time and great fellowship (of course with awesome wine!! Thanks Nicholas).

We're Pregnant!!!

We still can't believe it but it's true... WE'RE PREGNANT!!! Here's one of the first pictures of our "Little Lee"



Back in October, we decided after two rounds of medicine with the doctor here in Macon without getting pregnant that we would just take a break. We decided we'd enjoy the rest of 2009 and maybe start trying again in 2010. However, the Lord had different plans for us! One Sunday in mid December I was sitting in church and I got an all to familiar feeling of nausea. I didn't think too much about it because it was happening the month after I used the medicine and sometimes that made me sick. But after all afternoon of steady nausea, I started to think maybe, just maybe, I was pregnant????

David and I decided to take a test that afternoon and I quickly looked at it and said no. But David looked at it and told me to come look more closely - there were two pink lines!!! David and I couldn't believe it!! We didn't know if we should cry, laugh, scream, pray.... so we decided the best thing to do was take another test! David went straight to Walgreen's down the road and bought the most expensive test and came straight home. Right away we saw two pink lines!! We're definitely pregnant!!

We really couldn't believe it so we took Belle on a walk around the neighborhood to let it all soak in. We're having a baby!! After we got back, we put a little tshirt on Belle and took her around town. She wasn't too sure what was going on but she was a good sport!



I think our families were just as surprised and excited as us! Over the next week, I went to the doctor three times to check my hcg levels and they were perfect! They almost doubled every other day which is right on track. So we were set up with an ultrasound for December 28. We had a wonderful Christmas and when we went for the ultrasound, we saw a beautiful baby with a heartbeat! Our baby was still very small, only 3.7mm, but we were already in love! The doctor actually said he thought the baby's heart probably just started beating in the past day or two. So we went home full of joy, a little less nervous and very excited about the next nine months!

Two weeks later we headed back to the doctor and our baby had grown a lot! Our baby was now 13.7mm with a strong steady heartbeat of 171 beats per minute!! We were so excited!! We were also officially released from the specialist doctor and we are now able to schedule an appointment with our regular OB! The doctor told us everything was measuring perfect and our chance of miscarriage was down to 5%, which is as good as it gets. We are so excited and so thankful for answered prayers!!

Races and Vacations

We have been busy since our last post! No good news on trying to get pregnant yet, but we are enjoying this time in our lives while we wait! David has finished an adventure race in Macon...



a sprint triathlon in Macon...








an Olympic distance triathlon in Mexico Beach, FL...








and we have been to Mexico to celebrate our fifth anniversary!!








David booked a surprise trip to a place in Playa del Carmen and we had the most amazing time!!! It was so nice to get away from everything in Macon and spend some time alone! It really was perfect!!



Here is our sweet Belle!! She loves being on the beach and she loves fishing trips!!!

Trying...

So a month has passed and here we are. I started taking the new medicine on Sunday and so far it's going pretty good. We are scheduled to go back to the doctor this Saturday to see how my body is responding to the medicine. We are so anxious!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we wait and as we start the exciting part of making a baby!! :)

In phase!!...out of phase!

We had our last endometrial biopsy on June 12 after trying a new combination of medicine. We were hopeful but when we got to the doctor, he told us he was doubtful this new combination would make me "in phase". We kept our hopes high though and waited the long wait to find out the results. Four days later, the nurse called to tell me the best news - I was in phase!! I couldn't believe it!! I was so excited and I could barely talk when I called David to tell him the news. It was the best feeling!! The nurse told me to call her as soon as I started my period and then we could make plans to "try" next month. So we headed down to the beach with our bags packed and the biggest smiles on our faces. I don't really think we slept that night, we were so happy to have this news!
Well, all that changed on Wednesday! I called the nurse to tell her I had started and we hit the beach with Belle. Late Wednesday afternnon, I get a call from the nurse and she tells me that because I didn't start until Wednesday that it changed everything. I felt crushed! We were so disappointed!! Honestly, I think the nurse was almost as disappointed as we were. But she explained that on Friday, I was "in phase" for that point in my cycle but that I should start by Sunday. I don't really understand all the details really but the bottom line is the medicine didn't do what it should have and we'll have to try something different.
The strong disappointment and discouragement seemed to fade over the next few days. I recently met with the nurse to discuss our next options. We decided to take a break from things this month and next month I will start taking injectable medicines. This medicine does increase your risk for multiples and we are praying we will be blessed with some twins!!! The good thing is that we can try next month and I don't have to do anymore biopsies! Yay!!
This process has been so emotional with so many ups and downs but we find our comfort and our only real hope in the Lord. He alone gives us peace and offers us everlasting hope that doesn't ever disappoint!!!!

Abby's Wedding

David's little sister, Abby, got married to Brandon Locke on April 25th at First Presbyterian Church in Macon. She was a beautiful bride!!! This is one of my favorites of Abby getting ready:

Here's a sweet picture of Abby with her mom:

Another sweet one, this time Abby with her dad:

Here's Abby with David and Perry:

Abby and Lisa:


And finally, Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Locke:

Check out more of these great pictures from the best photographer I know:
www.jennyevelynphoto.com