A message of thanks.

Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!

There are so many people that have had a huge impact on Miles and me throughout the past 3 years.  Ultimately, we thank the Lord for all of the blessings in our lives.  Not just our recent fertility success, but everything we have is because of Him.  Next to Him, our families have been nothing but constant rocks to lean on, and for that we are forever grateful.  Although, for the most part, no one in our families could relate to our struggles (my mother, who I'm pretty sure was the original "fertile myrtle," least of all.), they were our backbone and strength.  With both last minute ectopic surgeries, my family left work and was in Fort Worth as soon as they could get here.  Miles's mother left work and came to be with him at the hospital while I was in surgery (my first surgery was the first day back to school after Christmas break, so for my dad, the AD, and Miles's mom, the Principal, it was pretty inconvenient timing).  It's these things and these people that, without knowing their impact, helped us through the bad times.

My original desire to post our story stemmed from the idea that I could be as helpful to others as those in my support system were to me.  It's definitely not something Miles and I frequently discussed sharing with the world (Facebook, the world... same difference), so there was a lot of back and forth before I ultimately decided to post the link to my blog.  A lot of the back and forth was in my own head - I mean, seriously, it took me 3 days of adding the pic, typing and deleting it all before I finally posted the picture of Hambone just announcing the pregnancy! Yes, 3 days.  And that didn't even touch on the personal aspects that would be discussed in the blog.   Now, clearly, not many people read my blog normally, so I knew if anyone was going to read it, I'd have to post the link on Facebook.  I get annoyed on a daily basis at the things that some people feel are necessary to share with EVERYONE on Facebook, so normally I don't get real personal with my posts.  And I know what y'all are thinking, the incessant pictures of us at Rangers games all summer are annoying too, but give me a break people I had to find some way to pass the time between all the damn doctors' visits!  And I wanted to do something with pants on okay!? :)  Alright, so I seem to have moved off topic, so let me hope back on track...

Apart from family and a few friends, once we started with the fertility doctor, we kept our struggle relatively private.  However, once you know of people who have been through the fertility process, you inevitably have to talk about it.  We owe a lifetime of thanks to the close friends and confidantes that had previously been through a similar ordeal and, thus, served as my go-to gals.  

Although Miles and I decided we were okay with going public, those who helped me through this time weren't/aren't so open with their struggles, so I won't name them specifically, but you ladies know who you are!  Without you girls, I would've been straight-jacketed and thrown in the crazy house a long time ago.  Having people in your life who can relate to your struggles is essential when you are dealing with something that is completely out of your hands.  Whether it's to put you back on the straight and narrow when you've fallen off track emotionally, or if it's their success story that keeps you going, or even when they are just there for you on the many days you just need a good laugh, these friends are vital to your sanity.  Laughing is key.  Laughing is necessary.  Laughing can actually come very easy when you have billions of humiliating doctor's office stories to share.  Oh the stories.  The MANY, MANY stories.  But that's for another day, another blog. :)

And just so anyone reading this knows, of the 3 main girls that helped me through all of this, Miles and my road to pregnancy has been the EASIEST.  I feel so guilty reading all of your kind comments and messages, because I know so many others go through so much more than what Miles and I did.  Not that infertility is a competition, but knowing couples personally who have dealt with years of issues and years of sadness, and continue to deal with that during our time of happiness, I realize that our success story came much easier than others.  Someday, I'm gonna throw a celebratory bash for all my infertile friends.  Someday when we all have success stories to share!  Stay tuned.

My friends/co-workers at AMS have been unbelievable for the past two years.  There were 3 new girls coaches that started last year, and I was the only one left who had been there before.  They picked me up every time I fell, and they covered for me more times than I can count when I had to miss practices, games, and multiples days of work.  I am so grateful that God put these gals in my life and that they have been so kind and compassionate in my time of need.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my Milesy.  Without Miles's support, his positivity, his confidence and his kindness, I would've lost hope many times.  I also would probably be in rehab (me likey the wine a little too much for infertility), but only if Miles dropped me off since I can hardly do anything without his help.  I give him such a hard time, but he truly is my other half.  He takes the brunt of my over-stimulated wrath, especially since 2011, and he still loves me unconditionally.  Many men would not want their wives discussing their "reproductive issues" so openly, which is completely understandable.  Trust me folks, ain't nothin wrong with his swimmers, it was all me that just refused to cooperate. :)  Miles saw how important it was to me to share our story in hopes of helping others deal with this mess, so he never hesitated to be on board.  I love him, I love him, I LOVE him.  This experience, although excruciatingly painful in many ways, has brought Miles and I so much closer, and our relationship has benefitted in unimaginable ways.  God sure knew what He was doing April 7, 2006, and I'll be forever grateful that day panned out the way it did!

I have lived on cloud 9 since we posted our news and received all of the overwhelming positive feedback.  I am grateful and humbled and so blessed, and I will continue to pray for the same blessings and success that we are currently experiencing for all of my friends dealing with this bitch we call infertility.