The results are in...

...In the form of good old faithful "auntie flow." (That's code for I got me period yesterday.) No pregnancy. I was rather devastated yesterday, as everything was looking so hopeful. The nurse had called in the middle of the week explaining how great the procedure went and that she was pretty positive that it would work.

The procedure itself wasn't very painful... but that night I woke up at 3am and could not fall back asleep due to the cramping. For the next week I was crampy (varied from really bad to manageable)  and exhausted... probably due to the hormones/new procedure. I'm not sure what we will do from here... It took quite a bit out of me last time, so we'll see. We appreciate all the prayers and support.  We are doing our best to stay hopeful in our journey, which ever direction that may be. 

It's scary sharing this journey with everyone, and some responses are unintentionally disheartening. (Infertility is a hard topic and isn't openly talked about much.) But we love our friends. We're grateful for your support. And we especially love supportive, funny, and kind messages encouraging us on our journey :)

P.S. if you are the fairy that weeded my yard yesterday please tell me so i can thank you... it was a nice surprise when I came home. If no one will claim it, I'm going to say my mama did it :)

The big day

Yesterday, Caleb and I had an appointment to see how my body was responding to the clomid. The doctor was pleased with my reaction to clomid, and said that the "conditions were perfect" I had eggs maturing on the right side (left side is the damaged tube side) If we had eggs developing on the left side we would have to wait until the next cycle and start over.

We chose to get the hcg shot which forces ovulation. They gave it to me before I left yesterday.. THIS morning caleb and i each had our appointments. I received the iui around 10:45. It wasn't too painful... still not my favorite. Now we just wait and see. Please pray that it works!


In other baby news... I had the pleasure of meeting my brand new niece Hallie Jane yesterday. She is my sister Andrea's new daughter. She was just perfect. I loved getting to hold her. It's still hard to say who she looks like.... i guess time will tell.

Thanks so much for reading and your support.

"chewables" and other medicines.

Long time no write. I have been busy with the holiday season, I have neglected to blog! Christmas was wonderful... Still missing my mom, but was wonderful. Caleb got me a beautiful necklace with a "K" for kimi on it. I haven't taken it off yet! :) I got him... Wait for it... A ROOMBA! Yes, a robot that vacuums for you. I thought it was the perfect gift, He loves clean floors and hates to vacuum. AND, I dont have to vacuum either! DONE. Best gift ever. Right before Christmas hit, Caleb's book arrived... A BOOK HE WROTE! YEAH, he's a flippin' published author nowadays! The book is called "Chewables"-40 simple practical inspirational readings for your overall health. I'm so proud of him, and the book. He is a very gifted communicator, both in speaking and writing.  Books are available at Chewablesbook.com. You should check out the website either way, Caleb updates almost daily with new writings!

After Christmas we headed down to Arizona to visit Caleb's parents. We had a wonderful time with them. They are so generous and sweet to us. We got back last week, just in time for....
Clomid (medicine that helps the fertility process along) Yep, Caleb, me and our medical team are moving forward in baby-making. Although it seems less romantic when you involve doctors and what not. Next week its our first and hopefully last IUI attempt. I dont believe I get any more vicodin though... which is too bad, that made the experience so much better last time! Please be praying for a successful Doctor's visit next week. Lots of love and health
Hilary

12.21 Kimi's Birthday

12.21 Winter solstice and my sweet mama's birthday. Although she isn't here anymore, we still celebrate her. I hosted dinner for the first time at my house in honor of her tonight. It went wonderfully. Although, my guests weren't too picky (family).

I haven't blogged in a while and a LOT has happened...

First, Caleb released his book Chewables! A real LEGIT book! We are sooo excited about it. I am currently functioning as his manager, president of the fan club, and also head of security. Chewables is a book of 40 daily inspirations for a healthier body, heart, mind and spirit. He wrote it with the ymca in mind but it has had a broad appeal (especially chapter 31 starring yours truly). I attached a link to amazon, if you are interested in purchasing your very own Chewables book :)

http://www.amazon.com/CHEWABLES-Days-Overall-Healthier-YOU/dp/145073748X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292992541&sr=8-2

Second, My dad came for a visit! He drove over from Wenatchee, toolbox and all. For Christmas he hung up our TV. Which, was no easy task. He was outside in the rain AND under the house crawling around...  4 snowcaps later and a few bad words.. MY TV was hung and the wires were all hiding! :) BEST Christmas present ever!

Third, We went into our next infertility appt. and due to my damaged tube we decided to start clomid... Which will help me ovulate a little more frequently.  We will begin that next cycle in hopes that it will work. The doctor told us that for a normal couple their chance of getting pregnant is 20% any given month. A couple that has been unsuccessful after 1 year has a 5% chance each month of getting pregnant. Pretty interesting huh?

Fourth I hosted the second annual Christmas cookie party in honor of my mom. My sweet cousin Ally came by to help me make cookies before the party. When she arrived she said, I brought some music to listen to. At first i was apprehensive as i was so content with my Christmas music... But i was so happy with her selection. The first couple songs were just nice and mellow. But the third song, was "have I told you lately... That I love you?" It was a song my mother always sang to me as a child. I even wrote that line on the Christmas cookie box i made for my mom years ago. I'm sure ally didn't know about the song connection. And I had to hide my tears from her! It felt like a secret hug from my mom. She was there with us! The party was incredible by the way. My auntie Cindy and Friend Shavon came early to help me set up. LOTS of friends stopped through!


That's all for now, Merry CHRISTMAS!

Hil

Good News and Giggles

So.... this is Caleb, writing for my wife, Hilary, who is curled up in a Vicodin hangover. We went to the Tacoma branch of the Seattle Infertility Clinic early today for an exam - checking out Hil's "tubes." The outcome was just about as good as we could have hoped. While one of the tubes doesn't seem to be working properly, it doesn't need surgery. It's NOT a case of hydrosalpinx. It's just a less-than-perfect tube. The other tube seems to be working just fine. So we have reason to believe that a natural pregnancy is still possible. Hurray!

So, you know how much fun Hil is, right? I mean, all the time... She's a giggle-maker. Well, especially when she's hopped up on meds. She's been extra-hilarious. I'm thinking about producing an internet show, "Hil says the darnedest things."

Example: After the exam, Hil was feeling a little nauseous. Attentive, the nurse left the room and entered again a minute later with a cup of water. "Hilary, here is some water for you," she said sweetly. "Oh...thanks," Hil started, "but do you think I could have some juice?" And a danish, Hil? the nurse went to the staff refrigerator and poured her some strawberry lemonade.

So, we're excited about the good news from the exam. And we're laughing at silly Hilly. Thanks for reading, thanks for caring. And you can bet that Hil will keep you up-to-date, right here. Stay tuned :)

Christmas cleaning

WELP, Jodi the quilter just left with all my mothers fabric. (TEAR, pause, breathe.) I made a quilt for my sister Andrea's baby that is due in January and Jodi is going to quilt it for me. I called her yesterday and asked if she could come and get the quilt and oh... by the way would you like some of my mothers scrap fabric Jodi?  She said yes, she would love it. She would use it in her classes and what is left over she would take to the angel guild. She didn't know what she was saying yes to, 4 bins full of fat quarters, scraps and some bigger pieces as well. She was so sweet to take it all away. I'm glad that it will be used and kimi's fabric will be circulating homes in the harbor in some way. She was incredible that mother of mine. She did so much, so many quilts and project. Some unfinished that I will work on. 

I finally came to terms with the fact that I just couldn't possible use all of my mothers fabric, and it just wasn't my style. So I rummaged through all the fabric and paired it down to this...

Mixed in with all of her fabric was love notes from when I was little. Or note pads with insanely long lists on them and at the top it would say TODO Monday. She would undoubtedly have everything crossed off her list. Made for a teary start to my day yesterday. My auntie Karen came around 1, just in the nick of time. She was there to help my cut the binding for the baby quilt, but ended up cleaning up the sewing room with me. It's not finished, but its WAY better.

I want to recover that couch... on the todo list. And unlike my mother, when I say i want to recover that couch, i am NOT implying that I will be doing it. I will have someone else do it :) Anyway, after Karen and I finished upstairs we came down and worked on my kitchen. If you remember, when I had just gotten married my mother flew down to Arizona right before she was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and helped me re-organize my kitchen. Well here we are two years later and her sister was doing the same thing for me. We pulled everything out and put it back in. Two garbage cans full of old spices and odds and ends. She even "attacked" my stove top. What a sweet Auntie. It has been tough entering into Kimi's season again this year. It seems as though we are all feeling sad. I may have jumped the gun and put up Christmas at our house last week but, I like love Christmastime. So many incredible memories from when I was young. I have the stockings hung... Caleb, me, Kimi and Emma cat

My mom made mine and her stockings... Karen made Emma cats. And Kimi had started Caleb's but hadn't finished. Last year my grandma finished it and surprised us with it for Christmas. She hadn't told me that she was working on it. She went to the yarn shop and they helped her finish it. It took grandma and yarn-shop angels a while to figure out where kimi left off. We will treasure our stockings forever.

Tomorrow Caleb and I finally have our second appointment to find out more information on my hydrosalpinx situation. We will be praying that it is just blocking the one side, not the other... And that it's treatable and we can still get pregnant naturally. That would be great! We will update when we find out. 

Merry Christmas.

Play dough and PKU

A week and a half ago, My mother-in-law called and asked if I would be interested in flying to Chicago (Wheaton to be exact) to assist her take care of Lucy, JT, and Eli (Caleb's brother's kids). I checked my schedule and sure enough, I could make it work. So, 5 days later I was on a flight to Chi-town getting ready to surprise my nieces and nephews. I told Kimberly and Josh (My in-laws... PS, i hate the word in-law... it sounds so judicial) to keep my arrival a secret, i really wanted to surprise them. Gina (mother in law, Caleb's mom, marriage mama) and I arrived and grabbed a cab to the house... Our cab driver wasn't the most friendly taxi-driver I have ever met. He wanted NOTHING to do with us! He pretended like he didn't speak English when we asked him if he could swing through a McDonald's/anything we were starving but, managed to understand directions perfectly! Strange huh? Anyway, I had him drop me off a block away, then I walked up for my grand entrance. I pictured in my head kids squealing AUNTIE HILLY... big hugs all around, tickle fights... NOT SO MUCH! I got a scared look out of the kids and a timid hug, Maybe they weren't even sure who I was?! After about an hour of so, they warmed up. I did have to prove my coolness with some doll-playing/play dough/coloring/whatever they asked me to do! :)

Josh and Kimberly took their newborn Ruby with them to Baltimore, which left the other 3 for Gina and I to play with. Ruby was absolutely precious.

She was born with PKU as well as their 3rd child Eli. PKU (phenylketonuria), in its classic form, is a rare, inherited metabolic disease that results in mental retardation and other neurological problems when treatment is not started within the first few weeks of life. When treatment is begun early and well-maintained, affected children can expect normal development and a normal life span. only treatment is a very strict diet that limits the amino acid, phenylalanine. What does that mean for Eli and Ruby??? It means these brave little ones get a blood test weekly that their mother administers and sends away to doctors to be monitored. The "treatment" is a diet.

Diet. The diet for the most severe form of PKU, called classic PKU, eliminates all of the very high protein foods since all protein contains phenylalanine. This means that all concentrated sources of protein must be eliminated from the diet in order to limit the amount of phenylalanine. Except in rare circumstances, the diet does not allow consumption of meat, fish, poultry, milk, eggs, cheese, ice cream, legumes, nuts, or many products containing regular flour.
A synthetic formula is used as a nutritional substitute for the eliminated foods. This formula is very expensive.
The diet is supplemented with special low protein foods and weighed or measured amounts of fruits, vegetables and some grain products. These foods are allowed in quantities that suit the individual child's tolerance for phenylalanine; some can have fairly liberal diets and still maintain good control of blood phe, while others must have a very strict diet.

So, you can imagine now why Gina wanted my help with the kids. Three kids is hard enough, now we had to do this pku thing. Sweet Eli is so great, and for the most part drank all his "milk" for us and the food that we gave him. We made it just above 200mg of phenylalanine almost every day which was our goal. Lucy and JT of course know the diet well and were very helpful coaching Gina and I on the diet. Can you imagine a day in the life of sweet Kimberly? Four kids under the age of 5,  Two with a very demanding disease. Did I mention that her husband and JT are gluten intolerant!? Talk about WONDER WOMAN! I am so in awe of her! :) We really did just have the best time. I cried leaving the kids, they are so precious.

Grateful for family and airplanes.