GOOD NEWS

I passed my Basi written final exam. I was anxious to take it as I hadn't studied as much as I would have liked to. The past two weeks were crazy with mothers day, my birthday, my girlfriend shavon's birthday, a wedding and some not so fun news from the doctor I had my mind full. It is such a relief to have the test done and over with so now I can spend more time focusing on the exercises and observation (and my house cleaning).

So, as you could imagine Mothers Day was NOT my favorite day. I don't have my mama here to celebrate and I haven't been able to BE a mama. I wish so badly I could have had one of the mothers days back with my mom, I would have done something spectacular for her to show her how special she was. But, we can't go back in time... we can only learn from the past. It's a good reminder to be grateful for all those around us. I was so in awe of my gma, she has a couple years of experience on me... but, she managed to keep a smile on her face all mothers day long. I hope I can grow up to be more and more like her. :) Positive Pat!

I'm sure you are all wondering where we are at with our infertility treatments. We have had one more failed iui that we kept a secret because it was so sad to tell people that it didn't work the first time. We had an appointment last week with the Dr. to re-group and get a new game plan. She informed us that the left tube is damaged and recommended that we remove the tube completely.  As far as we know (ultrasound & dye test) the left tube is the tube that is affected and the right tube remains open. We will find out when we go in for surgery on June 6th to remove it. We are a little (me) nervous for the surgery. I have came a LONG way with getting poked by needles and what not so... I should be fine

Tomorrow we celebrate my sweet husbands 32nd birthday. I'm so grateful to have him by my side. In honor of Caleb here are 32 things I LOVE about him. (no particular order)

32. He makes the best eggs on toast.
31. He has great fashion sense
30. He likes to get scared by me (or he tolerates my pranks)
29. He loves movies.
28. He loves the EMMA cat now a days
27. He is supportive and sweet.
26. He leads us in prayer at night and makes sure we are connected to God.
25. He is the most talented speaker I know.
24. He writes the sweetest cards to me.
23. He can sweet talk anyone (comes in handy when we are in a bind!)
22. He is a constant learner.
21. He likes to play volleyball
20. He He always has time to listen to others peoples problems and offers support.
19. He is freaking HANDSOME.
18. He is a silly goose
17. He appreciates everything I cook for him, even if it is just warmed up left-overs!
16. He is sensitive to his surroundings.
15. He helps me get the heavy comforter over my shoulders at night.
14. He wakes up happy.
13. He helps me study.
12. He is a fantastic writer.
11. He loves chips and salsa and margaritas
10. He loves to giggle and make me giggle.
9. He holds my hand and makes sure I know I'm loved.
8. He moved to Washington to help me take care of my mom.
7. He knows everyone who works at Masa by name and their life story.
6. He wears his smile and fancy designer jeans everywhere he goes.
5. He has learned how to be a good friend to people... so everyone loves him.
4. He is leads by example.. I learn from him daily.
3. He makes me want to be a better person.
2. He is my bestest friend
1. I just love him. love love love him.

the end.

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter everyone!

We have had such a busy couple of months over here in the Anderson home! I began my Basi Pilates Comprehensive training in March and it has been a whirlwind ever since. I am already certified in that Mat portion of the course, so that is a review for me. (thank goodness!) But I'm learning all of the equipment now which is so fun, but also a lot of work!  Along with the training I have to get in 200 hours of observation, 200 hours of teaching, and 200 practical hours... So, while I'm not at the tides... you can find me at the studio! At the end of the course we have a written exam, 10 page paper... AND dum da da dummmmm..... I get to fly down and test out in front of Rael Isacowitz, founder of Basi Pilates. I'm only slightly intimidated! Either way I'm loving the course and all the time I get to dedicate to pilates in this season of life. If you are interested in trying out Pilates let me know... Right now I'm an intern at the Pilates Body and a private with me is only 20$, such a great deal!

Caleb helped me pull weeds and plant flowers yesterday and the day before.. What wonderful weather we had, I worked outside until it got too dark. We planted carrots, corn, melons, sunflowers, bachelor buttons, sweet peas, hydrangeas, johnny jump ups, snapdragons. All my favorites! I sure hope they grow. Emma wasn't much help, but she did come out and roll around in the sun... Pretty cute. She wont go outside if it isn't warm enough for her (such a kitty princess!)

No huge Easter plans this year. We went to church this morning and are hoping to see my brother this afternoon. Gma pat had knee surgery this past week, so she will be laying low.

In Church this morning they talked about the third day... When Jesus rose from the dead and offered us hope in the midst of trial. So even when our world seems depressing and awful, remember there is always a third day! I'm so grateful for the third-day!

I hope you have a wonderful Easter...
Hilly

Acupuncture

OH BOY! I loved my acupuncture meeting! I went to acupuncture northwest in downtown tacoma. They specialize in infertility... The girls sat with me before the needles to ask me lots of thoughtful questions about my medical history. Then I just laid down on a table (like a massage table) and she began inserting the needles in my back...Crazy thing is it did NOT hurt, but my back decided to spasm every time she came near me with a needle. I couldn't get my back to just be still. It was the strangest thing. She said she has seen people react like that before, so i guess i don't feel too bad. then she left the room while i took a nice little nap under the heat lamp.  AND that was it! It was like a spa treatment really!  They gave me some light reading to learn about chinese medicine and fertility. (just 350 pages, no biggie) They also gave me a list of foods to eat and foods to stay away from. Mainly she told me to cut out my coffee habit (WHAT???) I'm not too surprised, just bummed! I just love the taste of coffee (and lets face it milk) she said it wasnt just the caffeine in the coffee but the coffee bean itself, so that means no decaf either.

IF anyone has ever been interested in acupuncture, but nervous about it... GIVE IT A GO! I loved my experience.

Pilates

It's official, I signed up for the Basi Pilates comprehensive course. I am super excited and at the same time a little nervous! I did the Mat portion of the course last year and found it challenging... but WONDERFUL. Lianne who teaches the course is simply put, amazing! She is very knowledgeable and I am confident that I will learn so much from her. AND GUESS WHAT???  The certification  is here in the harbor, at the studio I already work at! The course begins in March and am excited that two of my friends will be taking the course with me.

I won't be leaving the tides right away. (I still love my tides family!!!) It will take me time to get certified and ready to be teaching. But, my goal is to be making more money teaching pilates then the tides. I will get there! But, I also know that it will take time and hard work. I'm prepared for it!

As far as baby making goes... We are taking this month off from SRM, We will reconnect with them in march or april. Next week I have an appointment with an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility. Also, I am taking lots of wonderful supplements and fish oil. We are still hopeful that baby will happen soon!

more later!
hil

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