Year in Review and New Year Announcement

We would like to welcome new followers to our blog and also thank everyone for their support through this last year. It was a busy one! Last year at this time, Amanda and I found out that our best chance for achieving pregnancy was through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). It was not the answer to our infertility that we had hoped to hear, but it has allowed us to grow closer as we've faced this challenge together. We would like to highlight what we have done with your help since last December:

• We sent out our Christmas newsletter informing our family and friends that we were infertile and would need IVF to have children. This was not the easiest thing to do, but it has allowed us to share our burden and have it lightened with your help.
• My grandma contacted us, after receiving our December 2010 newsletter, with a newspaper article about a couple who had held fundraisers to pay for their own IVF procedure.
• We contacted this couple, Allen and Jill, asking for advice on how to get a fundraiser started. Jill informed us that she had started an organization called Pound the Pavement for Parenthood and this organization would like to sponsor us for an upcoming 5K race. We couldn't have been more surprised and thrilled! Jill, her team, our families and friends helped us successfully run and raise funds for our IVF. They have helped us more than we can describe and not just through financial support. It's been a great help to Amanda and me to read about Jill's own experience with IVF on her blog.
• Amanda's sisters and co-worker helped us start this blog to try and sell homemade items for our IVF. Since that time we have been blessed by many dear friends, family members, and strangers who have purchased our products and also helped sponsor us with other fundraisers: Get Outdoor Expo booth, bake sale, two Scentsy fundraisers, Gnomeo Movie Night, Cards for a Cause, and a Fall Boutique. This blog now also serves as a journal of the impact infertility continues to have on our lives and the lives of others.
• In July, we contacted Fertility Lifelines to purchase our medications. This wonderful organization has a charity medication program and we were able to receive full medication through them for our first IVF cycle at no charge.
• In August, we had our first IVF attempt. Unfortunately, it failed.....but we did not give up hope.
• This month, Amanda and I have worked out the financial details with our clinic so we can begin our next IVF cycle! We are excited to announce on this blog post that today will be the first day we begin our second IVF round. We begin birth control tonight. Then, the Lupron shots begin on Sunday. We are thrilled to receive a second chance to have children. Interestingly enough, this IVF cycle will correspond with our five year anniversary.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers! Stay tuned for more information about our lastest IVF experience.