one year, again.

january
i don't remember much from january except getting the news that i had a giant cyst...oh yes, that's why you're in pain and not getting pregnant. that kind of thing. we got a dog, because i needed something small to cuddle.

february
i missed isats at work because i was out for a week from laproscopic surgery for my endometriosis and the cysts that came with it. i imagined the surgery would do the trick for my infertility. justin had to help me do everything for several weeks because it took so much out of me. you don't realize how much you use your abdominal muscles until someone cuts them up.

march
i lost my job at the march board meeting because of financial issues with the state. our friends took us out to eat and it really meant a lot.

april
i started clomid this month. it was interesting. it did not work the first time around (or the second, third, fourth, or fifth).

may
i handed out diplomas at the end of my first year of teaching. to say i was proud to make it through that year is an understatement. i felt really accomplished. justin and i went to st. louis for a night and had some nice away time. i got a text message from a coworker saying congratulations on getting my job back. i had no idea it was even going to be voted on, and i was thrilled.

june
we started remodeling the house. it was possibly one of the most insane ideas we ever had. i thought it would take a month. we tore out every bit of paneling and drywall in our living room and dining room. we took out the blown-in insulation and put in new insulation.

july
we were still remodeling. i cried because we were spending our free time on an air mattress in the living room floor because the furniture couldn't be moved back yet. my uncles hung the new drywall for us and we learned how to mud and tape drywall from the internet. it was literally step-by-step...what's next? let me check online. we painted the walls. we went for our orientation to learn about in vitro fertilization.

august
we bought new furniture for the new living room. the new school year began. i felt exponentially less overwhelmed and stressed - the second year made all the difference. we hit some serious bumps in the road in our decision making for ivf and did not do the ivf cycle. six months had passed since my surgery - it did not do the trick.

september
we were ready to start the ivf cycle. we ordered all of the medicines and prayed a lot.

october
i took more medicine and got more injections than i ever thought i would. 18 pills and i don't even know how many injections. i had my egg retrieval surgery on october 26. on october 27 we found out that we had a baby waiting on us in a little dish in st. louis. on october 29, we brought baby home with us. we prayed a LOT.

november
the progesterone injections continued from late october. i felt funny but didn't want to read into it. i took pregnancy tests to make sure the hcg injection was out of my system - and it was. one friday night in the shower, i felt funny pulling in my abdomen. two days later on november 7, i took a pregnancy test before church. the line was oh-so-faint, but it was there. i said, "justinnnnnn i think there's a line!" we bought first response tests to see a darker line, and there it was. we told everyone. that next friday we got the official blood test - pregnant. the next blood test said very pregnant.

december
december 1, we saw our baby's heartbeat. i thought it would never happen to us. now i am nauseous, tired, emotional, hormonal, popping hard candies left and right, gagging as i walk down the hall in the mornings - and even after school today. this sunday we will celebrate our third anniversary and our one-year-in-the-house-iversary. (yes, we moved on our anniversary - talk about a hot date haha.) christmas is more exciting this year.

it's been a crazy, amazing, totally unbelievable year.

next year starts off with a bang, a new sister-in-law and a 12-week appointment within four days - we look very forward to both. :)