Hey y'all!!  (My Mom would die!!)  She just finished giving me an extensive grammar refresher a few days ago, at my request.  She is a teacher and her specialties are english and writing.  She is SO good at what she does!  Mom, I promise I know that "y'all" is not proper grammar, but it is just so fun to say--so for that reason, I do let it slide once in a while.  :) If that is the worst thing that comes from me living in the South, I think we'll be doing pretty good!  At least I'm not flying the confederate flag in my front yard....yet.  You and I both know that I will always be a Nebraska girl at heart!

Speaking of my Mom--she and I are alike in a lot of ways!  One of those ways is that we both have a tendency to lay in bed with all kinds of thoughts running through our heads when we should be sleeping.  Tonight was one of those nights, and when it became apparent that I would not be falling asleep anytime soon, I decided to get up and come give my lovely blog readers and update!

Back on Jan. 29th, I wrote a post which stated how Corey and I were praying for wisdom about upcoming decisions that we needed to make.  We ended up deciding to do a lower dose of Clomid, and also do our 1st IUI procedure!  We both felt confident that those were the right decisions.  I love when we are on the same page!!! I took the Clomid on days 5-9 of my cycle, as usual.  Then, on day 14 of my cycle, I had a ultrasound of my ovaries to see how many follicles I had developing.  Just to remind you, last month we had zero and the month before we had six mature follicles.  The goal is to have between 1-3 follicles measuring between 10-22mm.  We were very excited this month when my ultrasound showed 2 mature follicles--one on each side!  One measured 18mm and the other measured 20mm.  Woo Hoo!! That night Corey had to gave me what they call a "trigger shot" of HCG.  The goal of that is to help trigger ovulation about 36-40 hours after it is given. I was quite nervous about him giving me the shot because being a dentist, he only gives shots in the mouth...not in the rear. Totally different ball game if you ask me.  After about 15 minutes of panic and him beginning to lose patience with me, I finally mustered up the courage to let him do it.  He did a good job and I survived! So 36 hours later, (Sunday morning at 8 a.m.), we arrived at the doctor's office. After the sperm was washed, it was placed in syringe with a long, skinny catheter on it.  The doctor threaded the catheter through my cervix and into my uterus where he injected the sperm.  It was very quick and virtually painless!  The whole thing only lasted about 30 seconds.  He then elevated the bottom of the bed so my hips were propped up and I layed there for about 30 minutes.  Corey was right next to me the whole time.  The next day I began taking progesterone twice daily, just like I do every other month after I ovulate.  I will take that until I either A) reach 14 weeks of pregnancy, or B) start my period, which would confirm that I'm not pregnant.

So now we are right in the middle of the hardest part...the waiting.  The "we could possibly be pregnant but we're trying not to get our hopes up too much" phase.  Luckily we have kept pretty busy and somewhat distracted, although it is almost always in the back of our minds.  But the first week has gone by relatively quickly.  We know and trust that everything is truly in God's hands!  Whether of not Corey's sperm fertilize either of my eggs and then implant safely into my uterus is completely according to His will.  He is the Creator of life and we believe in His infinite power and ability to answer our prayers.  Those answers may not come when or how we imagined, but we continue to seek after Him in obedience and love, knowing He only desires what is best for us.

This verse has been on my mind a lot lately....

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-8

I need to just keep repeating this verse over and over in my head multiple times a day. I love the thought of having my heart and mind guarded by the peace of God, rather than my heart and mind being constantly attacked by fear or anxiety.  Only by His grace.

There is one last thing I want to say before I crawl back into bed. Several of our family members and friends have been an incredible source of support and encouragement--and I cannot tell you how very grateful we are.  Thanks for being there for us on this crazy journey! And for those of you who don't know us well or at all, but are still praying for us-- thank you!!  I appreciate every single one of those prayers.  I sincerely hope that somehow, someday, we can bless each one of you in some way!