Thanksgiving

Let the gluttony begin. Just Kidding, but let’s just say we will have our fair share of opportunities to have turkey and all the trimmings from now until . . . New Years! I am not complaining because yes it is a lot of traveling and a lot of eating, but most of all its opportunities to be with the crazy people we call our family. I feel blessed to live so close to both our parents and most of our extended families. Today I got to partake in my first Thanksgiving of the year with one of the classrooms I get to work in. The teachers are two of my favorite ladies and great friends. Sometimes I get tired of running in and out of schools, but they are a bright spot in my day. Some of the students had family eating lunch with them. We all went around the table and had to say what we are thankful for. Mostly everybody had similar answers: God, family, friends, a job. It was so nice to hear good things from people, even if I didn’t know most of them. One of the young ladies that visited the room got tears in her eyes. I don’t know her or her situation or why she got emotional but it just reminded me of how much people need friends and the feeling of family, even if it may not be a biological family. Over the past few months we have been so blessed by cards, texts, phone calls and messages. So, if there is ever any doubt if that effort matters-it does. Thanks and God Bless! Have a safe and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Negative

We got the call today, just not the one we wanted. I am not pregnant. Those are words that I have known before, but we haven’t ever been as hopeful as we were this time around. We are sad, disappointed and sort of numb, but we will get through this. My prayer has been throughout this process that if it wasn’t going to happen, I would know sooner rather than later, and earlier in the week I started having symptoms that are contrary to being pregnant. Dr. Slayden explained our options to us and none of them are great. He describes my condition as “greatly diminished ovarian function”. I was most likely born with it, and unfortunately there is not much we can do about it. So for now we are giving things a break. It will be nice to not have to worry about taking hormones or shots. We know that we have so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful to be married to my best friend who is my partner and a great support to me. Many guys would not be as supportive as Nate is; he has never been anything but loving and he is always my shoulder to cry on when I need one. We have such a supportive family and friends who love us. We feel the love and we appreciate it. I feel lucky to know how blessed I am if that makes sense. This is hard and it sucks-sorry Mama-but God is with us and will continue to be. One of my best friends shared this verse with us yesterday:

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Hebrews 3:14

What a comfort to know that God knows our struggles, and it may not always turn out as we want, but He is there with His arms around us. I do not understand why things turn out like they do, but that’s why I am not in control of things and God is. I am off for Fall Break for the next few days and Mom and I are headed to Stone Mountain for the Country Living Fair, Nate and Daddy are so sad they are missing out on this trip. We will also get to spend time with some good friends this weekend, so we have a lot to look forward to. Thanks for your prayers!

Although they are not the words we wanted to hear, I feel like this whole thing has brought Jess and I closer together ( If that is possible). I told Jess today that all I needed was her and although a child is important….if we don’t have one, it’s not the end of the world. I just want to say how proud of Jess I am for all that she has done. The poking and prodding, all the medicines she had to take and all the doctor’s visits she had to be at….she never complained once. She is such a strong Christian woman and I am very proud to call her my wife.

Countdown

Well tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow morning I go for bloodwork and we’ll have the results in the afternoon. It’s been a long two weeks, but now that it’s here it is bittersweet, because it’s almost been nice not knowing. We know we aren’t guaranteed anything, but we are praying for good news. I have felt great and almost wished I would have morning sickness or something to make me feel different. We have been at this point so many other times, but never with so much invested. So once again, we ask for your prayers for a positive pregnancy test tomorrow. Thanks for all the words of encouragement, they really do matter. I think I have posted this verse before, but it has brought me such comfort in the last few months, and I know it will continue to do so, because no matter what God is our CONSTANT comfort.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Little dumplins

We are hopefully home for good. Today our healthy embryos were implanted. We are finding out that nothing with me is easy, so a procedure that normally takes 15-20 minutes took 45 minutes to an hour. It was really amazing. Nate was in the room with me and we got to watch the embryos being implanted. Our God is amazing at how he creates life, and the fact that he has given Dr.’s the knowledge to do these procedures blows my mind. Afterwards Nate and I stopped for lunch and we got a minute to process everything. We were both very tired and just worn out. It’s almost like we have been holding our breath until this point and now we can breathe a sigh of relief. Our doctor assured us the hormones I am on are plenty to help maintain a pregnancy. It is hard not to be cautiously excited. We have been excited and hopeful so many times before, only to be disappointed. The only assurance we have is that God has gotten us through thus far and he will continue to do so. So for now, Nate is being a super freak and not letting me lift anything or strain myself. He even wants me to slow down my walking, which I think is really cute but unnecessary. So I’ll be lazy for the next two weeks and we’ll go for a pregnancy test on the 20^th. Until then we pray our embryos attach and grow to healthy babies! Good news about Mr. Nathan, he is feeling better and will hopefully be home by the weekend, we praise God for his healing thus far and pray he continues to improve. We feel like we need to make t-shirts for team baby Branch, because we have so many praying for us. It is a blessing and we thank each you and ask that you keep them coming!! This day is always a reminder of how precious life is, because 4 years ago today Nate’s step brother, Jay died. We remember him for his life and are thankful for the years he was here with us.

Nate: For me, actually watching the procedure really put things into perspective. I guess when you actually see the embryos being shot into your wife’s uterus it makes it real. It was amazing and I will never forget this day, as long as I live. I really want to praise God for giving us such a wonderful doctor. Dr. Slayden is really an amazing man. You can tell he actually cares about the outcome of what happens with us. He has talked us through everything from the beginning and before we left he made it a point to tell us that he thought we had a great chance of being pregnant. By him saying those words, it really made me feel at peace. I have been praying for so many things lately that I can’t remember half of them, but one that I have been praying everyday is that I would have peace with whatever came of this. I actually felt peace before we left the Dr.’s office today. Thanks again to Blair and Matt for putting up with us. And thanks to all our friends and family for all the prayers….they really are felt. Easy prayer this time……THAT WE ARE PREGNANT. One more prayer request. Please pray for Orrin, my mom and Mrs. Beth. Today was the day Jay had his accident 4 years ago. He is sorely missed. Thanks.

“So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD” Psalm 31:24

Prayers and Praises

We got great news today, both of our eggs fertilized. So tomorrow morning we'll go for implantation, they will implant both embryos and we'll be praying for healthy babies. Today was overwhelming and exciting. It feels like we've been running a race and we're close to the finish line. We still have a few hurdles ahead of us. I will continue to be on hormones due to my low levels, so please pray that my hormone levels remain high enough to maintain the pregnancy. As we were driving to Atlanta today Nate and I were sharing how blessed we feel and how God has been with us each step of the way. We know we still have a lot of unknowns ahead of us, but our confidence remains in God. Please continue to pray for Mr. Nathan as well. We do not take a single prayer for granted, we covet each one.

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1

Two is better than none

We are home for a few days, we hope. Egg retrieval went well. I even survived anesthesia without getting sick for the first time ever. I was most worried about the ride home after anesthesia, but it was fine. I am not feeling 100% but hopefully by tomorrow I will. As of today the doctor told us they were able to get two eggs. We were hoping for more to freeze, but two is better than none! The doctor should be calling us tomorrow to let us know the eggs fertilized successfully. Nate has taken great care of me as usual and kept me entertained today. Thanks to all our friends and family for the calls, texts and the yummy chicken pot pie Tara! Mr. Nathan (Nate’s dad) had surgery yesterday to repair his colon. He is in a lot of pain and they are having some trouble getting his pain medication right, so ya’ll please pray for him and Mrs. Karen both. We should be headed back to Atlanta by the end of the week. Please pray for mature embryos and successful implantation. We know the peace we have is a gift from God, along with your prayers. It’s such a blessing to know all of this is out of our hands and in God’s.

Home again, home again jiggety jig

Well after almost 900 miles in the car this weekend, we are home! I took what I hope is my last shot at 9 p.m. tonight and that will trigger the eggs to release. We will head back up to Atlanta tomorrow afternoon. Egg retrieval will be Tuesday morning. The procedure should only take about 30 minutes. So, once I recover from the anesthesia, we’ll head back home. It will depend on how the embryos mature as to when we will head back for the implantation; but they usually implant 3-5 days after retrieval. Please pray for safe travels, healthy eggs and no negative side effects. Also, thanks again to Matt and Blair for letting us crash at their apartment all this time. It’s been a blessing.