God Gave Me You

"God Gave Me You"

So, for a week now I've been trying to think of just the right words for a blog post.  It just hit me tonight to start with using a song as a jumping point.  "God Gave Me You" was a song that I found on one of my infertility inspiration pages.  While it perfectly applies to Joe, I can also relate it to the friends and family that we have had support us for the past five years.  God really has given us people to get through the ups and downs.  We have such a great support system, and hopefully each of you know how we appreciate the love, support, and prayers.

This year I switched positions and now teach resource at Allen with special needs preschool in the afternoon.  While I love my big munchkins, I have really enjoyed going down to preschool and being with the little ones.  Our little ones are mostly working on speech and language, but we have some that have more obstacles ahead of them.  A week ago, Pat and I were set up for a day of preschool screening.  This wasn't my first day of screenings, so I wasn't really expecting such an emotional day.  We met two little ones that really stood out as miracles for surviving the challenges they face.  After the kiddos had gone for the day, I stopped to think about what these little guys face day to day and was a little overwhelmed.  Having a cold, being tired of giving tests, or not having any Diet Coke seem like laughable worries when you stop and think of the medical and physical issues that some little ones are faced with daily.  It's so easy to get caught up in the busy day to day stress of life and forget to take time to be thankful for everything you do have.

Infertility doesn't seem like something you would be thankful for, but yet I have to be thankful.  Through the ups & downs, hope & heartbreak, tests and procedures Joe has always been there for me, and hopefully I've been there for him.  Having gone through so much in expanding our family has brought the two of us together as a couple.  I have faith that our journey will help us to always remember to be thankful and appreciate the blessings we have currently and will have!

Here's the gist...be thankful and appreciate the blessings that you have!

Joe's still working on demolishing the middle bedroom, and thankfully Acuity testing is finished with the big munchkins!  There's nothing much else to report.  I will get my TSH checked again in a week, and we will see if Dr. Bopp changes medicine again or just keeps an eye on things.  There won't be any major news with the IVF journey until April when we get updated testing.  Until then, we just have to keep positive, have faith, and take our vitamins!

Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sarah & Joe

We were lucky to spend the long weekend up north with PJ, Kevin, the Flora family, and Buzz & Linda.  Joe and Kevin got fitted for their tuxes, and then we were off to Chicago.  It was frigid, but I give props to Joe for finding the sign for Giuliana and Bill’s new restaurant!  Now, we know where we have to go.  J  We met Linda and Buzz at Maggiano’s.  Yummo!  Joe made dinner for all of us on Sunday and we enjoyed being Aunt Joey and Uncle Sarah.

Tuesday I received a special treat!  Grandma Ross mailed me three bracelets that she’d made at church.  They are perfect…faith, hope, Jeremiah 29:11!  Her church group makes them, and they came with a card.  It has the Serenity Prayer on it and that it was made especially for me by Gramma.  J  Knowing that we have the love and prayers of our family and friends as we embark on our journey this year means so much!

While I’ve been testing away in Munchkin Land, Joe has a new project.  Our middle bedroom needs some updating.  Joe is taking down the plaster walls, and is going to work on the electrical wiring, the walls, and carpet. 

That’s really all to report from the Jones’ front.  I’m eating fresh fruits and veggies (not cooked of course) and Joe is taking his vitamins.  We’re taking steps to get us ready!  We hope that you have a wonderful week, and know how much we appreciate all of you!  Don't forget to check out www.illraceforthefamily.com and join us this June!

Love, Joe & Sarah

Race for the Family

The Cade Foundation Illinois Race for the Family, hosted by the Fertility Centers of Illinois,  is a 5k run/walk, a 1 mile Family Fun Walk and  Savannah's Playground, a free outside festival for children and their parents/caregivers. Race for the Family is a heart warming event that that raises money to help infertile couples in become loving parents! This year is the  first year for the Cade Foundation Illinois Race for the Family and Savannah’s Playground. Our goal is to raise $50,000 for this years event.  Sign up today and help support families OVERCOMING infertility!

Date: Saturday June 23, 2012
Time: 8AM until 11AM.
Location: Busse Woods Park

“By partnering with the Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI), we expect our fundraising efforts and the philanthropic support we can therefore provide midwest infertile families to grow exponentially,”said Camille Hammond, physician and co founder of the Cade Foundation.“We look forward to increasing our education focused programming to underserved infertile midwestern families and to being able to communicate our message of hope and empowerment through FCI's vast networks of past patients, current patients,and partners."

To register visit us at http://illraceforthefamily.eventbrite.com

Need more information?  Visit us online at www.illraceforthefamily.com orwww.cadefoundation.org or call us at 312-765-7880.  Together we are OVERCOMING infertility! 

Game Plan

We met with Dr. Bopp on Wednesday, and he was excited that we had received the Cade Grant and eager to help make IVF a reality for us.  I went to our appointment with my list of questions and concerns…pretty organized and prepared for Sarah!  The biggest issue to discuss was money.  We needed concrete numbers to plan ahead financially.  We came up with the facts and figures we needed to know.  Dr. Bopp is going to also try and provide some samples for medication, which will be a huge help.  Our IVF is slightly more since we are using a procedure called ICSI.  Rather than put the egg and swimmer in a dish, ICSI allows them to directly put the sperm in the egg…increasing our chances even more. 

Other than money, timing was another concern.  Part of me was hoping as soon as we could pay for our portion, we’d rock and roll.  I’ve got sick days and was ready to use them.  What I hadn’t really thought about was the stress of getting sub plans ready, travelling back and forth from Carmel to Marion to Muncie, and the joys of standardized testing that come in the spring, IVF during the school year may not be the best choice.  I tend to get excited and want to get ahead of myself, but that’s where Joe comes in…with the common sense!  Dr. Bopp and Allison (his primary nurse) also agreed that IVF during the summer would just be the best time for us…less stress, less germs, and time to get things ready.

We have to have some initial screenings and blood work done, and we’ll start that in April.  This gives us time to work on healthier habits and take all of our vitamins!  Before Christmas, I had my TSH checked and am still waiting for the results.  We will keep a close eye on these thyroid levels between now and IVF.  Dr. Bopp wants my TSH between 1-2, so Dr. Orrell will help adjust and keep an eye on that. 

Timing is everything when you’re dealing with fertility, so we shall see when exactly our IVF will begin this summer.  The Cade Foundation is having a Race for the Family in Chicago on June 23, and we’ve already been planning to get friends and family together for that event.  Stacie and I are hoping to have a Fertili-Wine before all the testing and shots start…a great way to celebrate and raise money for the Cade Foundation. J

I still am wearing our blue bracelet from the banquet lunch.  “Cade Foundation…Overcoming Infertility” has worn off, but I still keep it on as a constant reminder of the blessing that we have received.  Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated, so having a visual cue reminding me to be thankful comes in handy. 

In other non-IVF related news, Joe received his letter from Ivy Tech that his diploma will be in the mail soon!  He finished up with all A’s.  Woohoo! 

We may not update the blog every week, but we will try to just so everyone that wants to can keep up to date with the Jones’ Journey!  Thanks for the continued love, support, and prayers.  We are so thankful for our friends and family that are always there for us.  At the banquet, there were couples sharing their family and friends had no clue what they had been going through in trying to have a family.  It just made us sad, but thankful for the support system we do have!

Love, Sarah & Joe

Thoughts on the way to DC

by Sarah Jones on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 8:24pm On the plane, I used my phone to write out our story to share at the banquet...but ended up just sharing from the heart.  I didn't want to just delete what I'd written so I'm sharing it with Facebook.  :)       About five years ago, I was excited and figured within a few months I'd be pregnant and we'd be on our way to building our family.  About 6 months of hope and heartbreak, I was starting to worry a little.  After Waiting a typical year before seeing the OB and starting down the tangled road of infertility treatments.  With each test, procedure, Clomid and IUI we rode the ups of hope and optimism coming back to disappointment and frustration.  Working in a high poverty school, anger began to surface when I saw others getting pregnant, having five kids, and not being able to support the ones they kept having.  While I love working with at risk kids, it made the angry phase of infertility pretty tough.  Joe was always patient and comforting, letting me vent, cry, yell...whatever needed done.  As I was learning about what possibilities could be in our future, I found out that Stacie had received some grant and was going through fertility, too.  A relief came in realizing we weren't alone or freaks of nature because we couldn't get pregnant on our own.  The infertility forum Stacie and Nick held was when I really learned about the Cade foundation and what a blessing it was to people in our same boat.  We met with Dr. Bopp, and came up with a new plan...shots and IUI.  While the thought of needles scared me, I figured it couldn't be worse than the Clomid crazy! Being a teacher, we decided to embark on this adventure during summer when I was less stressed and wouldn't be in tense teacher mode.  Two cycles with no luck, it was back to school again.  Teaching kids with emotional disabilities was emotionally and physically draining so we opted to try cycle 3 over Christmas break. Stress was at an all time high for me so it may have been a hidden blessing that our furnace went out and IUI would have to wait.  At the time, I was heartbroken faced with 'something always goes wrong' mind frame.  While we were going through our journey, stacie had three miracles and was a constant reminder of hope and Support.  The  cade foundation had become our cause to support.  Stacie and Nick had a few events and we were happy to support such an amazing foundation.  In  April of this year,  we received a chance to try IUI.  At this point, I had decided that I was done putting school first and needed to do this for us.  Road block again- I went from not responding to 9 follicles over night- no IUI for us, but we were given a shot to try on our own.  Again, God knew what was best and that the month before school got out was going to be bAd and not the time for us.  The voice of reason, joe, always knew what to say to bring back to reality.  We met with doc again and decided we were ready to try IVF.  While our insurance covers a lot, fertility treatment isn't covered and the cost of IVF was overwhelming.  We left knowing what we wanted to do next but weren't sure how we would go about financing it.  It was around time for the Cade application due date.  Our hearts went into the process and hoping we may be blessed with a grant.  Application was sent off and all we could do was hope and have prayers that if this was meant to be it would happen.  Meanwhile, my job at school was changing to a less stressful and demanding job.  A couple weeks into the school year, I was amazed at how this simple switch had lifted my stress and spirits. One Sunday, Stacie posted in the afternoon that she was rejoicing for the families were receiving the Cade grant- I wasn't sure what to think, because we hadn't heard anything.  We went about our Sunday afternoon- lesson plans, football, and a nap.  A little after 7, my phone rang with a blocked number...insert racing heartbeat. It was Camille from the Cade foundation and she wanted to talked to both of us.  We were chosen.... I was shaking and joe was speechless.  That phone call was truly an answer to prayer.  Once I quit shaking, we called our parents to share the amazing news.  Quickly we started planning our trip to DC.  We were anxious and eager to meet the people who were helping us making a cycle of IVF a reality.  We were humbled and even more grateful when we found out the number of applicants and that we stood out.  With the Cade grant, and the support of our family and friends we are again hopeful as we look toward IVF.  In the past month, God has shown me that He led us down infertility for a reason and in my heart I feel our journey will be complete thanks to the Cade Foundation.  Words can't express our gratitude as we move forward and have the chance to help others.

Happy New Year

Sunday, September 25 we received a phone call that renewed our hope in the possibility of starting IVF. Camille Hammond called to let us know we were a recipient of a 2012 Family Building Grant. November 4, we flew to Washington DC for the Cade Foundation Family Building Banquet...I will post my reflection from that next for those who haven't read it. :) 2012 is here and we are eager and hopeful to start our journey. Here is where you can follow along with us as we move forward in our journey to building our family. Tomorrow we are meeting with Dr. Bopp to come up with our game plan and get specific costs of meds, etc. If you would like to help us with our expense, you can donate via PayPal to the "make a baby fund.". Prayers and words of encouragement are always thankfully accepted! We have gotten through infertility with the support of family and friends and know we will continue to be blessed with an awesome system of support! Love, Sarah