The End...

WOW! As 2008 turned into 2009 I never imagined the mountains we would have to climb. This year brought us month after month of challenges, but ultimately we are stronger today because of them.

Here is our year end review:

January: We were full of hope as 2009 started. We made the decision to go ahead with our frozen IVF transfer and prepared for it with doctor visits and a procedure to check my uterus. All was looking good until January 6th. A call from our previous RE brought news that I was a carrier of CF. That was devastating to me...but, after a few hours of digging and an additional call to the doctor it was revealed that I actually had CF defined by 2 present mutations. That moment would change our year...and our lives forever.

February: We kicked off our Team Chunky Monkey fundraising for The March of Dimes in February and had a wonderful response. February also brought Ellie's first serious illness and our first and second trips to Texas Children's Hospital because of it.

March: March brought beautiful weather and RODEO time! We were lucky enough to take Ellie to the rodeo twice and she had a blast. It ended with Ellie getting chicken pox and me in the hospital with a virus! The big scare of March was the visit to the orthopedic surgeon to check on Ellie's irregular gait. The doctor was very knowledgable and suspects that Ellie has a very mild form of CP. He recommends we let her continue to develope and check her again at 4 years of age.

April: April was a good month! It brought our Team Chunky Monkey crawfish fundraiser, the March of Dimes walk, my 31st birthday and B's favorite time of year...the NFL draft!

May: May means Mother's Day. I love being blessed enough to celebrate this day, but it's always hard without my Bennett. May also brought the long awaited for headstone for our little man. It would take us a few weeks, but it would become clear to us that we had overlooked the death date on Bennett's headstone...a minor bump in the road. B had a business trip to Scottsdale, AZ and Ellie, Biddie and I tagged along so we could visit with Aunt Courtney. It was an amazing trip and we all had a blast! We ended the month with a visit to our new fertility doctor and came out with the diagnosis of a blood clotting disorder that would affect any future pregnancies.

June: Aside from Father's Day being in June...the rest of the month was a nightmare. June meant that Bennett had been gone for 2 whole years...2 years of grieving the loss of our precious little boy. It also brought the results of Brandon's CF screen...it revealed that B was in fact a carrier of a very rare CF mutation. We were devastated and we knew this would impact our chances of having another biological child.

July: We spent July having fun with our growing little girl and friends and family. We also spent it waiting to hear the results from our DNA probes...

August: In August we took a family trip to Sea World with my best friend and her family...it was fantastic! However, the next week Ellie ended up with an upper respiratory infection and a week later our lives were rocked when Ellie was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis...because she spent so much time being sick and she was currently getting over being ill, they were nice enough to get us right in to see the pulmonologist. We fell in love with the CF team and I knew our baby was in good hands.

September: Ellie had her very first hair cut in September and we FINALLY started our 2nd IVF journey. The month was filled with ultrasounds and blood draws and all was looking good.

October: October started with some disturbing news. An ultrasound tech reported that my follicles had not grown as much as they needed to in order to continue on with our IVF cycle. We were heartbroken and scared, but a follow up a few days later revealed that all systems were a GO!!! On October 5th we had our egg retrievel and on October 10 we transferred 2 embryos. Six days later I took a home pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE! I was blown away...truly shocked and overwhelmed with greatfullness. On October 19th, our pregnancy was confirmed ~ it was one of the best days of our lives. Two weeks later we had an ultrasound to confirm a viable pregnancy and we actually got to see the heart beating...it was a beautiful site.

November: We spent the first part of the month enjoying our little girl and our growing miracle and then we got a little surprise on November 17th when I was diagnosed with another SCH. The second half of the month was spent on bedrest, but our little sticky bun was still growing!

December: B turned 32 the first week of the month!!! Ellie turned 3 the second week of the month and the third week Ellie became super sick. After 4 trips to the doctor B finally ended up spending a night at Texas Children's with our little angel. She had viral pneumonia, a head cold and cultured e-coli in her sputum culture...but, we made it through and we are all doing great now.

Recapping 2009 makes me realize how far we have come. Some months seemed to be filled with challenges, but after all of that here we stand. We are all healthy, we are all happy, we have a beatiful little girl, an angel watching over us and a miracle baby on the way. I am praying that 2010 will bring us the blessing of a new life and good health for all of us. I have learned that life is not without challenges, so we will be waiting for them as they arise.

I pray that 2010 brings abundant blessings and happiness to all of you! Have a fun and safe New Year's Eve and a relaxing New Year's Day!!!

Blessings,
Angie