~It was TIME for some FUN~

Last Saturday somehow we ended up with a day without any ballgames and nothing else scheduled.... so we thought now was definitely time to take a short little getaway and have some family fun time!! We were off to Lake Winnie in Chattanooga. Chattanooga is one of our favorite places to go!! If you have kids and never been to Lake Winnie, definitely worth going... its LOTS of fun! Lake Winnie brings back memories of going to Opryland when I was little, I loved that place!! Sam had a blast. Even though the summer temps and muggies had hit, it was a GREAT day. Cant wait to go back again =)

My baby is offically a 1st grader....

It has been a week today since Sam's Kindergarten graduation.... already a week has passed! I mean every day it seems like time just keeps slipping away faster & faster!! So, I am just now getting around to posting this.... this time of year is just SO busy!! Anyways my baby graduated!! It was so bittersweet. I am so proud of him, all that he has learned this year, how big he has gotten yet so so so sad to know I wont ever get this time with him back. In a blink of an eye I will be looking at him in that cap & gown as he graduates high school. So I am just trying to treasure, stop & enjoy, and make a big deal out of all of these moments. The graduation ceremony was great. They sang some very cute songs... "Days of the Week", "Special Me", "My Country Tis of thee".... I made it through the whole thing without shedding a tear and then when I got home and was putting him to bed...... I lost it!!! He hasnt seen me cry to often but I couldnt hold it back anymore. We read " I knew you could" (the little engine that could) and I could hardly even read it, it was so sweet, he kept wiping the tears off my cheeks and kept saying "Im always gonna be your baby mom". Sam I am so very proud of you!! I hope your 1st grade year is as good as your "K" year if not better. Want to share the lyrics to this song.... so what I am feeling right now!! Congratulations baby =)


Find Your Wings ~ Mark Harris

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And If I never told you
I want you to know
As I watch you grow
Chorus:
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories
Chorus:
It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly

Now for the pictures!!

with his balloons from Chad & I and a little graduation trophy that he was SO proud of from a great friend of ours.... Thanks Donna, he is still SO proud of it!!getting ready to leave for graduation

almost his turn to walk into the sanctuary
saying his pledges to the American Flag, Christian Flag, & the Bible

singing a song of the "Ten Commandments"

my little graduate =)

getting his diploma from Mrs. Suzy, the director of BCA

proud of his diploma

love my family =)

Granny Sue, Sam, & Popa

MawMaw & Sam

Sam & Mrs. Walker, his teacher

last I got SO many GREAT pics of Sam and his little friends, but only to share one... this was his "girlfriend" Just thought it was too cute not to share =)

He knows how to make my day........

Bouquet of flowers Sam grew at his Popa & Granny Sue's..... went to run a couple of errons(sp?) and this is what he had for me when I came back =) Love my little man!!

Will have a post coming soon from Kindergarten graduation and a trip to Lake Winnie in Chattanooga, of course lots of pics =)

These Makes My Heart Sing.......

~It Was A GREAT Mothers Day~

I just love my little family so much. It couldnt have been a better day spent with them and the rest of my family!! Although it started out with a migraine and missing church there was still alot of... eating great food, playing baseball, swingin on a tire swing, visitin with family..... what more could I ask for?!?! Chad & Sam gave me the sweetest cards this year, that of course brought me to tears and Sat. they went and bought me 3 new rose bushes for a flower bed in the back yard we had never fixed. The best part was that Sam got to help Chad plant them and he was SO proud of his self! He kept comin in the house sayin "mom, im working really hard out here and you cant see it till we are done" of course Chad said there was alot of diggin holes and playin with worms but I LOVE it! Great memories =)

Hope all of you had a wonderful day as well!

These pictures make my heart sing.....

stealing some sweet sugar from my little man
Oh, how I love him!

his laughter and personality is so contaigous

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding

First of all let me start by saying if you have not read "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.... you so need to!! It is the best book evah!!!!!!! I am so thankful for my sweet friend who let me borrow this book and how it was at such a perfect time in my life to read this book!! "It is a powerful retelling of the book of Hosea in the bible... Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God's unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love"!!! I just finished reading it last night.... towards the end of the book there was that popular verse "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding".... as I was reading it I was just thinking about our situation and how at one time it was so hard for me to do that but now how that is becoming easier and easier for me. Just trusting in him and knowing he has a plan!!! I will say I still dont know why or understand why we have to go through this fertility struggle but I do know God has a greater plan and thats why with my faith I have chose not to give up . God has given me no reason to give up. He is always faithful to me!!

Fast foward to around 8:30 a.m. this morning........ my nurse practicioner called me with Chad's results (if you read my last post you knew he was going to be rechecked)
She wanted to just give me the results even though my Dr. had not seen them yet, she wanted to go ahead and share them. Wow, Im still blown away..... the results were GREAT this time compared to all the others!!!
Since Feb. 2009, which was when we discovered Chad's issue, and being checked several several times since then, all of the numbers have improved!!!!!!!! It has been 5 months since the last test. I had told you in the last post Chad and I had just put it on the back burner, Let God handle it, no vitamins like the Dr. had recommended, nothing has been done different. And now his results have changed completely for the good this time...... wouldnt you just say GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!! The Drs. had no explanation as to why his results were abnormal to begin with, there was never a "diagnosis" made......
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding".
I feel so positive right now...... all morning I have cryed and cryed everytime I even think about it. When you experience something like this and you can just see God answering your prayers, its just SO REAL. So many emotions I've just been holding in and now God has showed me now more then ever..... Be Faithful!!!
So as of now I dont know what our next step is, I am waiting still to hear from what my Dr. recommends. But for now I will just keep on repeating this "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding"

Thank you Lord for answering prayers..............

National Infertility Awareness Week....Our Story

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. It is a movement to raise awareness about the disease of infertility which effects 7.3 million americans. Infertility is something that has been a part of my life for quite some time now. We struggled to become pregnant for for quite some time before we were finally blessed with Sam. Becoming pregnant for me is just so "unnatural", with Sam it was fertility injections, ultrasounds after ultrasounds, blood work and more blood work, and intrauterine insemination. Finally it worked!! God blessed us with the BIGGEST and GREATEST blessing EVER and to him I am and always will be so VERY thankful!! I didnt care really how "unnatural" it was... all I knew is I was to be a mother!!

For this child we prayed and God has granted our request ~ Samuel 1:27

Thank you Lord for my Sam!!

I really cant explain how wonderful it has been and my heart truly breaks for those who have never been able to experience that. I have a best friend... we've been friends since around the 7th grade and she and her husband have never been able to experience that and they wont ever birth a child of their own. They are in the process now of adoption and I pray some day very soon their dreams will come true!! Anyways back to our story, after Sam turned 3, we decided we were ready to try and go down that road again. We knew what my condition was (PCOS, polycystic ovarian disease) and knew the infertility doctors had figured out how to treat me and achieve pregnancy and just maybe this time would be easier for us.... well that hasnt been the case!! at all =( With PCOS, basically my body is insulin resistant and causes me not to ovulate. There are many things that can effect it and for me one of them is my diet. As we were trying again, my Dr recommended a certain medication that would help with the insulin resistance and of course a strict diet, basically no carbs =( I did this, and it was easy, I was motivated!! I lost 40 lbs, and with taking my meds, I actually started ovulating ON MY OWN, whoo hoo!! Maybe I would get pregnant on my own???!!! without any help at all this time. Well after about a year of that, it still wasnt happening, so back to Birmingham to ART... Dr Long was wonderful!! His thinking was we will just treat you the same as we did with Sam, it worked so why not try it again? He was very hopeful and positive!! and I was too! Can I say what a letdown that was.

After all those treatments and not to mention the $$$ still no pregnancy!! So this time we needed to recheck Chad and I both, just make sure there wasnt any new reasons as to why all of this wasnt working... this time a new problem arose.... with Chad. COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED and UNEXPLAINABLE..... when he was checked out before Sam EVERYTHING WAS COMPLETELY ABOVE NORMAL now his results were horrible, and after being checked out there wasnt any reason for the diagnosis, there was no apparent reason the Doctors could find that would cause this problem for him. So, now what do we do?? Well the next recommendation from Dr. Long was we needed InVitro and the chances of that working werent even that great..... First of all we DONT have $10,000 or more for this procedure and there not even be a guarantee that it will work!! Needless to say that was back in November of 2009 when we last talked to Dr. Long. Here we are today and Chad and I barely even talk about it, we just cant..... I think about it almost every day!! I have gained all 40lbs back.... and think I really am a little on the depressed side. I try to think Im not, that its normal to have good and bad days... I just always have in the back of my mind that maybe just maybe......

Last week I went in for my yearly exam... my nurse practitioner told me not to give up.... that it wouldnt hurt to just recheck Chad again since its been almost 6 months, that maybe just maybe, his results would change back to normal just as fast as they changed to abnormal!! and to definitely get back on my diet not just for fertility reasons but for health reasons too! So thats where we are..... I havent talked about it on my blog much in a while, I just felt like it was getting to be like a broken record and all of you were probably getting tired of hearing it over and over. Chad will be getting rechecked in the next week or so. Please pray for improvement for him....



I know that some of you that read are currently in this same struggle. We all have dreams, wishes, and plans for our future and that if we plan them that they will happen. Its not always in our timing. Its God's plans and his timing!! I pray God will soon bless you, never give up, rely on your faith, and he will see you through...

As far as the NIAW, if any of you are suffering from infertility check out the website....

Is it already time?!?!

Kindergarten started in the month of September,
That first day of school we will always remember.

It was hard to leave our homes, our families and toys,
But we found a happy place full of friendly girls and boys.

Our days were filled with ABC's, building blocks and 123's.
We learned to read, we learned to write,
Working so hard to get everything right!

Together we celebrated the seasons of the year,
We comforted each other when someone shed a tear.
We celebrated losing teeth, birthdays and making friends,
Now we celebrate that the years about to end.

Because...we are moving up! We are going to first grade!
We got here because of all the progress that we've made.

We'll never forget our teachers and all that they have done,
For making our first year at school comforting and fun.

So wish us luck on this day as we graduate,
The class of 2010 is ready to celebrate!

I am SO SAD!!! Someone please tell me where has the time gone?!?!