Projects and The Big 30

A couple weeks ago Jarod's aunt Mary and cousin Darla painted our living room/dining room I wanted to post some pics. After living in our home for over 3 years we FINALLY painted this room!! I wish I would have done it a long time ago b/c I love it so much more:) I kept putting it off b/c I could deal with it (just a little plain) but then I started looking at pictures and getting ideas. Well......after seeing a fellow bloggers picture (Courtney Owens) I seen a color that would fit our living room!!! Thanks so much Court!!!! And thanks to Mary and Darla's awesome painting skills! Next room is the bedroom. haha. Because you know there is always a project!

  

Tried to get a close up. The color is Norman Brown at Sherwin Williams.

Before

 After- In person you can tell even more of a difference.

Before- Don't mind Khloe's toys. haha

After

Finally made my fabric necklace. Still working on the flowers and trying some different fabrics out.

My hubby turned the Big 30 on January 29!!! Had to get a gift shot!

Coldstone Cake. Yum!! And of course reese's:)

Went out to eat at Mi Pueblo for the birthday boy's b-day!

Right after they came out singing. haha

Last picture of the night. I Love you Jarod and I am so happy I could spend another birthday with you!! I met you when you were 20 and now I can't believe you are already 30.....oh how time flies.

Still the same

I wanted to update on our infertility journey since I haven't in a while.....well there wasn't much done for a while so maybe that is why too. Last week Jarod went for a semen analysis (SA) AGAIN. They wanted us to wait a couple months after his testicular biopsy done Nov. 1. Usually they say every 3 months the count may vary because of the production cyle of the sperm. Well Jarod has been taking the herbs I was talking about (blue steele and false unicorn- I know they sound strange), an L-Carnitine vitamin, B12 vitamin and a multivitamin everyday since the biopsy hoping it would improve his count knowing we would be doing another SA. Well last week it did show Jarod had very few sperm but NO motility. So really not much of a change since the past SA's and I don't know if there is going to be much of a change......everytime we do this I go in hoping maybe this time it will be better!!! But nope! I just need to accept it that this is what it is going to be. Taking the vitamins was the last thing I wanted Jarod to try since there are no medications out there to improve sperm production:(  I am still going to have Jarod take the vitamins but after these herbs are gone I don't think we are going to buy anymore of them.

We had an appt. with our infertility doctor the same day we did the SA and he said, we probably won't be able to use sperm from a SA and the only chance we may have of using Jarod's sperm for IVF is by doing ANOTHER testicular biopsy and trying to aspirate sperm. The only thing is that it isn't a 100% that they will find sperm. IF we would want to do that they would have to have back up sperm meaning donor sperm in case they would not be able to find any of Jarod's sperm. They have to do this b/c the the egg retrieval and sperm retrieval is done at the same time and they would have to implant the egg within a certain time frame. Now that is scary to think about!!!! I would awake from the surgery finding out if these embryo babies are going to my husbands sperm or someone else's.

Our options keep getting more and more complicated and it is SUCH a HARD DECISOIN to think about!!! We don't know for sure what we want to do but I do know we would love to try to have atleast one child that is ours. Is that too hard to ask for?? I know it may sound bad since there are so many kids out there to adopt. BUT I don't know about other people but I think most couples would like to have a child that is a part of them. We may have to adopt and we are still up for that option but I hate to give up on trying. I know there has to be a stopping point but deep inside I don't know if I am ready....I may have regrets down the road and wonder what if! We made an appt. with another infertility doctor in Indy......well the same one I had made an appt. with before. I cancelled though b/c I wanted to wait till we did this past SA but I wish I would have kept it b/c now we have to wait till MAY to see him!!!! I would have never imagined we would have to wait 4 months. So more waiting.......the story of infertility life. When I found out we had to wait till May I was bummed b/c I am soooooo ready to try/do something. I guess this is a way of God telling me to wait and have patience!!! For some reason he keeps testing me.....I know in the future I will know why. But until then I guess we won't know too much more.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12

Christmas Photos

This year wasn't a crazy Christmas at all and turned out to be pretty laid back! Meaning we didn't have a lot of get togethers on the same day and could spend quite a few hours enjoying each get together with no time frame! The week-end before Christmas we were able to celebrate with Jarod's family and my family which was really nice.   

On Christmas we usually do the same thing every morning! We get up whenever we feel like it (yeah), make breakfast together (usually try a different recipe every year), open presents, watch a Christmas story (who else likes that movie?) and relax till we have to leave. We had Christmas lunch at my g-ma Nelson's this year but weren't able to make it to the Schroerings Christmas b/c they were both at the same time which I was kinda bummed about:( 

Lots of pics. to follow that I posted from all the wonderful memories!!! We loved spending time with our family and enjoyed every bit of it. Now we are just trying to get back to the swing of things and get back to not munching on all those sweet goodies that have been sitting around the house. Hence "have" b/c we pretty much ate almost all of them. haha. They are always soo tempting! But we appreciate all the goodies we received from our wonderful neighbors! Thanks again!

 Our tree!

Khloe's present.....she hates when we tell her to stay. I was trying to get a pic. of her with her treats but she was wanting them pretty bad. haha

And now chowing down on it:)

This year I ordered Jarod a Dremel and he found the box before I got to it. He had no idea I ordered a Dremel but this is what the box looked like! I guess he knows me to good! I do love surprising him but it is sooo hard but then I see this and it just makes me love him even more for how he is. haha. I did surprise him with the other gifts I got him though......a new cooler, socks and this LL Bean led light you can strap around your head. I forgot the name of it?! 

My mom with her present....a gift card for a massage. So we can spend some more mother/daughter time together:)

My parents got Jarod an Ipod!!! We are so out of the technology loop and still have a lot to figure out about it. He loved it though!!!

Every year I buy an ornament in Memory of Lindsey! As the years past it is sad to see the ornaments adding up b/c that shows how many years she hasn't been here with us. We miss her sooo much!!! I do know she was with us and wathcing over us on this special day. I can't imagine what her celebration looked like above!

Our little family!

Maybe next year there will be one more person in the photo or in my belly!

Me and my mom and dad!

Me and my momma!

Jarod with our little nephew Dre'......he is such a cutie pie!

Hanging out.

I had to take a pic. of the yummy desserts. I know kinda odd but it is nice to look back at everything we did and had!

Dru and Aidan

Dru LOVES these remote control cars! So we knew exactly what we were going to get him:)

Opening gifts. We usually do a gift exchange but we all ended up just buying gifts for the younger boys. It was nice just to watch them.

Love spending time with this man especially!

We got my g-ma a rug with all her grandkids names on it.

My cousin's little girl Hope Lindsey. She has the bluest eyes!

My cousin Hannah and her boyfriend Steve.

My cousin Keith and uncle Rich and uncle Jeff. I don't think they were too thrilled with the whole picture taking. lol

Some of my cousin's kids.....they were wild! We had a lot of fun with them though!

Just look at their faces.....they were up to something!

Me and Jeff!

That is all of them!!!!

Cincy

Last week-end Jarod and I went to Cincy for a little Christmas getaway to see some Christmas lights, spend some time together and to enjoy this time of year!!! Oh, and to go to Jungle Jim's. Yeah baby! If you haven't been there before it is a huge grocery store that has foods from all around the world. We spent 2 hours in there and could have spent more time if we wanted. We have been there one time before and it is def. one of our favorite stores....too bad it isn't closer:(  When we were there it was snowing the whole time and it was so pretty! I always say if it is going to be freezing there might as well be a little bit of snow too, right! Here are some pictures if you want to see what we did:)

 

Getting close!

Our brochure of things to see and do....just a little excited. haha

We stopped at a look out and it was just beautiful! We could see so much of Cincy!

Inside Khron conservatory. A neat little place to look at all kinds of plants. And it was free!

Just outside Khron's. I thought this was so pretty. I LOVE the snow covered trees and the old bridge!!!

We went to the PNC festival of lights at the zoo. This was at the entrance.

My camera wouldn't take very good pictures in the dark but there are a lot of christmas light's back there. You can def. see the snow falling though.

I think they were shy;)

Reindeer!! Really where do reindeer live?? The only time I see them is around Christmas time! Is santa hiding them all. haha.

Trying to get a shot of Santa. Can you see him? I was cracking up when I seen this pic. b/c the little girl is totally smiling for my pic. lol.

Me and my sweetie! I love him soo much! 

I hope everyone is enjoying this time of year as well! Take in every moment and cherish it:)

Thankful

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow there is always that question: What are you thankful for? I know there is not a day that passes that I am not thankful! I do want to share a couple things I am thankful for and only a couple because I could go on and on if I would post EVERYTHING I am thankful for.

LIFE! GOD created this world for us to live and I am so thankful for that. I thank God every night for the life he has given me. Our God is a big God that can do anything and I am blessed to call him MY God.

My husband. He is the perfect guy for me and can always make me smile no matter what! Each day I love him even more and I am thankful for the man that he is! I love him with all my heart and I am going to love growing old with him.

Family. I don't know what I would do without my family. Even though my sister is in heaven and our hearts ache to be with her we are still a family without her here on earth but know that one day we will be together again in a better place:)

Friends. I love knowing the fact that I can trust them and can share anything with them and feel completely comfortable.

Memories. What would we do without memories. I can't imagine doing something and then forgetting the next day.

Work. I am glad that I have a job and a job that I love. I know some days can just flat out be crazyyy but I love having that interaction with other people that I am helping take care of.

Infertility. Now this is something that I don't want to be thankful for at times but I know this was planned for Jarod and I and we have to accept that....and we are. This has been ONE of the hardest things in my life but we have grown so much from this already and have grown closer to God. 

Difficulties. Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping stones to greater experience. When one door closes, another always opens

Chocolate. haha. What would I do without it....I know I am not the only one thankful for this;) Now Jarod on the other hand wouldn't know what to do without pizza. lol.

On another note. I wanted to update on our resutls from Jarod's testicular biopsy. We went to Indy last monday and found out the results of the biposy. It wasn't good news but it wasn't bed either. The results came back stating that Jarod is producing a VERY low amount of sperm. We do have some swimmers though:) So he doesn't have a blockage. The news didn't surprise me after talking to the doctor after Jarod's surgery a couple weeks ago. I just had a feeling that was what we were going to hear. There really is no medication to help with sperm production unless it involves abnormal hormone levels and Jarod's hormones are just fine! So Jarod went to a local amish guy and bought an herb and is taking some other vitamins that may help. Maybe in another month or two Jarod will do ANOTHER semen anaylsis to see if he has any sperm and if so we will try and freeze them. We have talked about doing IVF if we can use any of the frozen sperm but we don't know if that is an option right now. We have so many things we can do but it is just the thought of what is going to be the best for US. Whenever we find out anything I will be sure to update.....until then.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and gets stuffed on all that Thanksgiving food. hehe.

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough

Random Photos

My last few posts have been related to doctors so I figured I should post something NOT related to that. So here are some pics. from the last few weeks. We have been doing other things, I promise! haha. Here is proof:)

Jarod and our sweet nephew (Dre). Look closely at the shirt. haha. We got this for Dre when he was born and I am happy I was able to get a picture of them together with this on!

Dru was dressed as cop for Halloween and was having fun with his handcuffs.

Boys being boys. Dru's face cracks me up!

This was post 3 days no shaving. Thank god he didn't go 3 weeks without shaving like he had said. He was already a hairy mess. haha.

Mi Pueblo with a couple friends:) Fun times!

Buds!

Jarod's special at Mi Pueblo....now that is a HUGE burrito! And, no he can't eat that all. We love leftovers:) 

The birthday couple!

Trying out the hats!

Such a cute smile he has!

Ashton, Aidan and Dru playing wii! Kids love this thing and it is always the first thing they ask to play with.

So serious!

I got one picture of Jarod after his surgery. He was a trooper!

This is for our neighbors! I know it probably seems weird but I had to take a picture of our dog doing her business b/c I know our neighbors would get a kick out of this....I think. hehe. Don't you wish you were our neighbors?! haha. Khloe sure does loves the extra yard:)

 

Hope everyone is enjoying this great weather!!! I have the windows open as I type and I am living it!

Hubby Down

I know I have posted a few weeks ago that Jarod was going to have a testicular biopsy......well he finally had that done! This past monday we had to be in Indy at 7:30 for surgery and we were out of the outpatient surgery center by 11:30. I thought Jarod did a great job through everything and right after surgery he asked for a big cup of water;) If you don't know my hubby too well he drinks lots and lots of water and having to not be able to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before was hard on him.

We scheduled  the surgery when I would be off for a couple days so I could put my nursing skills to good use on my hubby. haha. I have been doing some pampering, cooking, trying to keep him comfortable, and just being there for him. He is still a little sore today but hopefully in a few more days he will be back to his old self!!! The doctor said, he will have to be off work for atleast 2 weeks and most people are feeling better after 6 days. I know this was something he wasn't looking forward to and is glad that it is over with. Now we just have to wait on the results to come back. These results can reflect what the future may hold and what decisions we may have to make. This month will make it a year since we have been trying. Boy oh boy how much we have learned and grew stronger through this all......but at times we think can we just have our baby now Lord?! I know it isn't that easy and I have learned to be a little more patient. I have such a loving husband to have at my side and he is more than I could have ever asked for.

Oh, and one more thing! If you happen to see my hubby around and it looks like he came out of the jungle. He didn't......he just decided he isn't going to shave for the next couple weeks and is growing his hair out!!!! Yeah......it is only day 4 and he has a beard. I am hoping I can convince him to shave sooner than that?! Sorry if he scares any of your kids. hahaha