Remembering Daniel Hyde.

This past weekend I was able to watch my little brother compete in IronMan in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. And it was a very memorable weekend and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
One thing that made the weekend more memorable was one of the athletes. We were on the run course cheering on the runners and making sure they went on the right side almost all day. From 1pm until just before midnight actually. While this particular young lady was running by, she reached out her hand and handed me something. Saying "I want you to have this in memory of my friend." Turns out it is a dog tag with the name 1LT Daniel Hyde US ARMY KIA 3-7-09

I have several friends in the armed forces and have always respected what they do for us and what the give up for us. This brought home the reality of it all. Yes I know people who are now or have been overseas, and I hear names on the news of soldiers who have died...but I have never "known" someone who died. Not that I know Daniel Hyde but the lady that gave it to me did.

I have thought about it a lot over the past few days and I would like to know who this person was. Where they lived. And any other information I can find out about Daniel. I know I will always remember that day and Daniel and his family will forever be in my heart and prayers.

Daniel B. Hyde, 24
Army, 1st Lieutenant
Based: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry

Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: March 7, 2009
Samarra, Iraq

Here we go.

This morning, for the 3rd time we made the trek up to Bellinham to see everyone in the Bellingham IFV office at 8 o'clock in the morning. It has been 15 days since the start of my cycle and 5 days since the end of my chlomid. We needed to see what was going on in there.

Our fingers were crossed! Well, it turns out that everything looks GREAT! An egg had matured on time, a follicle was where it needed to be, and the lining was at a stage 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the ultrasound machine screen this time so I didn't get to see everything like I had hoped but it is good news and that's all that counts.

As the ultrasound tech (who is from Spokane actually) is putting things away she says that "the nurse will be right in to give you a shot and show you what to do for the others." I'm thinking, "What? What are you talking about?" I remember Dr. Branigan talking about giving me a hormone to make sure I ovulate and what not but I don't remember him telling me it was going to be in shot form. After all, chlomid is a hormone and its in a pill form.

So Nurse Jenny walks in with her supplies and starts telling us about everything. How to mix it. What needle to use to mix, which is the extremely large one. How to fill the needle. Switching from the big one to the much much much smaller one. How to find the injection site and to make sure no major blood supply lines are hit. How to hold the skin and how to insert the needle. Jenny went on for a long time. And this whole time she is talking and looking at me. Now, mind you, Jake is sitting in a chair next to the table I'm sitting on. I keep wondering if Jake is paying close attention because there is NO WAY on God's blue earth I am going to be able to do the stabbing of the needle myself. One of the things that really sticks out in my mind is what she said about putting the needle in and how far to go. I guess if you put the tip of the needle up against the skin and slowly push it in that will cause tearing of the skin. Tearing!?!? Really? Did she have to say that?

After all that, I got my first shot of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. Better known as hCG or the 'pregnancy hormone'. This is going to make sure my mature egg is released and that my lining stays around longer then it would naturally. Thus giving the egg a better chance of implanting when fertilized.

There will be 3 more shots of the hCG to follow over the next 9 days. The only problem... ... ..Jake has to give them to me! I know it will be fine and that Jake will be very gentle (even without tearing my skin I hope) and I will survive. But it just seems weird that my husband, not a trained medical person, is going to stick a needle in me. We shall see how things go. Wish me luck :O)

One of the side effects of this hormone, on top of the hot flashes from the chlomid, is tiredness. That I for sure have already. So on that note I'm going to end. Fingers crossed that our next visit to the doctor is more then 15 days (or maybe 10 days, I can't remember now) after the last shot for a pregnancy test.

I hope. I hope. I hope.

Doctors Appointment Number 2

Today was our 2nd of many doctor visits up to see Dr. Branigan. Actually it was Jake's 3rd visit in as many days. Poor guy :O) good thing they are all so very nice up there!

We found out the results from the sperm test today...and everything looks great! There were over 100 MILLION little swimmers in the sample and there were lots and lots of healthy, active little guys.

Did you know that sperm can be different shapes? And that in order for the sperm and egg to connect it has to be an exact fit? Dr. Branigan explained it a little like an electrical outlet...you have to have the right kind of plug to make it work. I guess if the sperm is to skinny, or fat, or long, or odd shaped it wont be able to fertilize the egg.

Some of Jake's (and he is probably going to kill me for posting this), just like any man's sperm are oddly shaped. But that means nothing other then the shape. They all have the same genetic makeup no matter what shape. And once they fertilize and egg, naturally or with the help of IVF, they make happy healthy babies. Dr. Branigan was not concerned what so ever about those few oddly shaped ones and reassured us that it wasn't going to cause any problems with becoming pregnant.

So on to the next step. I am back on chlomid so that at my next appointment, next Thursday, we will be able to see what my eggs are doing and if they are developing correctly. We will also get to see what the lining looks like and all those other things us girls get to experience on a monthly basis.

No matter what the results are of this next ultra sound we have lots and lots of options, and still some more tests that might have to be run. We are very hopeful that this will be the month.

I will have more updates on our journey to a family as we visit our wonderful doctor Dr. Branigan and the rest of the staff at Bellingham IFV & Infertility.

Doctors appointment.

Yesterday Jake and I got up early, really early actually. We drove the short drive to Bellingham. And got to meet our new Fertility Doctor! Dr. Branigan. Everyone in his office was extremely nice, very outgoing and some even very very talkative.

The visit was not really what I had expected. Not at all actually. I am not sure why but I always thought it would be very clinical and sterilized. If that makes sense at all. I never thought that it would be warm and welcoming.

Over the next hour or so Dr. Branigan gave us all kinds of information about girly and boy parts, what can go wrong, what can help, and what he thinks is wrong. All along the way he was making sure we completely understood, well as much as one can about all the different hormones and when the start, spike and go away. There really was a lot of information crammed into that hour.

After an ultra sound and looking at my ovaries, he thinks there might be small problem(s) with each of us. It might be good news. We are not sure, of course, at this point what is wrong. But we have some answers and an idea of where to go next.

We do have another ultra sound next week to see how my eggs mature and the swimmers are going to be tested. I am very confidant our doctor will not lead us down a road we don't want to go or a road that is not something we need. I am very excited to see what happens. I will post more later.

I'm ready to know what is wrong and get it solved.
I'm ready to have our family.
I'm ready to be a mommy.

Yard & Garden **update**

I can not believe how fast my garden is growing!!! I now know that I planted way to many plants in here. But, it is 8x8. I thought that was big enough to hold all of this. They didn't seem that big when I planted them. Oops.






I am really excited about the corn, even if my mom says its really hard to get actual ears. We will have plenty of corn stalks to decorate with in the fall!






I'm also very excited about these strawberries. There are tons of them and I was sure that I wouldn't have any fruit from it this year. Woohoo!!








Wow, my little garden is growing up :O)

On another note...the front of the house looks so much better! My mom was in town last weekend and we got the last bush out and trimmed the only we we are going to keep. I'm not sure 100% what we are going to do in this area but one idea is a deck to fill in the area in front of the door all the way out to the edge of the front room. I really like this idea, I think it will give the odd shape of that area a reason. Like it was meant to have a deck there. Another idea is to put a bird bath back by the window so Milo and Bella could watch them. But as my mom pointed out...we could do both. Have a deck and a bird bath. So who knows. I know my mom is trying to work it out so that my dad and Jake's dad can visit for a week or so and get the deck in and new floor in the kitchen and bathrooms :O)

I hope. I hope. I hope. We shall see.

I miss my Grandmother

A little over a year ago my Grandmother passed away. I think about her all the time. And miss her very much. Tonight, while looking for some of my wedding pictures on myspace I found this and though I would share it tonight.....

I have just learned that at the first service for my Grandmother I have the honor of reading something she wrote to a cousin of my Mothers a few years ago. Here it is...
Alethe Green Clodfelter: Reminiscences of my youth
As written to a nephew about 10 years ago
.. ..
As a child I was quite shy. Perhaps one reason was that I seemed to be known as Vernon's or Evelyn's sister - or "one of the Green girls." Also with a January birthday the question was "Shall we wait until the following year to send her to school?" So I was 7 1/2 when I started school and always felt old. My mother said she felt that climbing the hill to catch the bus would be too much for me.
.. ..
My childhood was wonderful. We always had chores to do. The first responsible job I remember having was waiting at the end of the lane at the farm and putting a little rock in a pile as each cow went through the gate. I don't know if I couldn't count to 25 or 30, or if the cows spaced their going though so I wouldn't keep track.
.. ..
I remember always having a lot of relatives and friends staying with us during the summer. When fall came and everyone left it was lonely. That may be the reason I've never liked fall. School was not hard for me, yet I was not at the very top of my class. In second grade the teacher thought I read well enough that I should go on and do second and third grades that year. In 1932 I had the honor of being elected Battle Ground High School student body treasurer (there wasn't a dime to take care of in those days, so the job was very easy.) My senior year I was Vice President of the class. Apparently it didn't mean much because at the time of our 50th reunion something was said about the V. P. and I asked who it was.
.. ..
I think one usually finds a gift, or talent that one enjoys and mine was fixing people's hair. My high school years occurred during the depths of the depression and I fixed people's hair for 25 cents. I bought a pair of shoes for $1.98, a dress for $2.98 and a coat for $6.00 for graduation with the money earned. People just didn't have a dime to spare in those days. After graduation I went to Portland to spend a few days with some friends before summer work at home. Each day I would go to meet the friends when they would get off work. One day the Personnel director asked me if I'd like to work there too. Of course I said "yes", and from then on I had no help from home - and didn't need it!....
.. ..
Vacations were always spent at the farm, and I worked at the store for 4 1/2 years and attended U of Oregon night classes until I won a scholarship (small but still OK) to Beauty School. I worked during the day and went to school at night. At that time the State of Oregon required 1500 hours of work experience before one could take the State Board exams. I thought the 1500 hours would never end! It took 3 years!.
.. ..
I lived in a boarding house in Portland and a girl friend went with a young man from Newberg. He had an acquaintance who lived at the same place as he, (another boarding house) and he brought the young man to Portland for weekends. I heard the young man was somewhat different, but very bright. My friend told me that she had told the young man that I would go to the Mazama Winter Formal with him. I was quite upset, since the reports about him were not very good. I told her I wouldn't go. Well, she won, and I went! The young man was very polite, and seemed to be almost normal. His name was Harland, and I began dating him. My landlady told my mother "Harland bears acquaintance. He's all right!" I married the young man in 1938. All these years later we are still married. Yes, he really is all right, and also very bright!

IronMan Coeur d'Alene: HELP

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!!!

We need volunteers for the run course for both day and night shifts.

Its a lot of fun cheering these amazing athletes on to their quest for the finish line.

Please volunteer a few hours.

Iron Man is Sunday the 27th of June.

Please, if you or anyone you know MIGHT be interested...please please let me know.

Fertility here we come.

Today, on my lunch break I made a phone call. A phone call to a fertility doctor up in Bellingham. So Jake and I have an appointment at 8:30 am on Tuesday June 15th. I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

We will see how it goes...it better be worth it, full of lots of information because its going to be expensive.

Cross your fingers. I know mine will be!