National Infertility Awareness Week

Today is the last day of National Infertility Awareness Week. It always surprises me how many couples experience infertility (the stats are 1 out of every 7 couples). My heart goes out to every single one of those couples. Infertility really sucks. Thankfully, Jared and I have a great support group. Without our family and friends giving us the emotional support we need, I'm not sure how we would handle it. So, thank you.

The video posted is about the book Infertility: Hope, Help, and Healing by Kerstin Daynes. I actually just ordered the book and I am excited to read it. Even though most days I have completely accepted the fact that its going to take longer for Jared and I to have a family, some days are really hard. I once read Barbara Eck Menning's thoughts on infertility. This is what she said,"My infertility resides in my heart as an old friend. I do not hear from it for weeks at a time, and then, a moment, a thought, a baby announcement or some such thing, and I will feel the tug-maybe even be sad or shed a few tears. And I think, "There's my old friend." It will always be part of me..." This is exactly the way it is for me. The pangs of infertility never completely go away, but I don't let it consume me and make my life miserable.

In honor of infertility awareness week, I wanted to dispel some common myths about infertility. And actually, I have personal experiences of people saying these things to me. So for future reference, (and I am not saying that any of you ever would say these things) never say these things to couples trying to conceive.

1. "Just relax, and you will get pregnant." Although there is some truth to this (Yes, its important to reduce your stress levels for optimal chances), but don't think that "relaxing" is a cure-all for getting pregnant.

2. "You're still young." This one annoys me to no end. It doesn't matter how "young" I am, I still can't get pregnant. I wanted to punch my Dr. in Fort Worth who implied this.

3. "Adoption is a cure for infertility," and "Once you adopt you'll get pregnant." First of all, adoption and infertility are 2 separate matters. Like I mentioned before, the pains of infertility will never completely go away. Adoption can help you find great joy and happiness in having a family and being a parent. But it will not cure infertility. Secondly, although I have heard lots of stories of people getting pregnant after they adopt, or as soon as they fill out the application papers, this is not the standard. Although I probably secretly wish this would happen, I'm not getting my hopes up. And it is NOT the reason we are adopting.

4. This next one isn't a myth. Its a question that people ask me all the time. When we were first struggling with infertility it really bothered me. I am used to it now so its not that big of a deal and I understand people don't intend for it to be hurtful. "When are you planning on having children?" Most of the time I just wanted to say (and sometimes I actually have said this out of frustration): "I don't know but when you find out, how about you tell me?" It is a perfectly legitimate question if we are well acquainted. But it is very irritating when I just meet someone and that's one of the first questions they ask me. What a loaded question. This seemed to be a daily occurrence for me when we were living in Utah. I don't know if it is a Utah thing or what but it seemed like I couldn't have one conversation without someone asking me that.

Ok, I probably have said enough. I know sometimes its impossible to tip-toe around everyone's feelings but try and be sensitive to those around you. You never know who might be struggling to conceive.

Just the Same

Just the Same
By Diana Lynn Lacey

Sometimes-
God sends rain
Straight from the sky
To nourish the young flower
and it grows.

Sometimes-
God sends rain from the sky
To the mountaintops,
Then over hills and through valleys
Until it reaches the flower,
and it grows just the same.

Sometimes-
God sends a child
Straight from His realm
Into a mother's arms
and love grows.

Sometimes-
God sends a child
From heaven to another's arms,
Then over hills and through valleys
Until he reaches the arms of his mother
and love grows, just the same.

-Ensign, April 2011, p.30

The Latest

Here are some random thoughts running through my head right now as I'm waiting for Jared to come home from work. He's been at the hospital for 15 hours already today and he said he'll have to be there a couple more hours. Poor guy. But at least he'll be getting lots of overtime this week!

My 2 new favorite things:

1. Kickboxing! There is a great class here a couple nights a week. The workout consists of 30 minutes of cardio kickboxing, 10 minutes of hula dancing (the instructor grew up in the Philippines and can really do the hula! Great for the abs and legs), 10 minutes of yoga to work on balance and flexibility, plus 5 minutes each for warm up and cool down. Its a lot of fun!

2. A girl needs a new pair of shoes to wear to kickboxing right? Jared picked out these Nike Dual Fusions for me. I'm only telling you I got them because they are the most comfortable pair of kicks I've ever worn. I really needed a new pair but I have a hard time finding some that fit just right. I highly recommend them-they are super light and not that expensive! Thanks Jare!

Let's see what else has been going on? I guess I never posted about branding earlier this month. I didn't take any pictures. Bummer. Here's two I stole from Rachel's blog. It was Jared's first time branding since we've been married. That's because we've been in school the last 4 years and it was impossible to come home during this time of year because BYU doesn't have a Spring break. I think he had a good time. He was naturally good at giving the shots of course and he branded quite a few at the end.

I'm really liking my job as the emergency preparedness contractor at the health department. It is so nice to actually be working in my field. The best part is that I get to do a lot of the work from home. Lately I've been preparing for a community health expo that is coming up at the end of the month. Hopefully people show up.

Tuesday the 19th is our home study for the adoption process. We had to wait 6 weeks for this appointment because the lone Montana adoption caseworker for LDS Family Services is super busy. Needless to say I am very anxious and I hope everything goes ok. We have everything completed for the online profile, we are just waiting for it to be approved. I just have to remember to be patient. Ha.

Heaven on Cornbread

This is a super easy meal to make! The cornbread is so sweet it's like eating cake :) These recipes are from the chef extraordinaire, my sister Jackie.

Cornbread
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream together the following:
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter
Add:
2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
Mix well and pour into a greased 9x11 and bake for 30 minutes.

The "Heaven":
In a crockpot place:
2-3 chicken breasts
1 can corn or frozen corn
1 can of black beans (be sure to rinse beans before to reduce the sodium content of the meal)
About 8 oz of salsa
Cook on low for 3-5 hours. If its looking a little dry add some water, and if you want it spicier, a dash of cayenne pepper does the trick. Shred chicken before serving. To eat, dump the "heaven" on top of a piece of cornbread. That's it!