Clue #6

And one of my favorite things about the place we are going....


We will be able to visit Disney!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that ought to narrow it down for you. =) Answer and details coming tomorrow.

Clue #5

The fifth clue is...


This state is bigger than eighty-five of the smallest nations in the world.

(I'm thinking that ruled out a bunch of your guesses.) Sorry friends! =)

Clue #4

This will be our view as we land. Any more guesses friends? =)

Clue #3

Ah, the guesses are spreading out, I love it! And for the next clue...


More turkeys are raised in this state than in any other state in America.

This clue totally made me giggle. I think it's funny that I chose a clue about turkeys. =)

Clue #2

Some very interesting guesses yesterday. =) Now onto the second clue.



In the midst of summer, a city (in the place where we're going) is the coolest place in the Continental United States.

Clue #1

Lately at our house we have been OBSESSED with playing clue (the DVD version is amazing, you HAVE to try it!) So being inspired by clue brought on the next 7 posts.

Today begins the 1st of 6 clues. Clues about what you may be asking...

Clues about where we're going on VACATION!!! With the news that we got this week, we decided that it was time to get out of here, take our minds off of all of our infertility issues, and have some "us" time. So today is the first clue about where we are going. If you think you have a guess leave it in the comments section, I can't wait to see what guesses you guys have. (And for the VERY few of you that already know, mouths zipped friends!)


This place has nearly 37 million acres of forests in private and public ownerships, more than 1/3 of the entire land base!


By the way, I am feeling SO much better today, thank you SO much for all that so many of you have done this week. I think we have a tentative plan for what's next for us, still nailing it down, then I'll share. So thank you again, we so appreciate all of the awesome texts, calls and prayers we have received this week.

The dreaded phone call

Still hurts to hear, even if deep down I did know.


"Unfortunately, your results today were negative."

Still sad, still wondering why, now in the midst of planning a grand vacation in February to help us move on. More info to come on that tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers.

**By the way, I obvsiouly didn't get the question and answer post done, so if you still have questions email, facebook, or leave a message on here. I'll try to get to it later this week.**

Teetering

We stand on the edge of a very important teeter totter, leaning one way (or getting pushed) will decide a lot of things about our future.

I guess I should back-track a little bit. I've had lots of people ask me what's going on with Iowa City and our attempt at conceiving this month, and why haven't I been writing much about it? It's a two fold answer.

The fact that I haven't been writing much was a completely subconscious decision. I didn't consciously decide to not share much this time... it just sort of happened. I think I was worried that this cycle wouldn't work and I didn't want people to get excited for us as everyone went on this "ride" with us, only to be disappointed.

But the short story is that everything went absolutely perfect this cycle. The shots worked like a charm, the appointments went awesome, we had TWO PERFECT eggs, and awesome IUI numbers.... but it wasn't God's timing for us. Which takes me to the teetering.

I'm teetering today between being a hot mess (just ask my poor husband) and remaining hopeful for a miracle. We are fairly certain (99%) that this cycle is a bust. I've not had that "maybe I could be pregnant feeling" for the last week, so this shouldn't be a surprise to me. But it is. It's a surprise that I didn't want this cycle. We have put SO much time, energy, money and prayers (thank you again to everyone who had a part in praying for us) into this attempt, we were SO hopeful!!

I'm devastated. I sat in our bed and cried. I stood in the shower and cried. I cleaned our bedroom and cried. It's an awful swing to go from hopeful to devastated.

We go Monday for bloodwork and tests to "see if I'm pregnant".... right. I think the stark white test is proof enough for me, but I guess I'll do what they tell me to do. So for the next 48 hours I'll attempt to hold onto the thread of hope that maybe a miracle positive will show up in the tests Monday, but to be honest, I'm not too hopeful.

I'm sad to know that we have another 5-6 weeks to wait before we can even give this all a try again. Our Dr. requires a cycle "break" to let the ovaries rest since they have just been pumped full of hormones in an effort to make them work. So I guess we'll sit for the next month'ish and try to take our minds off of what could have been, and instead think about where we want to head. We've got lots of options that all deserve careful consideration before we decide what is in the plan for us next.

Thanks again for caring enough to check in.

Q & A Part II

It seems that another wild round of Q&A is needed. After the last q&a was such a hit, and because I've gotten a TON of questions this past week, I thought we'd give it another go.

This is where you come in. =) If you have a burning question (about anything really) that you'd like to ask us, either leave a comment on here, facebook me, or email a question (email address is listed in the right column). I'm hoping to get questions compiled and answered by Wednesday.

Thanks for hanging in there with me while I've been on a bit of a "mini-vacation" from blogging for the last few weeks.

Now bring on the questions!

Marathon Matt

In exactly 112 days this will be my amazing husband; crossing the finish line after completing his first ever marathon (or race of any kind for that matter)! He decided a few weeks ago that he wanted to run a marathon. I was bit shocked but so excited for him! As he began to search for places that had early summer marathon's he found out that La Crosse, Wisconsin has one on May 2nd. I was so excited! I spent a week in La Crosse last July when I graduated and I loved it. So it will be awesome to be back there, have a few days to enjoy the town together, and then cheer Matt and Shane on. Yup, that's right, Matt has convinced our very good friend Shane to run the marathon with him, as long as his knees hold up until May.

I am so excited for the two of them! And to be perfectly honest, I'm pretty excited about the marathon too because I'll be able to hang out with Jackee (Shane's wife) and hopefully the rest of our small group will be able to come to La Crosse for the weekend too. Matt & Shane are in their 3rd week of training this week and are doing awesome, they just completed a 7 mile run on Saturday! I'll continue to keep mini updates on these two guys as they train and complete their first ever marathons, so keep checking back for more updates. Keep up the awesome work guys!

Baby Isaiah's Newborn Pictures

I know that I said I would only be posting my photography stuff on my photography blog, but this guy was too darn cute to not use to tempt you over to the other blog.

Here's a sneak peek and the reason that you should click here, and see more!