Now We Wait...

Progress Update:

My goodness!  Another month has passes since our last update.  We have been so busy preparing for future baby Watson.  The love, support, donations, prayers...AMAZING!  We cannot thank each of you enough.  We are both so humbled....'thank you' simply is not enough.

Here is a bit of what we have been up to...

May 22: We were approved to start working on our profile.  We completed this just last week.  The profile is an online intro to Scott and I...along with our friends, family, and support system.  This allows expectant mothers to find us online if they happen to be searching.  It also is a tool for us to share and let others share to spread the word.  We also began working (and have now completed) our "Birth-mom Book"...

What is a Birth-mom Book?

This book serves as the main tool for Scott and I to become parents!  This 20 page book, created with Shutterfly, has pictures, quotes, traditions, our home, and other various subjects to help an expectant mother (and father) determine if they feel their baby would fit well into our lifestyle.  That's where YOUR pictures were very much appreciated!!  Those pictures will help expectant parents see the love and support our baby will have...which is very important to them.  I would love to share our book with you.  Keep in mind; this book is 8x11 so if a picture seems small or hard to read in areas, it will be printed larger.  Click here to see our book (make sure you click on 'View Photo Book' then click on 'Full Screen') Scott and Lindsay's Adoption Book Once our profile page is live (Early August) I will share that with you!

The Homestudy...

The homestudy has been a long process!  Nearly 3 months in the works and we are DONE!  And by done...I mean done with our part.  We have sent in enough documents to fill a 2 inch binder, completed 36 hours of training, had a home inspection, fire inspection, background checks, answered some fun questions...and some really deep questions...the list goes on.  However, now we wait for our awesome social worker to type and complete the report, which we are told takes about 3 weeks.  After that, our agency will get a copy and the state will get a copy.  Once those groups approve it, we are officially DONE and approved.  That means we will be able to start submitting our profile and book to expectant mothers...sometime in August, pending nothing strange comes up.  The matching process can take weeks, or years. That's the start of the scary part.  Once we have a match, let me tell you a little about that process....

The Match...

Once Scott and I are selected by the expectant mother (and father if he is in the picture) we learn more about the birth-mother's hospital plan.  Maybe this would be easier if I gave you an example.

Let's say we are matched with a baby September 1st.  The due date of the baby is December 22.  It's up to the birth-mother if Scott and I are able to attend doctor's appointment until the due date.  On the day of the baby's birth, Scott and I will go to the hospital and stay in a separate hospital room.   It again, is up to the birth-mother if I or both of us get to be in the room while the baby is being born...that does happen!  Scott MAY even get to cut the cord!  Depending on the birth-mom's wishes, we may get to hold and feed the baby...OR we may have to stay in our hospital room until the birth-mother is discharged.  In the state of Ohio, we do not obtain the care and rights to the baby until at least 72 hours after birth.  The birth-mother may change her mind at any point prior to signing the papers.  We have been told this is (for lack of better words) the worst Hell we will go through.  It's scary and we have literally no rights to anything or anyone at this point.  Our hope is that we will get an opportunity to build a relationship with the birth-mother so that by the time the baby is born, she will fully trust us, and any potential issues will lessen.

After we get to leave the hospital WITH the baby, our social worker will visit us within 7 days at our home to make sure everything is going well.  She will continue to visit us at our home once a month (for 6 months) until the finalization process...the time when the court adds our names to the new birth certificate and we no longer have to have home visits!  The baby will be in our care after that roughly 72 hours after birth...and the birth family cannot "take it back" after that...at least not without proving Scott and I are abusing or neglecting the baby...so no worries there!

THANK YOU

Thank you for EVERYTHING you all have been doing!  With all the fundraisers and private donations, we have been blessed to have raised $6200 for baby Watson!  Thank you SO much!  We have been able to pay off our first loan.  We will be taking out our second loan once we are matched, as payment in full is due shortly after.  (Roughly another $10,000-$15,000 if we are able to stay in the state of Ohio...which is our hope.)  A savings account has been set up for any incoming funds as well as our own savings to go towards the second loan. 

Your prayers and kind words mean so much to Scott and I, and ultimately will be what makes the biggest difference for us and our future baby(ies)...yes we are open to multiples!     

If you would like to keep up with more current progress in our adoption (1-2 posts per week) you can join our Facebook group.  Scott and Lindsay's Facebook Group

As we learn more about our own process, we will update the this blog!


Much love to you all,

Scott and Lindsay

If you would like to donate to the Hope for One adoption account, please visit this link.  Watson Family Donation Page

Thank you for your support and help in bringing home baby Watson!

Some of our adoption "maternity" pictures.  Thank you Shade Tree Images!

 

Coming Around the Mountain...Sort Of!

Progress Update:

It has been awhile!

Nearly another month has passed in our adoption journey.  I wouldn't say time is flying by, but we are really staying busy!  I was messaging with another fellow adoptive parent, and she said it perfectly...it's an odd twilight zone type experience.

So what have we been doing?  I'll update from the last post...

May 1: We really started collecting item donations for our garage sale.  The response from people willing to donate items was AMAZING!  If you're reading this, THANK YOU!  

             The next checklist was released to us consisting of:

     *  Central Child Abuse Registry Instructions
     *  Permissions to request child abuse clearance for Ohio and Mississippi
     *  Restrictions Concerning Provision of Adoption Services
     *  Review of possible offenses that could come up in our check (but we know these are clear!)

This packet consisted of gathering some more documents to send.  We also had our ODJFS 1691 form approved after some revisions.  This contained information about past employments, places we have lived, people in our home, etc. 

May 1-13:   Garage Sale prep!  Every night, I would go and pick up items from awesome people that were willing to donate to our garage sale.  In total around 15 different families donated items.  And EVERY SINGLE FAMILY would give me a hug and had the nicest well wishes to send me on my way.  Granny, Scott, and I would sort/clean/ and set up tables to get ready for the sale.  It was HUGE!

                    Here is a picture at the start of the sale.  Our entire garage was PACKED, too!

May 14-16:  Garage sale time!  Nearly EVERYTHING was sold!  We did not price anything (except a few larger items) and took donations in any amount people wanted to give for their garage sale treasures.  Signs were posted so everyone knew the cause.  HUGE success.  We are excited to announce that we made $2000 during our garage sale!!!  So blessed and thankful to everyone that stopped by and/or donated items.  We met many people that had adoption stories...and even a couple that used our agency.  Loved connecting with everyone.

May 15-18: Scott and I worked on our homestudy questionnaire for hours!  This consisted of pages and pages of questions so that the agency knew more about us, and could give our Social Worker the answers to be discussed in our up coming homestudy visits.  We submitted this and it was approved on May 19th. 

May 20:  Our next checklist items were approved.  We were asked to submit copies of our marriage and birth certificates, education records, proof of citizenship, and employment verifications.  Also released was our 12 session homestudy training.  We have been busy reading and writing summaries for hundreds of pages of information...should have this wrapped up soon! 

May 21:  Started working on our next checklist...which is where we are at now.  This one will take awhile.  We need to submit medical statements from our doctors, fingerprinting, background checks, financial statements, reference letters from our 4 amazing references, a safety audit with our social worker, Child Characteristics checklist (basically what we are and are not open to in a match), Fire Inspection, and copies of our tax documents....phew!


Upcoming on May 30: A home visit with our social worker...I believe this is when the safety audit will take place.  We have followed a checklist and feel our home is safe, clean, and ready for a baby!

Other things that have happened...

Our t-shirt fundraiser was a HUGE success!  We have sold 113 t-shirts.  Please keep posting your pictures to our Facebook Group (anyone can join!)  Click HERE to see our Facebook group and post your Hope for One pictures!  If you did not get a t-shirt, we still would love your family pictures!  Feel free to post or message them to me.  We will start working on our parent profile and birthmother book VERY soon!  (Maybe this week!)  We reopened the t-shirt fundraiser for a couple days for those that still wanted to purchase them.  You only have until TONIGHT at midnight (May 26) to order.  Click HERE to order your t-shirt.

Thank you notes:  We are working on 'thank you' cards to send out.  We have been terribly slow at this, though they are coming :)  THANK YOU  to those of you that have sent donations, ordered Pampered Chef, Thirty One, t-shirts, or shopped at our garage sale.  We are just so thankful.

Upcoming (and LAST scheduled fundraiser).....

 That's it for now!  Hopefully I will have more to post after Saturday.  As always, THANK YOU for your support.  We are blessed to have each of you in our lives!

 

 Part of baby Watson's future family over the weekend!

Great Granny, Lori (my uncle's fiance), Great Uncle Danny, Grandpa Carl, Grandma Kathi (Lindsay's parents), Aunt Haylee, Cousin Ridge, and Uncle Chris! (Lindsay's brother)

Our adoption agency!

Progress Update:

A Tree in a Binder...

No, seriously!  The amount of paperwork Scott and I have done might be the equivalent of a tree.  A small tree maybe...but still...a tree.  Everything that we complete for our agency must be digitally signed, printed and signed, then uploaded to our account and the originals mailed. And we are still in the early stages of this and COMPLETELY worth it.

What Has Happened So Far?  

A WHOLE month has already passed in our adoption journey...

March 30 : Inquired in our selected agency and received information

April 9:  Applied to our agency ($100)

April 10:  Accepted into Building Blocks Adoption Service (an Ohio Christian agency)and received our portal information Our Agency's Website We also completed our initial profile information such as what we are looking for in our future baby, additional contact and financial information, etc.

April 13: Received our next checklist (the method in which we receive our "to do" lists as we progress through adoption)  Read through the "how to" information.

April 23:  Took out a loan for the first fees  ($5500) 
                 Lindsay and her dad watched/listened to an informational webinar about the adoption process  (Scott was at work)

April 24:  Mailed in/uploaded the following documents from our checklist. (and the above mentioned fees) (Mailing costs ~$2.50)
     *  How to use the checklist help guide
     *  How to create a digital signature
     *  The adoption contract (with fee)
     *  Read the Subsidy Guide and Financing Adoption Guide
     *  Filled out our Match Criteria form
     *  Read the layout of upcoming fees for Social Service related tasks
     *  Completed a parent satisfaction survey (WAIT!! PARENT?!?!  We are being called parents?  Getting closer...hopefully!)
     *  Read the homestudy welcome letter outlining the upcoming weeks
     *  Read and investigated the adoption loan assistance program (which allowed us to take out our loan)

April 27:  Had our "pass along" cards printed to give friends and family.  THE MORE PEOPLE THAT KNOW WE ARE ADOPTING, THE LESS TIME WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR A PLACEMENT...usually...so please feel free to keep sharing and if you would like some pass around flyers, please let us know! ($20.57)

April 30:  Uploaded and mailed in the following items: (Mailing costs ~$2.50)
     *  Adoptive parent discourse statement form
     *  Release of information consent form
     *  Authorization of Release for confidential information
     *  Proper procedure for complaints form
     *  Ohio adoption disclosure statement
     *  Emergency contact list
     *  Statement of understanding
     *  Understanding of placement requirements and match requirements
     *  Requirements of the Multiethnic Placement Act
     *  Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) form
     *  Definitions of Disabilities for State Waiting Children

(As I am typing this, the above mentioned checklist was approved...so now we wait for the next one!)

 Still to complete (as they are released)...and we do not know what is in each of these lists to do until they are released. 
Packet #2 - Child Abuse/Criminal Clearance Forms
Packet #3 - Homestudy Questionnaire
Packet #4 - Marriage/Birth/Employment/Education forms
Packet #5 - ODJFS Required Documents
Packet #6 ODJFS Training Documents
Profile Process
Matching Process
After Acceptance of Placement
Finalization Packet (where our names are put on a new birth certificate) 

How Are We Doing with Everything?

Pretty well, actually!  We are excited that we are moving forward and getting closer to having our baby.  Every day is one step closer...one day closer.  Something I know I have to remind myself of constantly.  

Scott mentioned it still hurts that we are unable to have biological children.  And it does.  But we know this is EXACTLY what we are supposed to be doing.  A new and fellow adoptive parent friend of mine wrote a beautifully written blog yesterday.  Click HERE to read her post.  She explains similar emotions perfectly.

While looking at things we may not be able to do as adoptive parents, there are so MANY MORE THINGS WE WILL be able to do!  I have also had fun recreating things for adoptive parents...example:  We have a maternity photo shoot in May...yes, it can be done.  I still plan to have a gender reveal party...if I can hold the excitement in until then.  Our plan is to have a party after we are blessed with a baby for everyone to come meet him/her and see what all the AMAZING prayers, donations, and well wishes have provided us with.

For now, our journey to placement continues.

Upcoming Watson Family Adoption Events and Ways You Can Help!

We want to thank everyone again for your continued help and support.  We still have a long way to go, but we are confident in our decision to adopt.  Below are some upcoming events/things going on in effort to support our adoption...thanks to friends and family for setting up everything!

T-Shirt/Hoodie/Long Sleeve Shirt Sale:  Order yours by May 6!  We get 50% of all sales.  Once you have your shirt, take pictures of you and your family wearing them and send it to us (lindsay.watson1127@gmail.com or post on Facebook!  We will include your photos in the book that birthmothers will read to learn more about our family, friends, co-workers, and support group.  Order Your Shirts HERE

Garage Sale: May 14-16...We will be holding a "by donation only" garage sale during our community's garage sale.  We are still in need of items so if you have anything you would like to part with, let us know!

Thirty One Gifts party:  May 16 at 2 p.m. If you can't make it, you can still order online starting May 1st!  Click HERE to order  Just make sure you order between May 1 and May 16 by selecting our party.  We are graciously being given 25% of your order. 

25 Cent Paddle Auction:  June 6 at 4:30 p.m. at Miami Valley Sports Bar 30 Watertower Ln, West Carrollton, OH 45449  Bring your quarters and win prizes all in support of our adoption!  Gift cards, gift baskets, and other goodies will be available to bid on.  More information is coming soon.  If you have new/unused items you would like to give for the quarter auction, please let me know!  I will also be looking for help in collecting prizes from local businesses to help the organization sponsoring this event.  (Each month, a new person or charity is selected to be the beneficiary of the earnings.  So thankful we were selected for June!) ...bids are just quarters at a time!
                Purchase a Chance Card for $10.00 which allows you
               1 Paddle to bid, 20 Chinese Auction tickets and a
                Chance to Win Additional Door Prizes
               (Save’s money and more chances to win)
Paddles, Chinese Auction, 50/50 and raffles may be available to purchase separately.
(Snacks are available. Local restaurants deliver to the Sports Bar during the auction.)


Also in the early planning stages....
An annual adoption 5K...complete with an official registered charity and the title (hopefully!) of Hope for One.

Hope for One will benefit a new family each year by giving that selected family the raised amount towards their adoption via application and interview process...this year will be Scott and I with a new family each year after. 

WHAT I NEED FROM YOU...if you are interested in serving on the official board, please email me at hopeforonecharity@gmail.com with a short essay which is to include:
1. Why you want to be part of the Hope for One board
2. What you can bring to the charity?
3. What does adoption mean to you?
4. How do you see this charity impacting the lives of families and the community?

Essays are due May 15th.

Board members will help plan the 5K each year and help select a new adoptive family. We are shooting for a Saturday in September each year pending no scheduling conflicts. This is a volunteer position and will require monthly meetings which will become more frequent closer to the event. Feel free to share this information! We feel this can really make a difference for SEVERAL families and children

Our goal is to knock out the first loan before taking out the BIG loan after placement...

Thank you again for reading and for your support.  We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives!

 Front of our pass around card

 Back of our pass around card

 Join us!  And please feel free to bring your friends and family.

I promise to have yummy snacks!

Order your shirt HERE

From Infertility to Adoption

Happy Friday everyone!

Just wanted to give you an update.  Scott and I had another Dr. appointment today.  It appears adoption is the path we must take to have family...and that's OK!  We are excited about this opportunity...and thanks to YOU and your help sharing our posts, giving donations, buying Pampered Chef, and most important...the T-Shirts!!!  Click HERE to order your t-shirt!  Pictures of the shirts are below, or you can click on the link.  We get nearly 50% of each shirt sold!!!  PLUS this helps spread awareness for our adoption.

We would like for everyone to take a picture of you or you and your family wearing the shirt. These pictures will go into a Birthmother Book that will allow our future birthmom to see the love and support her baby will have with us.  Feel free to share this with your friends and family, too.  We HAVE to sell 50 shirts for them to be printed.  IF we don't have 50 by May 6, then no shirts, no charges to your cards, and no funds :(  BUT I know we can make this goal and exceed it!!

As soon as we have enough money raised to move on with the adoption process, we will be able to schedule our homestudy which consists or training, interviews, and home inspections.  ($1500) After that, we pay the first of the agency fees ($3700) and will FINALLY be able to be on the wait list.  Our goal is to be on the waiting list for a baby this Fall.

The news of being unable to have biological children has been a hard pill to swallow...BUT...we know God is calling us to adopt and we are just so excited!!       

If you are looking for additional ways to help, here is what you can do...

1. Pray. We believe in the power of prayer.

2. Maybe you know someone or have a connection to someone that has a baby on the way that will need a loving/supportive home...please pass our information along to them. We will work with an attorney for a legal adoption process....(This actually happens more time than you may realize!)

3. Host a Pampered Chef catalog/online show in April or May. Great way to earn FREE and discounted gifts for mom/grandma/aunt for Mother's Day!

4. Shop at a current Pampered Chef Fundraiser by April 30  15% of your order goes to us as well as 15% for the fundraiser commission: Click HERE to go to the Online Pampered Chef Fundraiser

5. Check out our YouCaring donation website: Watson Family Adoption Donation Page

6.  Order t-shirts!  Watson Family Adoption T-Shirt Fundraiser (Pictures at the bottom of this post)

7.  Come to the Thirty-One Gifts party at our home on Saturday, May 16 at 2 p.m.  If you can't come, a link to order will be available starting May 1.  My amazing consultant has graciously offered to give us her commission...which is 25% of each sale!  I would love to see you!!!

6. And finally, please feel free to read and share our blog. As we have updates, I will post them.  This is our way of sharing information with our family and friends, but also being able to help others in our place. It has helped Scott and I to talk with people and share stories that are going through similar situations.

We will be creating something very special to hang in the baby's room with each and every person's name on it that has contributed to our adoption. (Details to come!) It is important for Baby Watson to know how much he/she is loved and supported through the journey of joining our family.

  

FRONT

 

BACK

As always, THANK you for your love and support.  We will post again in about a week!

Sincerely,  

Scott and Lindsay

We Have a Dream to be Parents!

It has been a couple weeks now since we have last heard from our doctors.  April 17th is still set for a consultation with a doctor specializing in male infertility.  We found ourselves with lots of time to talk on our recent driving trip to Mississippi to visit family for Easter.

Scott and I would like to still explore what is causing the male infertility...that involves him undergoing a few different tests/procedures.  We will find out more about that next week.  However, we have also decided to start the adoption journey.  Scott and I have one goal in our hearts...become parents.  Loving, God-fearing, fun, active, involved, (and of course totally cool) PARENTS!  If that route happens through our own DNA, great.  If not, that is OK, too.  We feel God is calling us towards adoption.  We are not giving up on having biological children...we just feel we can love our "gotcha children" just as much as "our DNA children".

The adoption placement process can be long.  1-2+ years.  Then it is about 6+ months after placement that we would be able to finalize the adoption.  MANY factors go into the cost of adoption. Application fees, homestudy fees, placement fees, attorney fees, court fees, travel fees, birth mother's care and living expenses...list goes on.

Unfortunately, we are at a standstill until the first part of the money can be saved up to cover the first homestudy and the first part of the agency fees.  We plan to use a private agency here in Ohio.  In-state adoptions are slightly more affordable as they have caps on the money the birth mother cant receive for living expenses.  Other states can get quite high.  With that being said, though...if a friend or family member knows of a birth mother planning to give her baby up for adoption, we can actually work with an attorney for that process...and would be VERY HAPPY to become parents that way as well.  

If you're interested in knowing the basics to adoption, here is a great link to the process.   Steps to Adoption

Grants and some tax return benefits are available for us if we have a successful adoption.  However, we have to come up with the money up front via fundraisers, loans, side jobs, donations, savings, etc.  The expenses can really add up ($20,000-$50,000) for adoption.  We hate that it comes down to money, though we understand why it is the way it is.

When we moved from Mississippi last year, we also left behind Scott's old truck that we were certain wouldn't make the trip...so at the same time as trying for our family, we are on the hunt for a family-friendly vehicle for Scott (he's been borrowing my dad's truck) paying down my students loans, and related medical expenses.  I sell Pampered Chef on the side, and will put ALL the commission I make from that on the medical/adoption fees...and I have an interview coming up for a second job...  I know the Lord will provided and that His plan will continue to become more visible for us. 

In the meantime, if you find it in your heart that you want to support our adoption financially, a secure account has been set up for us at this link.   Watson Family Donation Page  The entire amount raised will go towards our dream of being parents.

I also have set up a Pampered Chef fundraiser which closes April 30th if you would like to order Pampered Chef and help us at the same time!  Pampered Chef Fundraiser

Thank you all for your continued to support.  Our goal...be pregnant and/or adopt by Christmas 2015!!

                                         Collecting sap for maple syrup at mom and dad's house!

So...What's this all about?

Before I dive deep into details, I want to provide a brief introduction regarding the purpose of this blog, introduce Scott and I (for those that do not know us), and why we are writing this blog.

So who are we?

Scott (33), my fabulous husband, was born and raised in South Mississippi.  He is the oldest of 2 siblings.  His younger sister, Jessica, was also born and raised there.    Scott attended Jones County Junior College for Drafting and Machine Tool Technology.  After graduating, he worked his way up from a 'Helper' to a 'Pipefitter' working long hot days in the southern heat.  Currently, he works as a 'Team Lead' for a great company in Eaton, OH just minutes from our home...yes, that's right!  I got him to move up North!  I just hope he never loses that adorable Southern accent!  Scott works hard using his AutoCAD skills manufacturing various computer parts for the government.  His parents work for a paper mill company in south Mississippi and enjoy spending time with their grand babies and family. 

Lindsay (28)...yours truly, was born in Indiana and moved to Ohio as a little girl with my family.  A few years later, my brother, Chris, was born.  My parents are currently realtors in Preble County and enjoy spending time with their grandson, Ridge.   I attended Wright State University and received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations.  I then decided to hit the road and move to Mississippi to earn my Master's degree in Higher Eduction - College Student Personnel.  I worked in the Registrar's and the Student Activities Office....can you see where this is going?

Of course there is more to our lives prior to meeting, but that's for another day.

North Meets the South

When my friend found out that I was moving to the deep south, she insisted I try out an online dating site...just so I could meeting someone in a place I knew not a soul!  She signed me and the next thing I knew, this guy (Scott) had sent me a "wink"...after waiting a few days, I sent this guy a message back.  We kept emailing back and forth until one day, we exchanged phone numbers and began talking for hours at a time on the phone...this continued on about 3 months before I actually moved to Mississippi.  The day I arrived, I met him...and he met me, my mom, dad, and my friend.  Poor guy.

In November 2010, I married my best friend with the majority of our closet friends and family there to celebrate with us.  Over the last 4+ years, we spoke often of our hopes and dreams for a family which included children and a couple dogs...maybe even some chickens and goats (We are country farm folks for sure...)

 What's up now?

In November 2013, Scott moved to Ohio to start his AMAZING job (no longer in the hot and humid conditions) and lived temporarily with my parents.  I continued to work in Mississippi and pack up our home.  In January 2014, I joined Scott in Ohio.  We are happy to be living close to my side of the family, though we miss Scott's side terribly.  Jessica, Scott's sister, and her husband Justin have 4 wonderful kids!  (This past Thanksgiving, the whole clan packed up and joined us in Ohio for several days.  Absolutely loved taking the kids around doing "yankee" stuff...as they put it.)

In September, my brother, Chris, became a daddy to an adorable baby name Ridge!  Having Ridge puts Scott and I aunt and uncle to 4 nephews and 1 niece.

  

Scott continues to work in Eaton, and I accepted a job at Wright State University this past December.  We enjoy attending church where I am the Youth Director, and stay active with family friends. When the weather is nice, we love fishing, hiking, going to parks, swimming, and taking our little dog, Shorty for walks.  We have recently started bike riding as well!  Together, we are eating better, exercising, and trying to get in the best healthy shape of our lives...that process may take awhile ;)

So...why the blog?

For the past year, Scott and I have been trying to have a family...with no luck.  We have done loads of reading, researching, and praying.  A couple months ago, we decided to seek the help of doctors to find out why we have not been blessed with a child...or one on the way...as of yet.

My appointment went OK with the doctor.  I'm no longer having regular cycles, and when I do, it appears the eggs are not top notch.  My doctor suggested Clomid, though I wanted to wait until after a family trip to Mississippi to begin fertility drugs.  In the meantime, it was suggested Scott get tested as well...just so we know what we are working with and to make sure we are taking the best steps possible.

Scott went in for his test/analysis nearly 2 weeks ago.  We figured it was no biggy and were getting closer to having our family!

This past Friday, March 20, Scott called to check on his results....the doctor told him he had "some abnormalities" as well...that alone shocked us both.  The doctor said she would be willing to come in the next day (on a Saturday...yikes!) and meet with both of us.  Saturday was our birthday...yup!  We share a birthday.  Scott's older, though...important to make sure that is noted ;) I had a feeling the news we were going to get was not good...

Saturday morning rolls around...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US...and we head for the doctor's office.  After waiting nearly an hour, we heard the results..."Scott, it's not a matter of the quality of your sperm or if there is lower amounts.  You have no sperm."  Already preparing myself for that news, the only way I could think to respond was, "Wow.  What are the chances that BOTH of us have fertility issues?!"...apparently 3-5% of the population.

We left the doctor's office with a referral to see a specialist...but not until April 17th.  There could be a couple possibilities.  1.) There is a blockage in Scott causing the production to be low...however, this is not a high chance.  Usually in a blockage, there are at least SOME sperm present.  If there is a blockage, it may be able to be fixed with surgery... 2.) There could be some sperm in there that are not hitching a ride out...and maybe they can be extracted and used for IVF, thus MAYBE giving us a chance at a biological child.    

Scott and I have done a lot of thinking.  If one of those things is discovered with Scott, we still have my issues.  If nothing is found in Scott, my issues really will not matter in the scheme of having biological children.  So now, we wait until April 17th until we see the male infertility specialist.


Of course while waiting, I start doing more research, calling the insurance company, but most importantly, we really talk everything out.  What are our options?  What do we want?  We are both very open and excited to adoption as well.  We believe God is in control...and everything happens for a reason.  It's all part of His plan for us...and we accept that. 

What we have learned the past couple days...

1.  Between family, friends, co-workers, and each other we have a great support system.

2.  The insurance will cover the testing...but that's it.  We are responsible for ANY IVF treatments, IUI treatments, medications, etc.  Each IVF treatment for BOTH of us is around $20,000.  It is also not a guarantee it will work...or that it is an option.

3.  Adoption is between $20,000-$50,000 for a private agency, as that would be our wish...so that we may have a newborn.  This can take months to years.

4.  We love each other...more than anything.  And we KNOW we will make great parents one day.  As Scott told me the other day, "this is the hand we have been dealt, but I'm a great card player."

5.  We are scared.  What will happen?  How will we afford this?  Will we ever get to the point of being blessed with a baby...biologically or adopted? 

I will be writing this blog to share with everyone our experience in our journey.  We talked about whether or not to write a blog, but I think it can help us process...and maybe help others in the same situation.  There is VERY LITTLE information out there on couples that have both people having fertility issues.  Maybe we can be a resource, make some new friends, or maybe just keep our family/friends updated...I may be just writing to Scott and I...who knows.  If you are still reading this, please keep us in your prayers.  We have a strong loving marriage and will make great parents someday. <3