Updates!

Well we found out on Friday that my 3-medication cocktail that I was on in March did not work. My ob/gyn kindly let me know that this was all she could do for me and encouraged us to be referred to an in vitro specialist. After researching Drs. in San Antonio we have chosen to consult with Dr. Neill of Fertility Center of San Antonio (www.fertilitysa.com). This appointment will be this Wednesday at 9 am and is a 4 hour consultation and making of a fertility plan. Of course we were initially bummed, but Dr. Neill's nurses have worked well with my ob/gyn's nurses to make the transition smooth. We are optimistic and excited about in vitro, of course not what we had wanted, but it has provided us with a peace of mind. Our goal is for this to take place this June, given that I am out of school and my stress will be reduced. I will be able to make and attend appointments without the worry of having to get a substitute and it counting towards my days, etc. When seeing a fertility specialist you're on-call basically daily as your blood, surges, sonograms constantly have to be monitored and checked.... so likely no summer trips to see my friends in Levelland/Lubbock and our family -- so you will all just have to commit to come and see me this summer. : ) Not to mention there are daily injections and I CANNOT give shots to myself....so Dustin has been volunteered for that job.

We had a great weekend to process and digest this all and we are ready for this step. We had to go through all the other mumbo-jumbo to really feel this step is justifiable and clearly necessary for our success. We went to Laura & Geoff's engagement party in Houston this weekend and had a wonderful time catching up with everyone. It was a nice "pick-me-up," from Friday's news. But the good news is we are optimistic and excited because we feel we are being very proactive in taking the in vitro step. So thank you for your prayers and understanding -- hopefully there will be a Baby Brooks or Babies by 2012. ; )

Where has March gone?

Well it is my first day back to school and when I put the date on the board: 3/21/2011 I got a little scared -- where has March gone? I had a wonderful spring break and was able to catch up on a lot of things around the house as well as some sleep! The first weekend of the break we went to the lake and this past weekend we went to the Sill Family Ranch outside of Eagle Pass. Both weekends were wonderful and sadly I didn't capture but a few pictures on my phone (that's a good thing though -- too fun to break out the camera, I guess). At the ranch we practiced some shooting -- yes notice my target hit on my FIRST shot....I hung this in our garage as a friendly reminder for anyone that enters: "Don't mess with me - I'm a good shot!" We killed two rattlesnakes -- see the pic above. BLLLAAAHHHHH I hate snakes!!!!! I didn't kill this rattlesnake; just pretending here! Chad took multiple shots at it and of course took off his head. I changed up our background on the blog to something more "spring-like," and some jazz-type music. I'm always looking to adjust and add things so hope you enjoy them.
This next weekend we're headed to see Laura and Geoff in Houston - a roommate of mine from college. They are coming in from London for their engagement party and am looking forward to a catch-up weekend with my college friends! Before you know it.... it will be April.... and by the looks of our refrigerator and all of the invitations on there it looks to be a busy month as well!

Wine Tour

We loaded up a group of 18 to Fredericksburg for our first annual wine tour....and it was awesome! We will definitely be doing it again in 2012. We went to Grape Creek, Torre di Pietra and Becker. We had 6 wineries on our list to go to but well that didn't happen.... our last stop was in Luckenbach. Dillon and Emily came and stayed for the weekend and we made a full weekend of it.....we had Sunday Funday after Dillon cooked breakfast for everyone and then we all had to go back to work on Monday -- but it was worth it!

A lot going on...

As some of you may know Dustin and I have been trying to have a baby for a little over a year now. (This may be news to you...don't feel excluded -- we've really kept this pretty quiet). But now that we know we can't do this on our own, I have decided to include this in our blog for emotional support from you all and to be included in your prayers.

To sum up where we are in the process: we have had numerous tests done on each of us and we are both above average healthy and are physically capable of getting pregnant...it just hasn't happened, YET for us. : ) We've gone through the IUI process along with me being on varying drugs from Fermara, Clomid, Estradiol, Cronine, Provera etc. etc. The list goes on. I have a 3 medicine routine this month and this is pretty much our last chance at doing this the semi-old fashioned way. We're consulting with 3 different doctors to begin looking at the In-Vitro Process.

Dustin and I have had a lot of opinions and emotions about making this post because there is a sense of failure tied to this for us, but this process has been a true growing process for as individuals and as a couple. (We really have been through it all, now -- 4 moves, a car driving through our house, law school/ master's degree and now this). Everything does happen for a reason, but we have yet to understand this one, but know it will come to light one day and will provide us with the peace we feel we need.

So from our blog readers we need your prayers for our peace and prayers that this month's plan will be successful. We're working to remove a lot of external stresses from our life and are giving this our 200% effort, so be patient with our selfishness... : )

Wine Tour of Texas

This weekend marks our First hope-to-be Annual Wine Tour of the Hill Country. Between Leslie and I we have gathered a group of 18, a party bus and reserved tastings at wineries and vineyards in Fredericksburg and along Highway 290. It is going to be a fun group; we are so excited! Dillon and his girlfriend, Emily are coming in Friday and I'm sure it will be an unforgettable weekend. Who knows we may end up in the Eagle Pass casino this time (kidding of course). I will post pictures soon.

Only one full week until spring break. Time has flown, but has creeped in other ways -- cannot wait for some "me" time. The weather has been absolutely perfect in South Texas (sorry to brag). Cool mornings, sunny days and everything is blooming. We worked in the yard last week and got our petunias out -- yes, it is that nice here. : )

Everything's going well for Dustin. He's got a few rounds of golf in lately and has found time to grill in the evenings. Life has settled down, much to our advantage since the bar exam.

Pennsylvania Bar, Check!

Well Dustin concluded the Pennsylvania Bar Exam today! He has been in Philadelphia since Sunday and I could immediately hear the relief in his voice when he called to tell me he was done today! He feels it went the best it possibly could, but of course now is a sit, pray and wait game. He comes home tomorrow and not only am I physically excited to have my husband back home and in San Antonio, I am excited that he will now be "checked-in," to all that we "normally," do without this hanging over his (and my) heads.

Don't worry he wore ALL GREEN each day, including new pairs of clover-leaf boxers for extra good-luck in the Irish city. : ) Thank you for your e-mails, texts, prayers and phone calls....we loved them all!!!

It's been a GREAT week!

Last Friday, my principal came to me to discuss me moving in to serve as the high school's special education department chair. Our current chair, who is absolutely the most organized and wonderful person ever is being relocated to California with her husband's job. I am very flattered and honored that I was chosen to fulfill her very LARGE shoes! I won't start until August, but will have the remainder of the year to probe her, ask LOTS of questions, learn, etc. I am not sure what my schedule will exactly look like -- I will still be teaching math and science, but how many classes and when is the million dollar question. A lot of these decisions cannot be made until the budget decisions are made in Austin which could be as late as August / September (hopefully not!). I encourage you to follow the education budget crisis in Texas. It's very tough and sad situation for ALL to be in. We're projected to lose up to 8 million dollars in my district, which is a large chunk of our current yearly budget.

Dustin leaves for Philadelphia on Sunday morning. The Pennsylvania Bar exam is on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week (2/22-2/23). He is more relieved, now, that the end is in sight. He has been working half days so that he has adequate time to study and prepare. At this point, he feels he has learned all that he can learn and is using his time to take practice exams. I believe the results from this exam will be in either late April or early May. PRAY that he does his very best and PASSES!