Doubly Blessed!

I am doubly blessed!

I got home tonight and found 2 different packages waiting for me at home.  I received a care package from a L., a fairly "new" friend.  She and I started getting to know each other a few months ago after she commented on my blog, and we started emailing each other.  She has also gone through a long journey in infertility, and I shared with her my journey of embryo adoption.  I received a nice card with a sweet note in it, some Ferrero Rocher (yum!), some dark chocolate nibs and some mints.  Some things to sweeten up my day!

The other package I received today is from a very new friend, R.  She is a blog reader and commenter.  I am not sure when she started reading my blog but her words have been a huge encouragement and have been very special to me.  She reached out to me via email the day after I found out about my negative beta last week.   Though we are still just getting to know each other, I feel that we already have a very special connection through our infertility journeys.  She blessed me with a beautiful card, a yummy smelling candle, a bar of French lavender soap, some dark chocolate and a very beautiful self stamper with my initial on it. 

I feel so blessed to received such care packages from friends.  Not just any friends, but new friends.  Friends I have never met in person.  Friends whom I have never even spoken on the phone with yet.   And it is not so much what were in the packages (though they are very special), nor how much the items may cost.  But it is the fact that people, who are still almost strangers, care enough to think about me and how I feel, would take the time out of their busy lives to pick up something special to comfort and encourage me from afar.  Something to put a smile on my face.  And to be honest, it did not just put a smile on my face, but also made me shed a few tears.  Not out of sadness, but out of gratitude.

Again, I am amazed at how God can use people around me, *strangers* even, to touch my life.  It may not seem like a big deal to some, but for me, this small gesture has touched me in a big way.

One of the blessings of infertility is that it has taught me that people can be generous not just with their finances, but also with their heart and love.  A little thought and care can go a long way for the person receiving it.  I am blessed to have learned this lesson first hand.

Unexpected Blessing

I received a HUGE unexpected blessing last night.

I was chatting with a friend on FB while watching a movie at home and eating a slice of peach tart when she asked me for my email address and then asked me to check my email.  I received an email from a hotel with a confirmation for a hotel reservation.  I was like, what's this?

My friend, bless her heart, had sneakily booked us a hotel room for our stay in Knoxville!  She is giving us our entire 4 nights of hotel stay for FREE using her credit card points!

Eeeekkk!! We were just talking over lunch about how I needed to book my hotel and car rental yet, and how the price of the hotel we used to stay in had for some reason gone up a lot.  I was contemplating staying at a cheaper hotel that we had never been in, but was a little nervous about.  I was telling her I may just suck it up and pay more for a nicer and more established hotel.  This hotel that we are booked in is really nice, and costs $160 a night, way beyond our budget for a hotel room.

When I looked back at our FB conversation, I see that she had been sneaky, asking me a few questions about where I was looking to book, etc.  I am so grateful for her generosity.  She said it didn't cost her anything but her credit card points, though she could use it for other stuff for herself.   She said it was a pleasure for her to help me out, so I didn't have to not worry about money and, I could, quoting her, ".... relax n enjoy n get pregnant dammit"!  I thought that was pretty hilarious.

I am so grateful to her for this generous gift.  She is a blessing to me.

Today, I finally booked our rental car.  We are renting from Enterprise car rental, another first for us.  Wow, this trip is full of firsts and new experiences.  I hope that is a good sign for our transfer as well.

On another note, today I increased my Es.trace dosage to one tablet, twice a day, an increase from only half a tablet twice a day.  Also today, I was just sitting here surfing on FB when BAM! Holy hot flashes!  Out of nowhere came this hot flash.  I have never experienced anything like that.  For a bit there I thought something was wrong with me, and then I thought oh that's right, I'm on Lu.pron.  Usually the only times I have ever felt any hot flashes was in bed at night.  This was a first and hopefully not too many more.

On Sunday I had received an email from Debbie, the counselor/mediator that works with NEDC donor families.  She passed on a note from my donor family that they are excited to hear about my May transfer date.  They wish us the best of luck, and are thinking of us often.  It's alway really nice to hear from the donor families.  They sound like a great family and are very open to having communication with us, even now, before our transfer.  We have decided that we will wait until there is a successful pregnancy before communicating directly with them, and are understand our decision.

17 days to transfer!

Unexpected Blessings

I received not one, but two boxes of meds in the mail today.  The first was from Trie.ssent, the pharmacy that  was covered by my insurance.  The second came from Wal.greens Specialty Pharmacy, for the ones I had to pay cash for. They were very similar to the ones I received previously received in this post, minus the Lu.pron.  I have what I need to get started on my next cycle.

It is such a blessing to know that there is an awesome community of IFers out here in the blog world.  I mentioned previously about how expensive IVF meds are, and how a couple of ladies had volunteered to donate their leftover meds to me.  Well, a couple more ladies have contacted me and have offered to do the same.  It is so amazing that there such amazing and generous people out there.  I didn't even ask anyone for these, they just offered all on their own.  All I can say is that thanks to them, I will be able to save some money on meds this cycle.  Every little bit helps.  Thanks so much ladies, you know who you are.

Tonight's my last night of BCPs.  Yay, I'm so glad to be done.  Next up, first ultrasound appointment on Thursday, and stims start on Friday.  Here we go......

Today, I met up with K and E, and my 2 1/2-year-old, goddaughter L for our monthly Girl's Sushi Lunch Out.  Hopefully this will be the last time I will be able to have (raw) sushi for a very long time.  After lunch, we hung out for a bit and prayed for each other.  K has also been TTC, and just started her 2nd round of IUIs.  We are praying that both K and I will be pregnant this year.  It is such a blessing to not only be around those who care and can relate to TTC, but also be able to pray for each other.

When I got home from lunch today, I received and email from the company recruiter for the job I had applied for.  The company wanted me to send in a list of references' email addresses.  These references will be emailed an online form to send in feedback about me.  Someone will be contacting me in the  next couple of days to schedule an in-person interview.  Yay!  I was starting to lose hope in this position since it had been 2 weeks since my phone interview.  Things are rolling again.  I'm excited about this.  The only downside is the interview probably won't happen until after the long 4th of July weekend, which means I will be thinking about it all weekend long!

Babe, I, and another couple went to the Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers baseball game today.  It was a gorgeous day for a baseball game in the brand spanking new Tar.get Field stadium.  It was my first time to a major league baseball game.  I was able to get the tickets for $29 (face value) each from a friend, a real steal considering it how hot the tickets are.  I've heard ticket go for $75 to $100, or more for tickets to these games.  The best part was of course, the Twins beat the Tigers 11- 4!!  Go Twins!

Thank you, God for all the wonderful, unexpected blessings you have provided today!