Sunday, February 22, 2009

Imagination Meets Reality?

Imagination is such a wonderful thing, and for our little girl we have really watched it develop over the last year or so. Her play is so much more dramatic and filled with all kinds of adventure. She plays out scenarios with her dolls, and the new dollhouse. She will give names to all the people. They will talk to each other, talk on the phone, and we will even hear our own conversations played back at times through the dolls.
So, when Ian got an airplane with a pilot, two passengers, and some luggage, we had an idea that Charlotte would enjoy playing with it too, but never realized how much.

The plane is made by Fisher-Price Little People. They have so many cute toys in the Little People line. In Charlotte's play, the plane travels far away and back home again because the people that fly on planes live far and can only come to visit by plane. The most special people to her that live far, and fly on planes are Auntie Amy and Uncle Andrew. So it really wasn't a huge surprise when to this day the two passengers that came on the plane are "Auntie Amy" and "Uncle Andrew". This is a picture of them. Can't you see the resemblance? (ha!)

And then she added a boy from one of the other sets and named him "Daddy". So this blonde Daddy flies with Uncle Andrew and Auntie Amy, back and forth...and he always has his pet frog. Even to this day now, she will ask, "where's the Auntie Amy" or say "the Uncle Andrew is missing". It is so stinkin' cute!


So now, Daddy, Uncle Andrew, and Auntie Amy are the jet setters in this Little People plane. They are named and that is that.



In a related topic, she has a dollhouse that she is also constantly playing with. It is also made by Fisher-Price. Anyway, one day she was playing with the Mom, Dad, babies and the little girl. The Mom and Dad were going out, so all the kids needed a baby sitter. She has another small doll that didn't come with this set, and to be honest I am not sure where she came from, but nonetheless she is now the babysitter.
I over heard her playing and giving this babysitter a name as well. Again the resemblance is uncanny, don't you agree? Go, go boots and all. (hehehe!) I actually had to ask her to repeat the name, because it made me stop short. I asked her again the babysitters name....

she replied...


"Mrs. Lymburner"!

Too funny!

Friday, February 20, 2009

The Possibilties of Prayer...


So, I tried another crafty idea recently. Knitting. Yup, knitting. It is a tricky craft, that once you start can be little addicting. My Mom came over a couple of weeks ago to teach me how. Despite her wonderufl teaching, I still had some minor mess ups.
I was attempting to make a Prayer Shawl. For those of you who haven't heard of these, it is a shawl, that while it is being made the knitter is praying through each row. I got one from my AP, Jess, and Mom a few years ago when I was having surgery and going through some tough stuff. It was one of the greatest gifts I ever received. Especially at that time in my life.
One of my best friends is going through some pretty rough times right now. Since I feel helpless, I needed to try to do something. So the Prayer Shawl came into mind.
It started off well, but about ten rows in I ended up with 30 more stitches. I had to call my Mom, for reinforcement. She was able to figure out what I was doing and set me on the right path. I knitted so much in the last few weeks, because I wanted to have it done for a particular date.
Anyway, long story short. It is done. Lots of prayers, maybe some swears, but the end result is prayers for three very special people in my life.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Babies, opinions, options...ugh!

So, I'm sure you've all heard by now about the mom who had octuplets last week. She and her story have been all over the news. She recently had an interview on the TODAY show on NBC, and on DATELINE. I was so compelled to watch. I went to see what she had to say, what her doctors told her, and how she manages all 14 children she has now. She explained how she went through IVF to have all of her children. She wanted a big family. Her doctor implanted 6 embryos each time, and now she has 14 children.
UGH!
Now there are people all over this country and other countries around the world that have comments, or should I say criticism. Criticism not only of the fact that she has 14 children, she is a single mother, but criticism of infertility treatments in general. I am disgusted by some peoples comments. I am disheartened by the limited knowledge people have about infertility, but yet they can still comment. Don't get me wrong, I am not so sure I agree with her decisions. It is all the criticism of infertility that her story has raised that upsets me.

As a person who has dealt with infertility I am finding the whole thing very troubling! It is disturbing because because I think it puts a very false impression out there about what infertility is and about how it's handled. It's just a much more thought out process and highly regulated and I just don't think most people realize what all goes into it. How much forethought and care go into each and EVERY decision. It is more than just deciding to do fertility treatments. It is more than just deciding to have a baby.

It is more than just going in one day for a procedure and then you are pregnant.

There are blood tests.
There are medications.
There are procedures.
There are appointments.
There are dates, times, specifics.
There are therapy sessions.
There are shots.
There is waiting.
There is second guessing your decision.
There is "Why us" or "why me".
There is heartache.
There is discussions about things you can't even imagine!
There is hope.
There is prayer.
There is love.

I know there are people who disagree with fertility treatments, and while they are entitled to their opinions, I don't understand why.

To me, to us, we thank God for the opportunity to even have a family.

Thank you to all the wonderful people at The Center for Advanced Reproductive Services.