Friday Five

I realize I have been neglectful of my blog this week.  I hope you can forgive me.  You know, since I typically blog consistently and frequently.  And now that my apology is out of the way...  ;o)

1. I went shopping with some of my awesome HP girls on Sunday.  I wasn't going for the retail therapy, but simply to enjoy being with friends.  And apparently to eat a giant, chocolate cream horn. 

Later on Leesha and I went to Ted's Montana Grill for dinner.  The next day they closed down all the Ted's locations in the KC area.  That may or may not have been our fault.

2. My MIL always gives me money for my birthday, with which I often purchase clothing.  Somewhere along the line while I was in the process of losing weight, my mindset changed when it came to spending money on clothes.  Since what I was buying would only fit me temporarily, I refused to get anything that wasn't dirt cheap.  Even now, when I am somewhat content with my size, I can't imagine ever being okay with buying clothes the way I used to.  Case in point, this girl who hated thrift stores when she was growing up spent almost 3 hours in one on Monday night, and spent all her birthday money on used clothes.  And she's unbelievably happy with her purchases!  I may post more about that excursion at another time.  :o)

3. On Tuesday night, I decided to stop by the grocery store on my way home from work to pick up a few items.  I didn't feel like making dinner by the time I was done, so I went through the Arby's drive-thru.  And of course, the guy forgot to give me our curly fries.  I had already pulled forward, and there was a car behind me, so I turned off the car to go inside.  Apparently, turning off the car was a big mistake, because once I got back it wouldn't start.  Fortunately, I was only minutes from home, so Scott came to my rescue.  We couldn't get it jump started, so the manager and Mr. I-Forgot-Your-Curly-Fries (grrrr!) came out and helped us push it out of the way.  After transferring our groceries to the Jeep, we went home, ate our cold food, and then came back to try again.  This time it started and we were able to get the car home.  Yay!  Long story a smidge shorter, we got a new battery the next day, and all is well with the car again.  It was really inconvenient for the car battery to die when it did because we were planning to take the Jeep in that night for some minor repairs while it was still under warranty. Thankfully, the car fiasco only delayed us by one day, and my Jeep is back to normal.  ♥

4.  I had a birthday this week.  I have never been a fan of birthdays.  I don't enjoy being the center of attention, especially when I haven't done anything to deserve it.  I mean, really... all I did was survive another year, right?  And not by my own doing.  ;o)  On top of that, birthdays are just incredibly hard when you're infertile.  Every year that passes by is a reminder that you've gone ANOTHER year with empty arms.  Last year I turned 35, and that was particularly difficult.  I was anticipating this one being awful as well, but oddly enough...  it wasn't.  I had a great birthday, thanks in part to all the friends who made me feel special.  Three in particular (you know who you are!).  ♥  Honestly, I don't remember feeling sad at all that day.  And that alone was enough to make it awesome.  :o)

5.  My friend Dawn got a kitten.  Isn't he precious??  Don't you want one?? 

Meet Fuego!

She got him on my birthday, so I decided to post the following as my status that day: 

"My friend Dawn is getting a kitten for my birthday! Just think how many homeless kitties would be saved if all of my Facebook friends followed her lead! ;o) That would make me a very happy birthday-girl! ♥"

As far as I know, she's the only one of my friends who got a kitten for my birthday.  :o(

Oh well.  At least I tried.  

Have I mentioned how cute he is???

Friday Five

1. We went for a walk with the dogs on Sunday.  Well, Scott walked.  I rode my new-to-me bike.  At one point I decided to try riding with Quincy jogging beside me.  It worked really well at first, and he seemed to be enjoying himself (I swear he was smiling!).  But then I turned onto a street and started going faster as I coasted downhill.  Before I knew what was happening, Quincy had crossed behind me, and I found myself desperately trying not to crash into someone's yard or hang my dog.  After that, I handed off the leash to Scott and decided that this item is probably worth its price tag. 

2. Scott did the grocery shopping again this week and did a great job.  I see no reason for me to ever do this task again.  Okay with you, honey?  :o)

3. Instead of grocery shopping, I did some major cleaning to get ready for our company who would be arriving on Wednesday.  I also clipped Casper's nails.  Which task do you think was easier?

4.  Our guests this week were "HP Mom & Dad," who were headed home to NV after being in Ft. Leonard Wood for several months.  We met up with some HP girls for dinner and we all had a fabulous time getting to know them!  For those of you non-HP-ers, HP Mom (Betty) is the mother of Jennifer Saake, who is the co-founder of Hannah's Prayer Ministries, and the author of the book Hannah's Hope.  Ralph is a chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol (Air Force Auxiliary).  He and Betty have been missionaries to the military for 35 years.

Ralph, Betty, and me

Four HP Ladies:  Me, Betty, Leesha, and Kelly

5.  I love Minsky's pizza, especially their Cheeseburger Gourmet.  This week I tried a slice of the Prime Cut for the first time and was really impressed.  I may never eat it again since the ingredients are meat, meat, meat, meat, and more meat, so I am hoping the taste will linger in my memory forever!

Mmmmm!  Prime Cut!

We Met Online

In case you didn't know, my husband and I met online.  Long before internet dating became all the rage we connected in an AOL chat room.  And the rest is history.  Mostly good history.  ;o) 

I chatted with a lot of people (okay, I'll admit they were mostly guys!) before I met Scott, so online relationships are not new to me.  Most of my online interactions were positive, as I used good judgment and was appropriately cautious.  This was a totally new world for me, and little did I know that chat rooms were just the beginning of my new online experience.  Soon I was regularly emailing with my friends, eventually I started blogging, then came Facebook, and now I'm back to blogging again.  But there's one little detail I'm leaving out of this timeline... 

A year ago August, I found myself at a very crucial point in my struggle with infertility.  Scott and I had been trying to start a family for several years, and we'd finally come to the realization that this wasn't going to happen for us without medical intervention.  I honestly don't know why it took so long to face this reality, since I'd already had two surgeries behind me at that point (and it was probably good that I didn't know there were 3 more to come).  It was during this very difficult time in my life that God led me to the online community forums at Hannah's Prayer Ministries (HP). 

In the beginning, my interactions at HP were limited.  I was recovering from major surgery and getting ready to start a new job, so establishing myself in this online community wasn't my top priority.  I gradually began exploring more, and soon I realized that I had found an invaluable resource and a tremendous new support system.  As much as I love my IRL (in real life) friends -- and I do have some absolutely amazing friends!! -- nobody can truly understand the struggles of being infertile unless they have experienced it themselves. 

Honestly, I would have been 100% content if resources and support was all I got out of HP.  But somewhere along the line, something else started developing that I never saw coming.  Friendships.  Deep, real friendships, with women I'd never even met (although I have met some of them at this point, and there are others that I desperately want to meet!).  I'm not sure why it surprised me so much that I could establish these kinds of friendships online, especially since that's how I met my husband, but before I knew it I was crying with those who were hurting, praying fervently for specific needs of various individuals, and laughing myself silly over stories we shared with each other.  It amazed me how we could connect so closely with just the common bonds of Christ and infertility. 

I could go on, but suffice it to say that HP has made a huge difference in my life this past year, and I can't imagine going through all of the struggles I've been through without those amazing women by my side. I feel like I am a better person today than I was a year ago, which is only by the grace of God. I am closer to Him than I have been in years and HP has been very instrumental in that process.

This journey has in no way been easy.  Far from it.  There are plenty of days when I want to curl up in a ball and ignore the world.  But HP has made it just a touch easier.  It's hard to put into words just how much this ministry means to me.  Let's just say if I had to choose between the online communities of HP and Facebook, HP would win hands down.  And that's saying a lot coming from a Facebook junkie like me.  ;o)  God knew exactly what I needed when He guided me to that community.  And even if I never have children, this journey was completely worth it just to meet these amazing ladies.  I love you, girls.  <3

-E