Groovin'

1 year later

A year ago we were learning about disappointment, changes in plans, and living with uncertainty.  Today we can't stop staring at our amazing son!

A year ago we were getting to know our Reproductive Endocrinologist and hearing more than I ever wanted to know about infertility.  Today we are calling the Pediatrician to set up Elliot's first appointment, where we will instead hear plenty about feeding, pooping, and sleeping.

A year ago we weren't sure today would even be possible, but here we are!  Today has been a very good day, and maybe even slightly better for the fact that we couldn't see this far a year ago.

God has blessed us enormously.

And really, have you ever seen a child more really really ridiculously good looking?

A Christmas Miracle

So I hardly ever post anything on here, but I thought the story of our Christmas Miracle deserved sharing!

This past year has been full of waiting, disappointment, doctor's visits, specialists visits, testing, and infertility treatment. We hit an all time low in November, when our doctor told us that despite their best efforts, our only viable option to have a baby was IVF. This was also 1 day after learning that our insurance was drastically reducing their infertility coverage for 2010. Not the best day ever.

After 2 weeks of crying, praying, and wondering what to do, we got the surprise of our lives- a positive pregnancy test! Two weeks after that, we had our first ultrasound, and there it was- a blinking speck, aka, a beating heart!

Two more weeks, and Baby Scheffers looked like a peanut:

Six days after that, my wonderful brother-in-law Brad gave us another peek at Baby Scheffers at his OB-GYN office. Now baby has feet!!!

Today we had our 12 week visit with the doctor, where we got to see that Baby now has official arms, legs, and even fingers. Very fun :)

So here we are, 12 weeks in, feeling terrible, but thrilled to pieces! The question now is, how to make sense of this? Dare we call this a miracle? Do we call it modern medicine that actually is effective, even when the specialists were not optimistic? Or do we call it doctors who simply overreacted to a situation that was never as dire as they predicted? I'm reminded of a post I made a long time ago about miracles. We always look for a way to explain it when unexpected things happen. It's easier for our minds I think.

But I prefer to believe that this was a miracle.

God chose to intervene when all other doors were closed. Maybe He just wanted to remind us that HE is the real giver of life.

Now, I know that He doesn't always intervene. And sometimes even when He does give, He still takes away. But for today, we will rejoice in the gift, and give the credit where credit is due- no offense to my fabulous REI dr. :)

Chicago Bucket List

Every time we see or think of something fun we'd like to do while we live in Chicago, we put it on our Chicago Bucket List. So far, this has just been a mental list, but a few weeks ago we wrote it down on a napkin at dinner, and now it will be On the Blog Official. So here goes:

- Stay at the Trump Tower, Chicago Hilton, and Peninsula hotels
- Go to a Bears game
- Go to a Tigers/White Sox game
- Dinner Cruise on Lake Michigan
- Frank Lloyd Wright Tour in Oak Park
- Lincoln Park Zoo
- Ice Skating at Millenium Park
- Field Museum
- Museum of Science and Industry
- Art Museum
- Eat at Ditka's and Haray Caray's
- Morton Arboretum
- Horse/Carriage ride downtown
- Go to Second City


Any suggestions???

Harbor Lights Triathlon

Last weekend Bryan did the Harbor Lights Triathlon up in Waukegan. There are no pictures of Ashlee, Hannah, and I spectating, but we were there cheering the whole way!

Here are Bryan and Aaron before the race:

Here goes Wave 2 into the water:

Here comes Bry out of the water. The nice part about this triathlon is that it's small enough that Ashlee and I can find the guys pretty easily at each point and they don't have any trouble spotting us cheering. Aaron had some trouble with his timing chip, so they weren't able to stay together very well this time, which was kind of sad, but we still got to see them both.

This picture shows Bryan asking, for the first of many times, "Where's Aaron?"

Starting the bike- Where's Aaron???

Ending the bike- Seriously, where is he???

Starting the run, still flying solo

Crossing the finish line- hurray!No worries, Aaron was close by the whole time!

One of the funniest things I have ever seen

http://

Odd Day

Have you celebrated Odd Day yet?

I know my mother will at least like this one!

http://www.oddday.net/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/wdaf-odd-day-050709,0,2886700.story