The Money went in on Friday Jauary 21^st! We cannot believe this is actually happening. We wanted to thank all our friends and family who dedicated time, talents (for the auction), and money to help us get to this point. We mostly need to thank those that last minute were helping us reach our goal and even offered us loans. We could not have done this without any of you! We feel so grateful to be a part of a great big “family” that loves us and takes care of us and wants us to succeed. We know that through our Faith (continued) we will be able to reach our goal and become pregnant.

Many have asked us about the auction. Though we were only able to sell three items pre-auction adnonly 5 people showed up the night of the auction, we were able to collect $1200. Our goal was between $1000 and $1500. We know we could not have done this without your support, your donations of items or time, those that bid on items, and many others who were there in support of us! We did not sell all the items. We have posted all of the “substantial” gifts on craigslist to try and sell here locally. We still have hope they will sell. If there is anything anyone did not get a chance to “auction” for, we are more than happy to try and work out a deal.

People keep telling me that if I have Faith it will work out. I wanted to write just a little something about Faith. Having a perfect faith means that if it be Heavenly Father’s intention and after ALL that we can do, it will happen. This is what we have. We have made calls, worked hard, planned things, prayed daily, and have done all that we can on our part. And we have this “Perfect Faith” that it will work. We also know that if it does not work, that is heavenly Father’s wish for us. This may not be the way that he is going to allow children into our family. We do not feel that He would be punishing us or that our Faith would have not been strong enough if we are not successful. We know that Heavenly Father is on our side. He is cheering for us, and he wants us to have a family right now. We have Faith that this is going to work out. We are so grateful for those of you who have exercised faith in this process, who have shown nothing but love and support, and to those who have even exercised a little more faith and have helped us out.

We want to thank everyone, even those who were unable to help financially. We have felt hugs, prayers, support, questions, and concern as we have been trying to do all that we can in this process! We thank you all and know that we still have a ways to go. Please keep us in your prayers continually! (and since we did have to take out loans, if there are still those willing to “donate”, anything at this point would still help out and we will gladly accept it).

We love you all!

Mindy and Jason

A Cry for Help

Many of you know that I was diagnosed with a severe case of endometriosis. Previous to this, we had discovered we both had other issues affecting our chances of getting pregnant. We were told we pretty much had one option left of having our own children, and that was In-Vitro.

After much prayer, talking, researching, thinking, and some more prayer, we opted to go for In-Vitro. Knowing we could not come up with the money immediately, but not wanting to push my body to the limit, we opted for January 2011 to do In-Vitro (IVF).

In preparation for IVF, I have been through TONS of tests. Jason has had a few. We have also signed all kinds of legal documents, met with the MD several times, and Mindy coordinates almost on a daily basis with the fertility clinic to make sure everything is taken care of.

As a result of all the testing, we have found that I still needed surgery (to remove a polyp/fibroid). This surgery was performed on Dec. 8th. Starting Jan 21st, we will be doing the injections, and all of our money will be due. I will also start daily blood tests and visits starting Feb 5th, with a full day off work to retrieve my parts and three days of complete bed rest after the embryos are implanted. I am telling you all of this so you can see that this process is more intense than it first appears and has/will require a lot of missed work, phone calls, faxes, emails, testing, etc.

So far, we have found out that the medications will be close to $3,000, the procedure itself will be $8,700, testing/lab work that will be $700, and another separate procedure we have to have will cost $1,500 (for those that can’t do math, that is $13,900). This price in our eyes is small compared to the benefits and we are excited about the possibilities. However, we are still unable to come up with the full amount ourselves. We have been and are still saving, cashing in on whatever we can, selling items, and even taking extra jobs when we can.

Most of all, we need prayers and support. Some may not agree with our decision, but this is our decision. We have not made this decision lightly, it has been 8 years in the making. We are going to be fasting (ok, Jason will be as I cannot while I am taking my medication), the first Sunday in February (Feb 5th) for those of you who fast and we are asking for constant prayers. This is a very exciting scary time for us. We have never, in all our lives (nor will we again), put so much thought, prayer, effort, and money into something that does not guarantee a result. I know that with no guarantee, many may ask "Why not adopt?" Due to my physical condition, this will be our last opportunity for a baby of our own. Through prayer, we have determined to try this route first and then will look into adopting if necessary.

We love you all, and we are putting all our faith in Heavenly Father. We know it will work. Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end of this, and we hope to hear from most of you (regardless if you are donating/loaning or not).