How NFP Saved Me

When Hubby and I married, nearly 11 years ago, we took the NFP class offered through our parish.  It was the Sympto-Thermal Method.  It ended up not being the best fit for us, but it was the beginning of exploring how my fertility worked (or didn't). 

I was listening to Jennifer Fulwiler speak a couple weeks ago and she said something I've said myself, the Catholic Church is the owner's manual to being human.  Nowhere has this been more true in my personal life than Natural Family Planning.  Especially since finding Creighton.  While I won't claim to being the best of pupils and an emotional residual of infertility is that I'm a little crabby and resist doing all the observations because my frustration says what's the point, I do see the help and value of it in my life. 

Since puberty, I've really struggled with my weight.  Really struggled.  While I eat my feelings on occasion, diet and exercise has never been able to produce proportionate results on my frame.  During certain times in my cycle, I struggled with keeping a handle on my emotions....which is a really nice way of saying I was a rage-a-holic at the end of each cycle.  Sequestering myself was really all I could do to keep the peace while I felt like that.

In the last few years, I've felt tired all the time.  All of it.  I thought perhaps it was having two toddlers at once, then maybe depression over losing one of them. 

So there I was, January 2014, out of control weight, enraged and exhausted.  Then, a friend introduced me to Creighton Model Natural Family Planning.  The benefit of Creighton was advertised as being able to diagnose and treat reproductive health problems.  A big selling point when doctors hadn't been able to give me any answers over the years of infertility.

Five months into the process, after charting, many, many blood draws and driving my own blood serum two hours away for analysis, the numbers came back.  My progesterone was dangerously low.  Very bad.  Like possibly contributing to the ectopic rupture that nearly killed me and the growth delay Sweet Pea had in utero bad. 

The solution was less than palatable, but effective.  Four subcutaneous injections each month timed to provide my body with what it should have been doing on its own.  All to create a normal, balanced cycle. 

All those years of cycling, and I finally experienced a release from the rage, less pain and a generally improved quality of life.  That was more than 20 years of suffering, soothed by scientists faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church and unwilling to take a band-aid approach to a real problem. 

Because it's not about forcing teachings onto women; it's about honoring our own unique chemistry and fighting for answers when that chemistry is unbalanced.  It's about loving us enough to know our reproductive system is not a disease, but a part of what makes us uniquely woman.  It's about treasuring us enough to work with our bodies, not against them.  It's about giving us answers, solutions, and support.  It's an owner's manual for how we work, and help when things don't. 

Now, we still haven't conceived, even after many months of injections.  But here's the thing, that may or may not ever happen again.  Part of my Lent is making peace with that.  Still, those injections are slowly healing me.  Now, exercise does show results where even the most disciplined routines showed no progress before.  I still have to work harder than the average person, but working hard now does something, which is new for me.  My emotional health is slowly being restored as well.  With the hormone support I receive via injection, I am no longer a slave to the rage that used to overtake me.  Sure, sometimes I'm crabby, but it's a shadow of what once was. 

The pain of menstruation was no small thing for me.  There are still months where I might have some discomfort, but for the most part, that's unusual now.  From debilitating all the time to uncomfortable occasionally is a huge leap, friends.  Huge. 

There's also a piece we may never fully know how it's affected me.  My previous hormone balance put me at great risk of breast cancer.  Every month, my body was bathed in hormones that would support the growth of cancerous cells, with no balance of those that were hostile to them.  I was a petri dish just waiting for the opportunity to grow cancer.  Now, a proper balance of hormones makes me a less promising host.  Maybe someday I'll get cancer.  I know I'll be more vigilant about it than I might have been otherwise.  But, maybe I'll have years longer before the cancer than I would have otherwise.  Maybe it will be less aggressive, maybe it won't happen at all.  It's not something we can measure and know exactly what this new balanced level of hormones is doing for me.  But, it's giving me better odds, and I'm in favor of that.

All of this, all of these health benefits because I wanted our family to be blessed with more children, so we sought answers to why it wasn't happening.  That right there is a blessing in our openness to life; my improving health. 

This improved health is based in bio-identical hormones that add nothing toxic or synthetic to my body.  It creates order in what was the chaos of my infertility.  Creighton sometimes feels like I'm part of a science experiment with the research they collect, but really, at the heart of it, nothing speaks more truly of love for woman, respect for woman than the honoring of her body and its natural processes. 

Nothing has shown me quite so personally the love the Church has for me, the beauty of creation and the wonder of how I am made than the researchers, faithful to the teachings of the Church, who have worked to heal me.  They have worked in cooperation with God, using science to restore, build up and heal women.  I am so grateful to be one of the women benefiting from this work.

If you're suffering from severe mood swings, infertility, or fertility that you would like a better insight into (and options that also support the health and well-being of our environment), I urge you to prayerfully consider Natural Family Planning, especially the Creighton Model.  I didn't know there was a solution to the pain of my cycles and the rage of my pre-menstrual phase for so, so long, until a friend had the courage to hand me a book about Creighton.  There is help, there is healing, there is a way to work with the beauty and magnificence of your body while you seek to limit or increase your family to the place where God is calling you. 

FINALLY - An Answer

God is so good.  So. Good.  After 7....that's right SEVEN years, I have an answer.

There is a problem.  It's not just in my head, it's not just stress, I don't just need to relax and it'll happen.

Last month, I did a complete hormone profile by having my blood drawn every other day for a couple weeks.  Turns out, I have fantastic estrogen.  Like, twinsies levels of estrogen.  So, why am I not up to my ears in babies?

MY PROGESTERONE!

My levels are about a third of what they should be.  There's just not anything going on there.  Nada.  Nothing.  Zilch.  That hormone that supports pregnancy?  Not there.  That hormone that protects against risk of breast cancer?  Not there.  That hormone oh-so-necessary for normal, healthy weight loss?  Not there!  That hormone that helps prevent ectopics?  NOT THERE!

I got off the phone and cried tears of joy.  I'm going to start injections timed to my cycle to correct my hormones.

That sliver of hope I had left in my soul just experienced a dramatic increase.  The stone has been rolled away.  I am an Easter person and Hallelujah is my song!

There are no guarantees, that's not the way life works.  But it looks good.  It looks really good.  My Lent is ending and Easter is coming.

Through all the dark moments of infertility, God has been good.  Through all the heartache and pain over losing SB, God has been good.  In this moment, I am overwhelmed by the blessing of knowing.  I am overwhelmed by the joy at the prospect of this happening again:

It's fitting that this happened during Infertility Awareness Week.

My hope has been renewed.  I am profoundly grateful for the modern medicine that can find these answers.  I am profoundly grateful to a friend who had the courage to hand me a book that started me on a journey towards learning Creighton and seeking out a NaPro doctor.  I am also grateful said friend (who has a background in nursing) has also agreed to help me figure out giving myself the shot if I can't figure it out (the doctor said it should be intuitive, but we shall see). 

Happy Easter.  He has risen.  Alleluia.  Alleluia.  He has risen.

As I begin routine injections, my prayers will remain, as always, with those who are expecting, those who are struggling with infertility, and those who are overwhelmed by the gift of their fertility.  May God bless you this Easter season.

Spiritual Warfare and Fertility

As I mentioned last week, I'm taking the next steps forward in Creighton to determine possible causes of low fertility.

The running theory, based on my charts, is that there may be a low-grade infection in the mix, causing enough irritation to prevent implantation and successful having of the babies.

There's also some indication that maybe a prescription strength daily dose of B6 to promote fertility would not be amiss.

So, that's what's been happening since Wednesday.  Well, tomorrow I'm supposed to begin every-other-day blood draws.  I've had my blood drawn tons of times and, while it's not my favorite thing, it's one of those things I'm pretty resigned to doing without much fuss.  The actual blood drawing part of it doesn't bother me. 

However, I have some unusual orders from the doctor's office.  I have to get my blood drawn and spun down into the serum portion, then I have to get it back from them, take it home and put it in my deep freeze until all the samples have been collected, at which time, I can drive them the 2 hours back to the doctor's office.  (There are only a handful of places in the country that can do the actual testing at the rigor needed for reliable results.)

Now, I have doctor's orders, and I have specific directions, but I HATE standing out or being different in any way, especially as relates to things where others have more authority over the situation (such as a person drawing my blood not thinking it's a good idea to hand it back over to a lay person, even with orders).  I don't like causing a fuss and I have to be fairly provoked before that part of my temperament that will run you over like a steam roller emerges.....it's there, but she's just so unpleasant, I'd just as soon you didn't meet her. 

Tomorrow the blood draws begin, and today I really should stop by the lab to make sure they understand the instructions and have no questions that need to be settled with the doctor's office before they can proceed.

Knowing that I'm faced with this task that causes me anxiety and is high on my list of unpleasant things today (we cleaned the whole house today and it's not even registering on the list, so to each their own list of freak-outs and unpleasantness, I suppose), I woke up anxious.

The first thoughts in my mind this morning were, two is a good number.  We should just stop trying to have kids and life would be so much easier.  We wouldn't need to expand the attic into a bedroom this summer, no more doctor's appointments and no fighting for something that the world doesn't even seem to value.....I can just stop fighting.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Wouldn't that be fun?  To just have two girls and be able to travel, Hubby could work less, it would be great. 

Then, in a moment where it felt like time to call the whole thing off, it struck me, this is the voice of evil.  This is temptation.  This is an easier, less joy-filled, more self-centered way to live......and it sounds so da*n inviting.  It doesn't require anything from me.  Nothing scary or uncomfortable....no worrying, no wondering, it's an empowerment of self that sounds so tantalizing.  I will grab back the control of the uncontrollable by simply doing nothing.   As the tempestuous child flings their hands up and leaves, so too will I. 

Wouldn't it feel good to let go of this heartbreaking fight?  Wouldn't you just like to rest?  STOP.  My children are worth fighting for, future ones included. 

Today is one of those days I'm thankful for small graces, like finding The Spicy Catholic talking about what a blessing Creighton was in identifying some issues as she looks forward to the second trimester with her third.  Little things like that can help turn the internal battle that rages on in me. 

I just needed to see a small glimpse of possibility today....that someone else fought and won.  I am battle weary, just as I near this next rise, unsure if I'll find victory on the other side.

This is the beauty of our online community.  A recent community started up on FB called The Catholic Brew.  I've found quite a few new bloggers through it, and am reminded of how much we have in each other.  Sometimes just a word, a prayer, a shared idea, is enough to help your comrade in arms through the next siege.

That struggle this morning also gave me a sudden thought - there must be something fruitful coming from this Creighton.  Something wonderful (baby, marital closeness, increased prayer life) is coming from this, otherwise, why the attack?  He's never bothered me much when I've been worried about paint colors and landscape projects.  Now, though, now I'm turning my energy to life....and death doesn't seem to care much for it.  Something is going to happen, something is happening.  I have more firmly dug my feet into prayer, sacrifice and suffering and whether the blessing is visible or not, the lines have been drawn more deeply, yet again.  I stand for life.

I know for some, the battle within might be finding the voice of prudence to delay another child.  For some, this might not even be the spiritual battleground.  In all of the different daily struggles, I'm so thankful for the variety of faith-filled women I share with in the blogosphere.  I am so thankful that we are a supportive and uplifting people, whether it's sharing the excitement of a new baby or lifting up someone who's in a bad moment.

Thank you all for joining me in prayer, for your love and support.  As I anxiously walk this path (attempting my best to lay down the anxiety), you are remembered in prayer. 

{Theme Thursday} Rich

Linking up with Clan Donaldson for Theme Thursday and Instagramming along with #holylens over at Surviving Our Blessings.



The theme today is rich.  This morning, as I fed my girls sausage, certified-cruelty-free eggs and whole milk, I looked around and realized this is what rich would mean to most of the world.  Forget the whole 99% campaign - to most of the world, we are the 1% - and it is oh so easy for me to forget that truth.  Thank you God for all my riches, even if I'm not rich by American standards, I know that I have an earthly wealth beyond many.  Next time I inwardly (or outwardly) complain about the price of filling up my operable vehicles or the size of my heated and air-conditioned house with running water, I'm sorry in advance.

My girls, getting plenty of protein in a comfortable home #rich

Yesterday was also the much-anxiety-inducing doctor's appointment - the first in my Creighton NaPro Technology fertility appointments.  I was sure my charting was going to show some massive problem....but, to my surprise, the doctor said....it looked pretty good.  Ugh, not what I wanted to hear.  I wanted there to be some obvious anomaly.  Not so, not so.  I'm a little disheartened this morning.

Only a little though.  Based on my charting and symptoms, I was fairly sure I would be prescribed progesterone....nope, not so.  Instead, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and B6.  There is some indication that there may be an underlying low-grade infection.  This infection might be irritating my uterus enough that I'm not getting pregnant.  Perhaps that would explain the three spontaneous conceptions....maybe I was between infections.  Regardless, the next step is a round of 10 days of antibiotics for Hubby and I....it's a team effort.  The next prescription was for a time-released B6 supplement.  This is supposed to increase symptoms of fertility, supporting conception.  As the doctor put it, "can't hurt, might help".

As I drove home last night, the thought occurred to me that I really don't care if I'm a victim of the placebo effect.  Maybe just taking these medications will have some bearing on my stress or our hopefulness and *boom* a baby!  I'm totally okay with it being all in my head if that's what gets us another little person.

The next more aggressive step I signed on for is a hormone profile.  I really have mixed feelings about this one.  I think I need progesterone......for PMS if nothing else.  However, what if the hormone profile shows that it's all in my head.  I'm super accomplished at hypochondria.  What if there's nothing there?  No answer?  Circling back around to question everything all over again.

One of the most troubling parts of infertility/low fertility is that I doubt myself, I doubt my wholeness.  What if there's no medical diagnosis because it's just me and I'm about to be dismissed as cuckoo yet again?  Looking for answers after 7 years of struggling has brought me to a place that holds a lot of the old desperation I thought I'd let go of.  I'm not a fan of revisiting it.

One of the thoughts I had as I was trying to fall asleep last night was, "what if we discover something so wrong with me that there is no explanation for the miracles of our girls?"  Really, what if that's the story.  As much as I hope and pray for more children, that thought was a reminder of how much I've truly been blessed in the sweet girls I have.

Dwija was kind to remind me that really and truly, evil attacks what is good, and me looking for answers and fighting to bring more souls into this world to know, love and serve God....that's the pinnacle of good.  So, the war within will rage on.  Voices of doubt will creep into every step, every moment.  Taking vitamins and antibiotics will feel futile at times.  Charting will feel laborious.

But I can attack back.  I can pray, fast and work for good.  Starting on Tuesday, I'll be having my blood drawn every other day for the better part of a month to complete the hormone profile.  I will silence the voices of fear and doubt by doing.  If nothing is identified, that's not defeat, that's one step closer to the answer, it's one problem ruled out.

In this fight, there is one tool, one weapon that has been my comfort and shield.  Your prayers and love.  As I sat in the doctor's waiting room, my anxiety was at an 8/10.  I was nearly physically ill with worry.  I threw a little post on Facebook about how I was feeling anxious.  You answered with love and prayers.  So, today, as I fight the rebellion within my heart to chart diligently and take all the prescribed pills, I know I am rich in you.  Your intercessions are so welcomed and appreciated.  You cannot know just how much it means every time one of you comments that you're praying.  Seriously.  In those moments when I remember to be a better person, I offer my anxieties and waiting up for you.  Because we all have crosses, but carrying them in unity eases the journey.

I'm rich in your friendship and prayers

For a take on the beauty of our unity this Lent, check out my Three Reasons: Lent Edition.

{Theme Thursday} Answer

This week, Theme Thursday over at Clan Donaldson is linking up with the #holylens project by Abbey.





Today, as you can see, is Answer.  I started my morning by writing an answer to some long-overdue correspondence.

My other big task of the morning has been filling out intake forms for a FertilityCare appointment next Wednesday....and that's where the real story is today.

Hubby and I are in the process of learning the Creighton Model of Natural Family Planning.  Because of its specificity and scientific rigidity, it's been used in many instances with great success to overcome fertility issues. 

I haven't talked about how Creighton is going much lately, but I'm feeling called to be very honest about where I am right now.  Maybe you or someone you know is somewhere similar and this sharing will help....or maybe the vent will prepare me to move past my struggles.

With secondary infertility, there isn't much burden to chart or follow any particular system.  Babies are heart-breakingly few and far between in these parts, but there's also not a lot of effort required either. 

Having unexplained fertility problems for 7 years now, I've been out of practice with charting.  Creighton requires an investment in your mental space that I wasn't quite prepared for.  Observing mucus before and after each bathroom break?  Still seems a little OCD to me, but I'm trying to be a good student.  That there's science backing up all this excessiveness does make it at least tolerable to keep track....mostly.  But really, I'm in a silent revolt over charting.

The revolt makes absolutely no sense.  The charting has already picked up some biomarkers that suggest underlying issues, so I'm not doubting it works, but it feels like such a chore.  Really, can't I just go to the bathroom in peace without every trip being a constant vigil for signs of fertility?  No? Well, then I'm going to whine and complain in my head constantly until it seems like such a burden I'd rather just give up.  *Well, hello voice of evil sowing seeds of discontent when it's not easy.*

I'm struggling with Creighton.  I truly believe it will hold the answers to what the heck is going on with me; to why I can have two spontaneous pregnancies in 9 years, but concentrated efforts seem to have no effect.  And I think that's partly the key to my struggle.

I am terrified.  Terrified it won't work because it really is my Obi Wan Kenobi, but more, I'm terrified that it will work; that my life is about to change drastically.  That, dare to hope, I might be standing on the precipice about to dive head-first into what we've always wanted:  a large family. 

Who will I be with more children?  Who will I be when infertility is no longer a part of me?  Can I do it?  Am I brave enough to find out?

It took me two weeks from the time I got the doctor's phone number to placing the call.  My appointment is next Wednesday at 3:00pm Central Time.  My anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10 is hovering right around an 8 over this appointment.

Having read through typical procedures, I'm thinking there's a high likelihood I'll be doing exploratory surgery in the near future to check that my remaining fallopian tube is free of blockages, perhaps a check for endometriosis and perhaps even a 14-day blood profile.  These physical aspects are equally terrifying.  I don't wanna.

But, more than I don't want to do it; more than I'm anxious over the future; more than I worry that health insurance won't want to cover the costs and we'll be punching a hole in our savings; I need an answer.

Why aren't there more faces on this wall?  April 17th will mark 10 years of marriage for Hubby and I.  What is going on?  Why hasn't our openness resulted in a van-load?

I'm terrified to know.  Terrified something won't work.  Terrified something will.  Just really struggling in general with being (perhaps) so close to knowing.

It's time to find an answer.

{WWRW} and Creighton Updates

Monday night, we drove another 3-hour roundtrip to meet with our Creighton Model instructor.  Having learned the basics of two methods already, I'm feeling like a remedial student because much of it is review.

I have to just keep reminding myself of the efficacy of the model in achieving pregnancy.......our kids are super cute, that's GOT to be motivation!

And they're cool kids too!

So, we're still driving at least three more times for follow-ups and then we're hoping to start web chatting for follow-ups.  Here's hoping we can find the triggers for my super-low fertility and work towards healing my body.  Thank you for all your prayers and love!

My first read for What We're Reading Wednesday was a purchase directly related to our new practice of the Creighton model.  (The first month requires abstinence to set a baseline and then there are continued periods of abstinence for low fertility to increase likelihood of conceiving.) 

When you're of low fertility, there can certainly be a different dynamic in marriage from a couple actively practicing NFP.  So, to get a little emotional support for a different season of life, I bought Simcha's book, The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning. 


The book, as the title suggests, is a good, practical guide to living a more peaceful, grace-filled NFP marriage.  Her humor was really my favorite part....well, that and the oh-so-practical tone.  I get the feeling from reading it that she's the kind of friend to whom you can speak frankly, deeply, personally.

She GETS it!  The dichotomy of the beautiful, flowery brochure of NFP and married life versus the practice and use in real married life was something she pulled out with such humor and realism.  She also gave such practical advice to grow in holiness and kindness through practicing NFP. 

Get it, read it, be renewed in your commitment to live in the fullness of truth and union with the Church.  Seriously.

The other book I read this week was Teaching in Your Tiara.  My overall impression is that I picked up this book four years later than I should have. In my defense, the book came out May 2013. 

I started homeschooling four years ago and I was the only person in my family who's ever done that.  I was concerned that I wouldn't do it right, that I would forever scar my daughter and that I was generally ruining everyone's life.  She was FOUR.

This book is a gift for any homeschooler.  The first half of the book especially is very practical, how-to-begin oriented.  I thought perhaps I wouldn't like the book, but I kept reading.....and discovered it had so much more to offer than just a how-to-begin primer. 

It was also kind of a walk through a lot of concerns I'd had in the past and her reasonable, humor-filled voice really reassured me.  It's always nice to read that you weren't the only one who went through something.....from the curriculum debate to the concern about less-than-enthusiastic family members.

Perhaps my favorite section was worrying about whether or not homeschooling would make your child weird.  The answer?  Yes, yes they'll likely be weird because the kind of parent that chooses to homeschool is likely to the side of mainstream....well played Rebecca, well played.

This is the kind of book that new homeschoolers should read as part of that initial research phase, but it also has a lot of sound advice and camaraderie to offer the more experienced homeschooler.  In all, such an excellent book.

I loved both my books this week and I think you should read them too!

Check out what everyone else is reading over at Jessica's.

It's Wednesday and it's time to talk about books!  Linking up with Housewife Spice for What We're Reading Wednesday :)

This week, I have two to share.

I checked back in with an old classic when I found a 99 cent download on Amazon.

 The collection doesn't include Anne of Windy Poplars or Anne of Ingleside, but most of the books are in the series.  I reread Anne of the House of Dreams.  This is one of my favorites...although as soon as I say that, I start to think perhaps Anne of Avolea, or Anne of the Island, or Anne of Ingleside are  my favorites.....Rilla of Ingleside is the most heart-wrenching. 

Anne of the House of Dreams starts at the beginning of Anne's married life.  She has a beautiful love story, so reading about the start of her married life is made the sweeter by starting from the beginning with Anne of Green Gables.  The tale has the characteristic mix of sweet, lovely moments and sadness.  It's written in a style long forgotten and the flowery language might cause impatience in the more modern reader, but I truly believe no girlhood should pass without the advent of Anne. 

I would recommend 11 being about the perfect age to start the series, but as you can see, I haven't yet outgrown them.

The second book I read this week was a little less entertaining:

Hubby and I started learning our third (yes, I know, THIRD) NFP method.  Creighton Model has a reputation of being a helpful model for couples with low fertility.  Being in that camp, we're making the 3 hour round-trip every other Monday to learn.  A core part of Creighton is the relationship with the instructor.  Follow-ups are essential to build confidence for the user and help tailor the model to the couple and their goals. 

As part of the intake, I had to fill out a form which asked how many children we'd like.  "All we can" was not an option, so I had to pick a number.  I was so tempted to enter something like 11 just to freak the teacher out.  I entered a more realistic goal of 6....semi-realistic (given that I'm already 32 and only have 2) maybe, but probably more realistic than 11. 

The book covers all the details of the Creighton Model for the beginner.  So far, I'm thinking this model might be a little tedious to practice, but hopefully effective for bringing many more beautiful little people into our family. 

I'm offering up our drive for those mamas hoping to conceive or anticipating the arrival of their dear one.  Prayer requests welcome :)

The Beginning of Creighton

Last night marked the beginning of learning our third (that's right, THIRD) NFP model. 

When we were newly engaged, we learned the Sympto-Thermal method (temps and symptoms, as the name suggests).  When we were TTC after Little Bean, we learned the Billings Method (no temps, based on observations). 

Well, feeling like NFP flunkies, we made the 3 hour round-trip to start learning yet another way to track my sub-fertile self.  For those who might be interested, here are my take-aways:

• Relieved I don't have to wake up at the same time every day to take my temp.  Those two mornings I get up at 5:15 would've meant a whole week of 5:15.....no thanks.  Delighted to discover no temp taking in Creighton.
• If you've learned Billings, the first session of Creighton is going to be A LOT of review.
• If you don't vibe with your teacher, find a new one.  Luckily, I felt that connection with our teacher from the moment she opened the door....you want someone you feel a certain level of comfort with if you're going to have such personal and candid conversations, for sure.
• We need a ton more Creighton teachers.....I shouldn't have to drive 90 miles four more times in the next 8 weeks just to find a teacher.  Anyone?  Anyone?  They prefer those with a nursing degree already, so, who's ready?!?!?
• They should tell you when you schedule that there's a month of abstinence when you first start charting, just saying, it's a good fact to get out of the way up front.
• That 76% effective statistic in helping infertile/subfertile couples achieve pregnancy (in combination with NaPro specialists) is what will keep me driving 3 hours every two weeks.  

Now, before we meet again in two weeks, I have to get my homework done:

I'll keep you updated on what we learn.  Praying for all those mamas expecting or hoping to expect as I offer up our drive especially for them.