What have you done?

(mine are in bold )

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea or from an airplane
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

My friends' home

Just a year after the first flooding, my friends' home has flooded again. I am praying for them. Insurance gave them a really hard time last time. They've been living like they are camping out in their own home for the past week.

Merry Christmas

In Fertility

When hubby and I were trying to get pregnant 10 years ago, we had some tests done. We were older (34 and 38) and wanted to be sure we weren't just spinning our wheels. A doctor called and told us that we would not be able to become pregnant without serious medical assistance. Funny thing. Turns out I was pregnant when we got the call.
So we chose not to believe the medical community then, and went on to have three wonderful, amazing kids.
Recently we've become committed to the notion of letting God choose the size of our family. By that I mean, we are not trying to become pregnant. But we are not trying not to, either.
Two very difficult (physically) miscarriages later, we are throwing up our hands. And going back to the doctor.
Yesterday, I answered a lot of questions and endured the usual poking and prodding known as gynecology at the Center for Advanced Reproductive Services at University of Connecticut. In the end, I am told, it will probably be determined that I am simply old. (I could have told you that!!) But to me, that doesn't explain the difficulty with which I have been miscarrying. I had miscarried before each of the children. And those miscarriages were an entirely different experience.
So when they asked me, Do you want to be pregnant? Are you going for a fourth child? I know I must have seemed odd to them. I would be okay with being pregnant. I would be okay with not being pregnant. I'm just not okay with being so disabled by miscarriages that I am unable to be of use to my family.
They want me to go through a bunch of tests. Some only involve bodily fluids and aren't that invasive. Those I would do. But the one where they shoot my uterus full of dye and take x-rays - that seems like it would do more harm than good. And the endometrial biopsy - same thing. I have to think that after each of these I would be bleeding like crazy all over again. I'd rather not entice my body to hemorrhage.
But the truly mind-boggling part of the day, was meeting with the financial coordinator. It seems my insurance, Connecticare, doesn't cover infertility treatments. Cool. I have no problem with that. I wouldn't want to do invitro or clomid or any of the other things that are done to promote fertility. I am fertile. That I don't have problems with! I just don't want to bleed for months and lose babies right and left.
So they suggested that I get my tubes tied or a hysterectomy. If I don't want to be pregnant, why not? I guess my response is a little counter-cultural. I want to keep my organs and have them work correctly. I want to leave whether or not I have another baby up to God. And I would like help figuring out why it's not working.
So I guess Connecticare would prefer to pay for emergency D &C's and ultrasounds rather than help me get well. Apparently they would pay for a hysterectomy if it were medically necessary. I think a few tests would be cheaper.
In the end, I am glad, because it makes my decision easier. I will do the blood work, IF it's covered. And I am beginning treating myself with Progesterone Cream. (Read Dr. John Lee's book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pre-Menopause).
And I will ask God what He is up to.