A Glimmer of Hope!

So I found out that as far as all the immunological testing I had done, everything is good. Nothing was found that could have caused the miscarriage. So this is definitely an answered prayer. I am still waiting to hear about my clotting test to see if I will need aspirin during my next pregnancy but that is definitely manageable. We are now one step closer to starting our follistim cycle. I have to go in on March 9th for a 21 day progesterone level to see if I ovulated or if I will need medicine to start my next cycle. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and thank you for all your prayers so far. The last couple months have been very stressful and overwhelming and we are just starting to have a little glimmer of hope again. We know that God will provide.

Never Doubt God

I came across this verse the other day in Bible study and then today in a blog and I wanted to share it with everyone who is going through a trying time right now.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you Lacks Wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:2-8

Great Poem!!

I came across this poem when reading another blog. It really hit it on the nail for me. I printed it out and put it up in my house so that I can read it daily!

If God brings you to it,

He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God,

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

Germs, Germs Everywhere!

So the Hatfield Family is sick. Tuesday night I was up all night feeling like I was dying so I went to the doctor on Wednesday and found out I have Strep Throat. Not Fun! Well Daniels throat hurt a little but went away so he thought he was ok. Well he started to get congested and developed this nasty cough with a general achy feeling all over. He ended up going to the doctor to find out that he has pneumonia in his right lung. He is in the bed now. Please keep us in your prayers as it seems its one thing after another here lately. Also pray that we are both well by Mid March when we are suppose to start our injections. Hope everyone else is staying well!

Be Careful What You Wish For!

I just wanted to share a story about my Valentine's Day Dinner. Let me start off by saying that in all we had a great Day. We started with a movie and ended with a dinner. We went to Charles Anthony's to eat dinner. That is our favorite restaurant and we eat there every time we have a date night. So we got there around 6pm and we knew we were going to have to wait. There were a lot of people. The wait time, we were told was an hour and a half. Well in the car ride to the restaurant I had told Daniel that I hoped that if we had to wait a long time there would be a seat for me. I had on these really cute shoes that were very tall with a very tiny heel. You know the kind that are super cute but not very practical to wear. Anyway as soon as we got in and gave our name this older gentleman offered me his chair. He was really sweet and would not take no for an answer. So I sat down. I had gotten my wish. Soon after sitting the little old lady and her friends who were sitting beside me got up to go eat so Daniel sat down and here came a young married couple about our age to sit next to me. The chairs were all very close and you could hear every conversation. I wish I could not of heard theirs. Apparently the girl was 2 months pregnant and went on and on about how she will never breastfeed because its gross and disgusting and how she already has a schedule figured out so she still has a life and doesn't have to stay at home with her baby all of the time and then my personal favorite, how she could not wait to not be pregnant anymore so that she could have a margarita. Yes she said as soon as she was home for the hospital she was gonna have a night of margaritas. I wanted to say something to her but I didn't. I wanted to slap her but I didn't. I wanted to get up but my feet would not let me. So I sat there for 30 min. listening to these ungrateful people talk about how this sweet baby was just so inconvenient. Life can be cruel sometimes. Things like that really bother me and for obvious reasons. But we were called to have our dinner and we sat down, ordered, got our salads, prayed, ate and had a great conversation and I didn't feel so down after that. My wonderful husband has a great way of making me feel better. I love him!!

This is us just before leaving for our Date. Excuse the Mess!!!

Oh and we were in the Montgomery Advertiser yesterday. This man was at the restaurant taking pictures of people waiting on Valentine's Day. We of course look thrilled. LOL

Hope everyone had a blessed Valentines!!!

Immunology?

So today I had an appt. with an immunologist. My mom was recently diagnosed with an immune disorder that is hereditary so I made an appt. with him to see if that could be the reason for the miscarriage. My RE suggested this.

So after taking a long history he doesnt think I have any immune problems. He thinks I would be more sickly and things. I used to be sick all of the time but about two years ago I had my tonsils out and my deviated septum fixed. Since then I have had one sinus infection and thats it. Nothing else. So overall healthy.

Anyways he says that most of the time when an immune disorder is the cause of a miscarriage you have trouble getting pregnant. Yes we have had trouble getting pregnant but that is because I dont ovulate. I have only ovulated twice in 3 years and I got pregnant the second time I did. This leads him to believe there is no problem. I did have some bloodwork today and he is going to check some basic things that are the most common but other than that everything is fine in that aspect. It will take about 3 weeks to hear from this bloodwork as it is being sent to California.

I am still waiting on the results of the clotting tests.

One thing he did say was that I could have, if anything, a small immune disorder that was caused from taking Cortef. For those of you who dont know, I was misdiagnosed with a disease back in 2004. I was told by an Endocrinologist that I had Addison' s Disease, which is a very rare disease. He started me on Cortef which is a steroid. After being on it a few months I started feeling horrible. I explained this to him so he increased my dose. Well I then gained 70lbs in 3 months. That's right 3 Months!!!! I complained to the doctor about this and he proceeds to tell me that I am just eating too much...I had not changed my eating habits at all. So I decided to get a second opinion. I went to a new doctor and she ran some tests all to discover that I did not have Addison's disease and that by taking Cortef it had given me Cushings Syndrome. This is why all my weight was gained in the stomach and face. (Of course having PCOS was helping this weight gain tremendously). So I was taken off of the medication and things started to normal out. I was so depressed about the weight gain though that I didnt even do anything about if for over a year. Then I started to try but with PCOS it is a very very difficult battle. If you have it or know anything about it you understand this. It took many trys and failures but I have lost about 40lbs of it so far. Back in the healthy range anyway.

Its been a few years but the doc thinks this could have messed with my immune system some. We will see though.

On another note he told me that many many women lose their first pregnancy which we knew but he explained it very well. He said your body is like what is this? This isnt suppose to be here so it attacks it. But the second time around it is used to it. So that's what we are hoping.

Oh and for those of you wondering, we did try to take legal action against this doctor but he had put down a completely different diagnoses. Basically experimental. He had covered his tracks really well. And even though he wanted me to get a medical bracelet for Addison's and even gave me Cortef which is for Addison's there was nothing we could do. Still disgusts me!

A trip to Mobile

So we are back from our trip to Mobile. We drove 3 hours to get there, were there for 1 hour, and drove 3 hours back. We had a consultation with our RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) today. This is the first time we have seen him since the miscarriage. Overall it went really well. We discussed alot of things and I feel like he has met all of our needs. I am getting checked for Antiphospholipid antibodies to see if I need to be on a low dose Aspirin or Heparin during my next pregnancy. We asked for this test because they don't usually run it until you have 2 or more miscarriages but we didn't want to wait if it could be prevented now. Also we discussed more monitoring during my first trimester. He said its not usually their protocol to keep you after a healthy heartbeat is detected on ultrasound because there is only a 5%-10% chance you will miscarry after that. (We knew this before that's why we let our guard down and thought that it was finally gonna happen). Insurance companies only cover 2 possible 3 ultrasounds so if we have any other ones it will be out of pocket. This is fine with us...everything is out of pocket to get us there why should we start being stingy with money then? He felt that it wasn't really necessary since more than likely it was chromosomal/genetic but he totally understood our concerns and said they would perform every request we have. If they get ready to release us to my OBGYN and I am not ready, then all I have to do is tell them and they won't release me. If I want weekly ultrasounds or blood work or anything else all I have to do is tell them. He said whatever makes us comfortable he will do. So we are really pleased with that.

I have to go in for blood work tomorrow (in Montgomery) and then once my cycle starts I have to go in on day 21 to get my progesterone checked. From there when my next Cycle starts we should be able to start injections again. That puts it around the middle of March. Of course it will all depend on that initial ultrasound and blood work to make sure my lining and levels are where they should be but he is confident that is when we will get to start.

So we are officially back on the TTC (trying to conceive) wagon. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Its very time consuming and expensive and emotionally draining but totally worth it. I was a nervous wreck during this pregnancy so I cannot imagine how insane I will be once I am pregnant again.

On another note. Daniel and I started running again today. Running in cold weather is not fun! But I gotta do it. I've gained a few pounds since the miscarriage (I'm an emotional eater) that I have got to get off. I have a little over a month to do it so it should be no problem. Running is a stress reliever for me anyway so its a good thing.

Broken and Shattered

Most of you have seen this also. I wrote it a few weeks back about everything tht has happened recently.

On January 2nd my heart was shattered into a million pieces. Daniel and I went in for our routine 12 week prenatal appt. My appt. was at 8:45 and we got in right on time. My blood pressure was taken and I was weighed and then I was asked to lay down so that we could listen for the baby’s heartbeat. She couldn’t find it. She said that this was common at 12 weeks and that the baby was probably just positioned weird so they sent us for an ultrasound. Daniel and I of course were very nervous. We went in and I laid down and as soon as she put the wand on me I could tell something was wrong. That moment is forever burned in my mind. She says “How far along are you supposed to be?” I said “12 weeks why what is it measuring?” She said “8 weeks and there is no heartbeat”. I cannot even begin to describe to you what hearing those words felt like. I completely lost it and broke down. Begging, pleading that she was wrong. Daniel was trying to be strong for me but he just couldn’t take it either so we sat there sobbing hysterically for what seemed like hours. How could this have happened? We just did not understand. We were then taken to see the doctor. I could hardly walk. He proceeded to tell us that it was nothing that we did or could have done and that first trimester miscarriages are unpreventable and no one’s fault. He said a bunch of other stuff but I didn’t hear much else. I have had a lot of heartache in my life but never have I felt so broken. I ended up having to have a D&C to remove my precious baby that afternoon. That ordeal is a blur filled with many many tears. Now I know that miscarriages are very common and many many people have suffered one or even more but I feel like to understand what Daniel and I are going through we need to tell our whole story. Not many people know what we have been through. Only a hand full of people and I would have liked to have kept it that way but at this point Daniel and I need all the support that we can get as we try to put our shattered hearts back together.In August of 2006 Daniel and I decided that we wanted to start a family. We knew that we would probably need help accomplishing this due to my having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which mainly means that I do not ovulate monthly if at all on my own. Well we were told that we needed to try for a year on our own before medical action could be taken because that is the average time it takes a couple to conceive. The only help we were given is that I was put on a medication called Metformin which is technically a diabetes medicine. I do not have diabetes but a side effect of PCOS is Insulin Resistance. Many times Metformin can help jump start ovulation. Well that year came and went with no luck. At this time Daniel and I were the only ones who knew we were trying. We decided to tell my mom and my best friend Carol Leah before we went back to the doctor but they were not to tell a soul. In July 2007 I went back to my OBGYN who decided it was time to try Clomid. This is a fertility pill that is used to induce ovulation. The first month I tried Clomid 50mg with no ovulation, the second month 50mg again with no ovulation, the third month with 100mg with no ovulation and so on until I had tried the highest dose of 150mg for two months. I never ovulated. Now let me explain a little about Clomid and its effects. It made me very moody, tired, I had hot flashes, weight gain, and became very emotional on top of already being emotional from being let down month after month. Daniel called this the Devil pill. By this time Daniel and I were so overwhelmed from everything that we were going through and all the money being spent. I forgot to mention that our insurance does not cover infertility. Although Clomid is the least expensive form of fertility treatment it is still very expensive. We had already sold our truck and I ended up getting a job which I later had to quit due having to go back and forth to the doctor and the fact that it was a horrible job that I just could not handle with all the mental stress I was already going through. Well at my next Dr. visit I was referred to a Reproductive Endocrinologist whose office is in Mobile. We were told that he comes to Our Doctor’s office in Montgomery once a month to see patients and that we would probably never have to go to Mobile. Boy was that a lie. Our first visit was in Montgomery and we were very nervous. During that first visit which was in February of 2008 I was set up for surgery. At this time we had to tell my Dad and Grandparents what had been going on. I also told my friend Melissa because she had been through similar situations. These are the only people who knew the entire time. In March I had a laparoscope, hysteroscopy, and HSG test all to check to make sure my ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus were in good working condition. With the exception of cysts on my ovaries (which we knew) everything looked great. My next appt. was in Mobile. We had a consultation with our new doctor to discuss the approach we were going to take. Over the past 3 months I had lost about 20lbs after reading that this sometimes helps PCOS patients. Well our Dr. Felt like this was enough weight loss to make a difference with the Clomid so he wanted to try again with lots of monitoring. This meant taking the devil pill again but this time I would have to make weekly trips to Montgomery to have ultrasounds and blood work. After 3 more cycles and 40lbs total weight loss the Dr. determined that I was Clomid resistant and that if the weight were the problem the weight loss would have made it work. Our next step would be Injections. Daniel and I decided to take a break for a few months to save money since this would cost us anywhere from $2000 to $3000 a cycle. We decided that we were not going to be able to afford this on our own so we asked my grandparents to help us out and they were glad to. After having our emotions get the best of us we decided that we couldn’t wait any longer. And surprisingly we didn’t have too. Previously I had needed to take medicine in order to start my cycles but I started a cycle on my own for the first time since I was about 17. I immediately called my doctor to set up a baseline ultrasound and blood work so that we could start our first cycle of injections. Since this fell on a Saturday and the Montgomery office isn’t open on Saturdays we had to be in Mobile Saturday morning at 8:30 just to get an ultrasound and blood work which took all of about 10 min. So we drove 3 hours for a 10min. visit and then 3 hours back. This time we thought things were finally going to go right for us. We were all nervous because we had not even taken our injections class yet and the nurse was going to have to walk us through it on the phone. We were also excited because we were told that injections always make you ovulate. We thought for sure that things were finally going right for us. Well we got a phone call from the doctor saying that my estradiol levels were too high which meant that I had some cysts on my ovaries that were too large and that I would need to go on birth control for a month to dissolve them. Now when you have been trying to conceive for over a year you are completely devastated when you are told that you would have to take something that PREVENTS pregnancy. And as many days and nights before, I cried and cried the whole month. Daniel is a wonderful husband and tried to be encouraging the entire time and he was always there for me no matter what. He was going through this too and I knew he was having a difficult time but he never really let on because he said I was the one going through all the physical ups and downs and that he just wanted to be there for me. So during this month we had to go back to Mobile in order to take an injections class. Daniel had to learn how to give me an injection in my stomach and we had to learn what to look for to know if I was hyper stimulating. This part was a little scary because hyper stimulating is a very real condition where your ovaries produce too many follicles (the sacs that hold the eggs until they mature) and you could need to be hospitalized and have to take about an 8 month break to recover. Daniel was also tested at this time and he was completely healthy and fine. I do want to mention that since the time we started trying to conceive that so many of our friends and family have conceived. That has been really difficult. While we were ecstatic for them and would never ever want them to go through any of this we also grieved for ourselves. It was really hard to go to baby showers and hospitals. Both of my sisters in laws got pregnant, one with twins, during this time and so of course we got the usual “when are ya’ll going to have one?” “It’s ya’ll’s turn” kind of things which were very painful and hurtful to hear even though the people saying it had no idea what we were going through. So the next Cycle started and I was able to go to Montgomery for my Ultrasounds and blood work this time. We ordered our medications which came from a mail order pharmacy and we got them overnight. We got the go ahead to start our injections for this cycle. They started me on a very low dose to see how I responded. That first injection was a little scary but Daniel was a trooper and it really made him feel involved to be able to do that. After about 5 days of injections I went back for and ultrasound and blood work and my medicine was increased because I wasn’t responding yet. (we had to monitor the amount of medicine we had left so that we could order more ahead of time and pray we received it in time). A follicle is not considered mature until it reaches 18mm in size. Once it reaches that size you are given a trigger shot which is HCG (the pregnancy hormone) which makes you ovulate within 36-48 hours. Well I had to stim (give injections) for 21 days and I was going to get an ultrasound and blood work every other day, sometimes everyday. The injections got painful after a while and my stomach started to bruise. Now we were told that these injections gave us a very real chance of having multiple babies since they usually cause multiple eggs to mature and release so we were very excited that our chances were increasing however this first cycle only yielded one mature follicle at 20mm. We triggered and I did ovulate but we did not get pregnant that cycle. I did however start my next cycle on my own again. This was to be our last cycle of trying on our own with injections and the next step would be IUI. (Injections and IUI is what Jon and Kate on Jon and Kate Plus eight did and she too has PCOS so we were a little worried but soooo excited) This cycle my injection dosages were increased quite a bit and I started to respond really well. At one point my monitoring day landed on a Saturday again so we had to go to Mobile very early. The actual doctor did my ultrasound this time and said everything looked great and that they were going to have to be very careful because he has seen people whose ultrasounds looked like mine have quadruplets. This made us really excited because we just knew our chances would be good. I only had to do 12 days of injections this time and I had 4 possibly 5 mature follicles that would release. I triggered and did ovulate and this is the time that worked. I took probably 12 pregnancy tests in all because I could not believe it. I even called the 1-800 number on the box to make sure it was positive and I finally got a digital one that said pregnant.

We were absolutely ecstatic. We went to my parents and grandparents houses to tell them and I called Carol Leah and told her and we decided not to tell anyone else until Christmas. Well my HCG levels came back kind of high which is indicative of multiples so I was sent for an early ultrasound at 6 weeks 2 days. It was amazing…we saw and heard the heartbeat and things were going so well.

So well in fact that my doctor released me 6 weeks early to my OBGYN because he said there was no need to stay with him that everything looked excellent. We ended up having to tell everyone that week because I had already started to show and I wasn’t able to hide it anymore. I had my first prenatal visit at 7 weeks 2days and was set up for my next appt. on the 2nd of January. Every thing seemed to be going great. I was very sick with morning sickness, extremely tired and I was showing more and more but no weight gain. No signs that anything was wrong. No bleeding, no cramping, not anything. We were pretty excited to go to this twelve week appt. and get an ultrasound to see how things were progressing. We never even imagined how things would turn out. Our world was shattered that day.So now on top of grieving for our precious baby we have to start back with the needle prodding, time consuming, emotional rollercoaster of trying to conceive. I hope you understand a little more why it has hit us so hard and why we are struggling to find strength to go about our daily lives. I could never put into words completely what we have gone through and just how painful it has been but I wanted everyone to know a little of what it has been like over the last few years for us. Through it all we have grown closer to God and to each other but it doesn’t make the pain any less real. Today is the first day since Friday that I have even been able to talk about it other than with Daniel. I haven’t spoken with anyone on the phone, no visitors other than my parents and Carol Leah and Daniels mom popped in and out. I just can’t face people right now; it makes the pain to real. I don’t know when I will be ready to face everyone. Only time will tell. Daniel is taking it really hard also. He tries to be brave for me but he is hurting so much and it pains me to see my strong brave husband so broken and hurt. One last note. Some people may find this weird but it has helped us cope. I was sure from day one that we were having a little boy and so was Daniel and I believe with all my heart and soul that we were right. I just had a feeling. And that feeling is even stronger now. And while the doctors were not able to tell the sex just yet we decided that we would not be able to name our next child the name we had picked out for him and that we would always refer to our first baby boy as Zachary. It is comforting to know that our precious little Zachary is safe in Heaven and that I will see him one day. We had planned on getting a build a bear when we found out what we were having so my parents got us one with and Auburn shirt on and also a baby blue angel figurine with the name Zachary on it. Those two things along with a framed ultrasound picture will be displayed in our next baby’s room because Zachary will never be forgotten and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. I know this note was long and it was extremely painful for me to write but I write it asking for your prayers and support. We didn’t tell a lot of people the first go around because for some strange reason we were embarrassed for what we were going through and I know for me it made me feel like I was less of a woman than others which I realize now is silly since I now know of a lot of people who have gone through some form of fertility treatment even if not to the extent we have. This time I know we can’t do it on our own. This horrible reality that we are dealing with right now really has no words to describe it but I do know that with God and friends and family we will make it through this and though a piece of our hearts will always be missing, we will be able to put the other pieces back together. And through prayer and support from all of you we will be able to get back on the Trying to Conceive track and hopefully have a successful pregnancy outcome. To all of you who have emailed me or talked to Daniel on the phone I want to thank you for letting us know that so many people love and care for us. I don’t know when I will have the strength to talk to each of you individually but please know we appreciate all the prayers and concern.

This was the last picture taken of me before we found out we had lost Zachary. This was taken the night before.

Catching Up

This post many of you have already seen. It was on my previous blog but I decided to start a new one and felt that it needed to be reposted for those of you who are new to our blog. This is the story of how Daniel and I became "The Hatfield's".

So let's start at the beginning. I met Daniel for the first time back in 1993. We were in the 3rd grade and we met during VBS at Grandview Pines Church of Christ. Mrs. Crow was our teacher. Well months passed and we were friends. You know the kind of friends you have in 3rd grade where you pick on each other and "pretend" not to like each other when secretly you think they are cute! I remember one Sunday after church our friend Jason came running up to me and said "Daniel wants to know if you will be his girlfriend?" I said "NO!". I was only 8 and even though I wanted to say yes I wasn't quite sure if this was a prank or not so to save my dignity I said no like I didn't even care. Who knew he was for real? Well several years passed with both of us denying that we wanted to be anything more than friends. Now we were teenagers. He had girlfriends and I had a few boyfriends but for me nothing seemed right. I even tried to tell myself that I liked every other guy in our youth group but him. Convinced myself even but when I was by myself to think it always came back to him. I was still so young and could not understand why I could only think about him in my future. Wasn't I suppose to be dating lots of the wrong guys first? I kept this to myself for a while and spent all my time trying to make him jealous. Through all of this our wonderful youth group was getting stronger and closer than ever. We were inseparable which in turn meant that Daniel and I were inseparable. So as much as I tried to deny my feelings for him there was no way I could any longer. My best friend Carol Leah was great through this whole thing. You see she had a thing for his older brother so we would lay in her bed at night talking about them and "contemplating" our next move. We tried all of the subtal things like sitting next to them and dropping little hints. All the things that guys just dont pick up on. LOL. Well it wasn't long til it worked for her. I remember her calling me one night to tell me that Tommy had asked her to be his girlfriend. I was ecstatic. I was so happy for her because I knew her feelings toward him were the same as mine toward Daniel. It wasn't until that night that I realized that I was a little jealous. She was now on her way to the dates and late night phone calls, and closeness with Tommy that I so badly wanted with Daniel. Don't get me wrong I was so happy for her and would never have wanted anything different for her but I wished that it could have been me too. I tried to tell myself that they were older and that this is the reason that things worked for them so quickly. Who would have thought that by them becoming an item that this would bring Daniel and I even Closer. You see that summer before at Backwoods Christian Camp Daniel and I had sort of a breakthrough. We officially started to acknowledge our feelings and started the flirting stage. So by the time Tommy and CarolLeah got together we used them as a way to hang out. :) The first time was a little bit of a set up. You see Tommy told Daniel that we were all going to the park. Insinuating that the youth group would be there. Turns out it was just us four. hehe..That was a pivotal night for us. We talked about alot of things that needed to be talked about. So from then on we would tag along with them sometimes just so that we could be together to talk just the two of us. Well on March 4 2000 we became a couple and I was absolutely ecstatic. I remember coming to church the next morning all nervous because I thought I may have dreamed it. Well as time went on we just got closer and closer. It was completely different than either of us had ever experienced. We were such good friends first that we took things so much slower than the average couple. Plus we were young and we didn't want to mess things up. It was three months before we shared our first kiss! Well we went through all of high school together, though at different schools. We went to proms and I was at every home football game of his, and we spent every Saturday and Sunday together. A few years went by and in September of 2002 Tommy and CarolLeah got engaged. I was soooo thrilled because at that point I new Daniel and I would always be together so eventually CL and I would be sisters-in-law. So time passed, we were both in college. On May 17 2003 Daniel picked me up from my house around 3pm because we were going to visit my granddad, who was in the hospital at the time, before we went on our date. He said he needed to make a quick stop at the church building to pick up a workbook that his mother needed for her class the next day. So I got out with him and before we could get to the door he stopped me and blindfolded me. He led me into the hall where the classrooms are and took my blindfold off. There was a trail of yellow rose petals (my favorite) leading me to the classroom where we first met in 3rd grade. I remember asking "What is this Breadcrumbs from a fairy tale?" In the Classroom there was a chair with a single rose in it. I sat down and he got down on one knee and said " From the first time I sat across from you in this classroom I knew we had a future together. Will you make me the happiest man alive and make that future forever? Will you marry me?" He then put the ring on my finger. Of course I said yes through my tears and we then stood, hugging and kissing, and crying a little. What's funny is before we could leave we had to get down on our hands and knees and pick up all those rose petals.lol I was so excited about going to see my grandfather in the hospital because I knew that my parents were there also. When we walked into the hospital room I had my hand in my pocket. Daniel said "We have something to tell ya'll" . They started freaking thinking something had happened. I then pulled my hand out of my pocket and they all got excited. My moms face lit up. My dad smiled because he knew all about it. Daniel had been very old fashioned and asked my dad first. My grandfather almost cried and my grandmother nearly jumped over the hospital bed to get to us to hug us. We left and went to eat at Tony Roma's and called Daniel's mom on the phone. She didn't believe Daniel so she asked to speak to me. She asked if we had set a date and said congratulations. We then left and went to Daniel's grandparents house. They said that it was about time. :) We then left and went home to his parents house to show them the ring. Daniels dad hugged me at least four times and acted so excited which really surprised me. Daniels mom hugged us and called him Mr. Romantic. I called and told Carol Leah on the way to his grandparents house. She was so excited.

So now comes the fun Part. Planning a wedding. Who could have possibly imagined all the many details that went into this one day? I had no idea going into it what I was in for. All the decisions to make and money to be spent. Daniel was great. He stayed pretty much out of it except when I asked him something. Mostly it was just me and my mom. Over the next year my mom and I went through so much together. We argued, laughed, and cried. At one point I remember sitting on the bed discussing table placement at the reception and getting so tickled that we both almost peed our pants. It was alot of ups and downs but in the end it was so worth it.My wedding day was perfect! Every decoration was exactly what I wanted. Every food Item was exactly how I planned. The Cakes were more than I ever dreamed they would be. And most of all, my closest friends and family were there to watch me marry the most wonderful man in the world. My grandfather preached the ceremony. It was very loooong but I wouldn't have it any other way. My bridesmaids were beautiful! The groomsmen were handsome. And my husband to be was enough to take my breath away. It did have its sad moments though because as you all know I am very close to my dad. Well after walking me down the isle he got on his knee and sang Butterfly Kisses to me! AWWW...there was not a dry eye in the building. It didn't stop there. Daniel doesn't cry very easily but his eyes were filled with tears and such love throughout the whole ceremony that there was not a doubt in my mind that he meant every word that came out of his mouth.The Reception was great although like a whirlwind it was over. I didn't get to eat any of the food and I can't even tell you half the people that talked to me. But soon it was all over and we were off on our honeymoon. A 7 day cruise to the western Caribbean. That was the most fantastic vacation ever and what better way to start a fantastic life.