The beginning of it all...

Sometimes it's tough to know where to start in sharing your story with others. So I'm going to go all the way back to the beginning. Many of you already know some of this information, but who knows, maybe it'll be fun for you to have a refresher too!

In January of 2009, Andy and I met through some mutual friends at Taylor University where we were both attending school. I was a freshman and he was a junior. In March of that year we traveled to El Salvador with a missions team from TU. This is where our relationship really started to bloom. A few weeks after returning from abroad, we decided we wanted to date one another.

Fast forward to July 13, 2013 - our wedding day! We recently celebrated our 7th anniversary. It's truly hard to believe that 7 years of marriage (+4 years before that of knowing one another) have passed. There have been many ups and downs - we bought a house, a car, a dog. We've changed jobs and made new friends. And, in the midst of all that, we have come to know the emotional highs and lows of infertility.

It is our intention through this blog to share our experience. We know that our story may not be all that different from the thousands of other couples who have faced these challenges. It feels unique to us, though, and we feel all the emotions of it all the same. One thing I personally have come to understand during this process is that it is exhausting. It's tough to know when, how much, and with whom to share information. A multitude of questions come at you from caring friends and family (...you), doctors, well-meaning co-workers or acquaintances, etc. Sometimes answering the same questions over and over can be frustrating. That's not to say we don't welcome the questions - bring them on! But, our hope is that we will have this space to openly share our thoughts, trials, and victories with each of you in an informative way.

I've always been a fairly vulnerable person. I'm happy to share my story with others, hoping that it may have a good impact on their lives. That said, here's your warning now...I will talk about some personal health information in this blog. It's better to be genuine than to keep things hidden away (don't worry it won't get too detailed!).

Most of these posts will be written from my (Laura) perspective as a future mother, but Andy plans to contribute some too. Both of us have experienced very real and different emotions.

If you haven't been scared away just yet, great! Now we can really begin...