Monday, November 29, 2010

Heartbreak and the Holidays

                                     Elam Christmas Tree 2010


Hello, Blog World.  We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed some tasty pie!

I had no idea how hard the holidays would be for me.  What do Thanksgiving and Christmas represent for you?  For me, it's a reminder of all I have to be thankful for and the amazing gift of Jesus.  But it's also a time spent with family.   Family.  A word I never thought would evoke such strong emotions, even cause grief in the deepest crevices of my heart.  This Thanksgiving, I was left thinking about the family my heart longs for, and it is truly heartbreaking.  Dictionary.com defines heartbreak as "great sorrow, grief, or anguish."  I think that definition only scratches the surface...it is raw, painful, oppressive.  As worship began at church on Sunday, I was unable to even utter the words "We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes, to the Giver of Life."

Then, my sister-in-law spoke truth to me.  She has learned to ask during times of trial, "What lies are you believing instead of God's truth?"  Immediately I was catapulted back to that cross, and was reminded of one of my favorite passages in Hebrews 12 (The Message): "Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"

I think that says it all...


Infertility:  Thanksgiving brought with it big decisions.  Thanksgiving week, my doctor's appointment revealed that my new medication Femara was not working.  My doctor urged me to come up with a game plan with Harlan, with very few options left to consider:

1.  Expensive laparoscopy  to check for endometriosis and equally expensive daily injections to help me ovulate, with only a 20% chance of pregnancy each time.
2.  Astronomically expensive Invitro Fertilization with a 70% chance of pregnancy the first time. 

We always said we wouldn't even consider IVF.  Here we were yet again, all doors slamming shut.  We began to discuss Adoption vs. IVF, all while praying for God to give us direction.  And direction He gave us!

I had one last trip to the doctor scheduled for Monday to discuss a game plan with my doctor.  During that appointment, there it was!  We discovered another mature follicle, just days away from allowing me to ovulate.  I am still speechless.

Speechless and hopeful.

Adoption:  Adoption is very much still on the table.  As more doors close, adoption becomes a greater reality.  While we remain hopeful that I will conceive, we know God creates families, not us.  The cost of adoption is almost double that of Invitro Fertilization, but there are lots of grants, private donations, and even a tax credit that make adoption costs easier to swallow.  For example, families may qualify for a $13,170 tax credit if they adopt in 2011.  Check it out here.  We continue to seek God's guidance on what to do next.

Baking: Next week, Austin LifeCare will be hosting a Christmas open house to thank all of our volunteers for giving so much of their time and resources to us this year.  Open houses always have goodies, so I'm making quite a few!

Puppy Chow - So easy and so delicious!  Recipe here

Toffee - Always a Christmas Favorite.  Recipe here.

Christmas Cupcakes - How adorable are these?  Not sure of the recipe yet, but most likely red velvet...


In other blog news: We are on the cusp of 1000 visits to our blog.  Some big shot blogs may see that kind of traffic in a day.  For the Elam family, it's a big deal.  The journey continues, with you along for the ride!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Five Year Plan - Guest Post by Harlan


Infertility: When Rachel emphatically said yes to me more than five years ago, I had imagined that we would be childless for a time. Intentionally child free of course. I mean, with the current state of medicine we can plan the perfect time to start a family, right? We both agreed that we wanted to be married for a while and experience life together. Alone. Without a little one running around messing with our independence. We called it the "5 Year Plan."

When friends and family asked about us having kids the first couple of years of our marriage we deferred to the plan. It was an acceptable explanation for most that we wanted to be married for a while without the burden of a totally dependent life. When close friends starting having kids we cringed and reminded ourselves of the plan. It was an enormous relief to me that Rachel was on the same page regarding the plan. I wasn’t ready emotionally and thinking about the cost of parenthood, both to my wallet and my independence, would keep me up at night stressed and anxious. Or would have without the plan.

It wasn’t until about 4 years in that I had any desire at all to start a family. What really kick started my yearning to be a father were the vivid dreams about babies. I believe God uses dreams to speak to us and I think he was giving me a heart for a little one. The feelings I had in these dreams were new and exciting and as close to pure joy I can think of. This started happening more and more and as I talked about them with Rachel we realized we were pretty ready to start our family.

When we asked God’s blessing on our marriage, we assumed He was on board with the plan. We thought we could plan when to have a baby and, therefore, take control of the future of our family. In my experience, when we are comfortable and seemingly in control of our lives, God tends to take a back seat and dependency on Him is less necessary. But when the bottom drops out with news of infertility and the possibility of never having a baby, you realize just how helpless you are.  Consider the following scripture:

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

It has been a hard, life changing lesson, but I think Rachel and I have learned to give up the desire of control in our lives and lean on God’s will for our future. We believe with our whole hearts the the Lord determines our steps and have faith that His way is so much better than our own. Oswald Chambers says in My Utmost for His Highest what we are feeling,  “Every now and again, Our Lord lets us see what we would be like if it were not for Himself; it is a justification of what He said - ‘Without Me you can do nothing.’ That is why the bedrock of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus.”

This is the lesson of the 5 Year Plan. Our lives are not our own and apart from God we can do nothing. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Baking: I absolutely cannot wait for Rachel to make her famous (to me at least) Very Cherry Pie. It’s one of my favorite sweets she bakes. It’s so good, in fact, that I have her bake it when there is no one else to share it with so I can have it all to myself. Gluttony is a sin that I’ll address in a future post. 


The pie is based loosely on this recipe.  Rachel makes a few modifications, like mixing sour and dark sweet cherries for the filling.  





In other medical news:  Rachel is trying a new fertility drug called Femara (details here).  It has been shown to be effective in helping women with PCOS ovulate.  Next Tuesday, she'll go to the doctor  to see if the medicine is doing it's job.  Keep those prayers coming!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Test Results

Infertility: We are not pregnant.  Thanks for committing to pray with us.  It's hard for me to express how I'm feeling, so I think this will do...

Baking: Oh, Buckeyes.  These.Are.Deadly.  I challenge you to eat just one.  Go ahead, try it.  So easy to make, too.  Highly Recommended.

Here are a few pics of them, for your viewing pleasure: 





Adoption:   In need of Christmas gift ideas?  Why not give family and friends meaningful gifts with purpose behind them?  There are a lot of great organizations that help promote fair, living wages for international families or even assist in funding adoptions.  There are tons out there, but here are a few I recommend:

Noonday Collection 
Just Love Coffee - Spies Family
One Mango Tree
Help Haiti - Aaron Ivey  

Harlan and I can't tell you how much we have appreciated the outpouring of support.  Daily I'm humbled by the number of visits to our blog.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  Guest post by Harlan comin' up next!



Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Waiting Game




Infertility: Today marks one week until I take my pregnancy test.  Oh my gracious...it is a lot harder to wait than I expected!  One of my favorite passages in the Bible has provided so much comfort this week: "Because of the Lord's great love for us we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion"; therefore I will wait for Him." Lamentations 3:22-24. 

Waiting is a big part of the infertility journey.  Especially when others around you are expecting, each passing day can be a reminder than you can't share in this miracle of life.  As you wait, doubts begin to creep in...the procedure didn't work, I don't feel pregnant, I'll never have a family of my own.  However, here's what God has to say: “But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings as eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” Isaiah 40:31



Baking:  Sorry, no picture of what I baked from last week.  I ended up making Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares, and they were a huge hit.  This week, I cannot resist making these from one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen

Buckeyes


Yield: 36 to 42 tablespoon-sized candies
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth, but you can use chunky if you are looking for more texture)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
Salt (optional, see note up top)
3 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

You can check out how to make them here.  Delicious!


In Other News:

My hunky husband will be writing a guest post soon.  Isn't he precious?  Stay tuned!