It's a....

(Ultra sound of baby A and baby B in their bunk beds on the left- individual shots on the right)

Okay, it is not far enough along to say that part yet. But, after a long and eventful journey, we are grateful and ecstatic to announce that….we are pregnant! With twins nonetheless! I am blown away every day by the idea of three hearts beating inside me- whoa. Although there are some twins in the family…genetics did not play a role in the fact that I have some bunk beds set up and expanding in my uterus. Chip and I tried to start a family for a while and were eventually told that the only way we would have our own children was to try in vitro fertilization (IVF). So, despite the many hurdles that make that option daunting, we went for it.

We have experienced a lot of pain, grief, and anxiety along the way, and are more than willing to talk about the details with people who are curious…or maybe struggling with something similar themselves. Infertility will affect about 15 % of couples, and we happened to not know one couple who had gone through this. We did have a few people to talk to, and that was immensely helpful. And, thank you again, you know who you are. Although it is easy to find oneself going through this kind of struggle mostly alone due the private nature of the subject matter, I don’t recommend it. Please, don’t hesitate to call or check in with us if you need someone or know someone who does need someone to talk to. At this point we are actually very grateful for our experience. wow- never thought I would say that. Of course a positive outcome helps us to embrace this mindset, but even before we knew the outcome we had conversations about the work of art we call “life” and how this was a brush stroke that we did not see coming, but added depth and beauty to our piece.



At this point, we are pretty focused on the joy and anticipation of being pregnant and parents- yahoo! It is so surreal. Due date is 1/5/2011, but many twins come before full term. However, my mom, whom my body is modeled after for sure, carried hers full term and then went 11 days late! So, we will just have to see how this all unfolds. We’ll keep ya updated on the progress here, so stay tuned.

(Us- all smiles after finding out the blood test was positive!!)


"A grand adventure is about to begin."
-- Winnie the Pooh

I'm three...I mean 21.

I have a little catching up to do. On June 8th, our puppilessness turned three...which makes her 21 in dog years...which means she can drink! Despite her parents efforts to pressure her into her first beer, she was quite resistant. She is smiling in this picture, but I don't think she took more than a lick and was not impressed. I guess it is more of an acquired taste than I remember. Guess we'll stick to water for now. Otherwise, our girl is doing awesome. She is as sweet and loving as ever, keeping me company when Chip is out of town or working nights. She guards the house with a really mean bark. In fact, she almost got a letter of complaint from the mail person....she HATES the mail person. But, once anyone other than the mail person comes in the door, she wags her tails so hard her entire body moves. She loves the water, finding any river, lake, or puddle she can (and there are lots in Portland this Spring as we have set records for the amount of moisture we have gotten in the past few months), and laying down in it. We really do love her and can't seem to get enough of her adorable furry face.




On the human front, it has been an exciting month too. I graduated with my masters almost three years ago now, but was not done with the process towards my license. I have been gathering the 2,000 client contact hours, 4,000 work hours, and a slew of supervision necessary to be deemed an official Licensed Clinical Social Worker. And, this past month...I met the mark, passed a local exam (already passed my boards), paid some more money, and received my license. Not sure what this really means. In some states it means I can start a private practice. In Oregon, I could have done that already without it....but personally didn't want to. It basically opens some doors and gives me more options. It also means I have completely made the transition to career number two. I feel pretty satisfied with it for the most part, but would not rule out another morphing of this career or a third entirely different one at some point. At this point we are more focused on making it to Chip finishing up as well and figuring out where he lands a job, and as a result, we land our family for the next stint. Vamos a ver!


Currently, my favorite bumper sticker...
"Wag more, bark less."