I have to say that our benefit was a HUGE success. We are so glad that our sweet friends Joy and Eric Crosby talked us into doing it. We were sort of against doing it because we are not the type of people to ask for money from anyone. Joy explained to us that we aren't asking anyone who doesn't want to help. She said there are plenty of people who want to help you but they don't know how to help. She explained to us that we should take peoples generosity as a blessing....boy did we. Mikie's biggest fear was not having anyone show up to the benefit. He was a little stressed up until the day of the benefit. Joy, Kristina, Jade, and family kept reassuring us that everything will be perfect. We had to let go of the stress and believe what everyone was telling us. We started to slowly see all the support we had when we started receiving all sorts of donations. Joy, Kristina, and Jade helped get all the donations they could. Mikie was shocked when I kept filling up our spare room with donations for the auction. We spent a weekend selling raffle tickets in Sealy and in Rosenberg....that was another big hit. Joy's sister owns a t-shirt company and they designed the CUTEST t-shirts to sell....and that was another big hit. The day of the benefit arrived and our nerves were settling down and just anxious to see what happened. We had a BLAST. It was so much fun visiting with old friends, meeting new friends, and witnessing all the LOVE and SUPPORT we have. We knew we had a lot of support and love but the benefit really proved it to us. My in laws own a moonwalk company and they set up a bounce house for the kids to jump on. We had a lady who owned a snocone place contact us asking if she could come out to set up. She came out and the kids enjoyed eating their snocones and the adults did too. Jade decided to do a diaper raffle....if you brought a thing of diapers then you got entered into a raffle. We ended up with a ton of diapers and they were all different sizes. I was more excited about the diapers then anything. If you know Mikie then you know we are going to go through a TON of diapers. He wants his baby girls to have a clean booty. HA! My mom said that she was going to buy stock in wipes because she knows we are going to go through a ton. She watched how Mikie was with our niece. LOL. The food we sold at the benefit was delicious and I'm not even exaggerating. Joy's husband Eric can cook and I mean he could cook a piece of dirt and make it taste yummy. I do not like brisket at all because I cannot stand meat that has a lot of fat on it. I ate a bunch of brisket at the benefit because it was so good. Mikie was shocked that I ate it. He told Eric, "She would starve before she would eat brisket." We had a few briskets left and we decided to auction them off. My Aunt Brenda ended up buying one and my Uncle and cousins bragged about how delicious it was. We ended up doing a silent and live auction at the benefit. Both auctions were a success and the live auction was so much fun. My step mother in law, Laurie, made an ATM wreath and it went for high dollar....and she thought it wasn't her best work. She even had a few people that placed orders with her to make more wreaths. Jade's husband is hilarious....he decided he would auction himself off for one free day of labor. My Aunt ended up buying him and she is going to have him help my Uncle work cows. The owners of Creekmore Bar put two big cans of beans in a box. They had Mikie take it up to the auctioneer and auction off the mystery box. It sold and it was hilarious as we watched the highest bidder open the box. Our auctioneer was funny to and he helped keep everyone's attention in the auction. My friend came to the auction who is a photographer and she took a ton of pictures. I was so thankful to have her there because I didn't take one picture with my phone. Overall, everything was a HUGE success. Mikie and I were speechless and overwhelmed with all of the LOVE and SUPPORT we received. It wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help, love, sweat, hard work, and support.
Our last doctor appointment was on Monday, August 10th. We received a very good update and got some awesome pictures of Zoey and Kinsley. It seems like Jade's pregnancy is going so smooth. I'm amazed at all the test they offer you to take to find out if your child has this or that. Mikie and I did the chromosome testing on the embryos prior to transfer. We did a lot of research on IVF and found that one of the number one reasons IVF doesn't work is because of issues with embryos. We decided to get them all tested and I'm glad we did. After having four unsuccessful transfers, I would have been beating myself up trying to figure out why it didn't work. We can at least rule out the bad embryos and go with that my body rejects foreign objects. I've explained to our OBGYN that I do not want to do any further testing. If I find out something now about Zoey or Kinsley it isn't going to change anything....I would still go through with the pregnancy. At our last appointment, Jade still had only gained about 3lbs. She weighed......103lbs. I cannot remember the last time I weighed that amount. HA! Our next appointment is on Friday, September 4th. We have an appointment with the high risk doctor to do our 20 week anatomy scan. I'm so excited and anxious for this appointment...especially since Jade's belly is getting BIG. I want to see how big my girls are! After our anatomy scan on Friday we have a follow up with our OBGYN the following week. I cannot believe that we are already going to be 20 weeks pregnant. It seems like yesterday that Jade was thanking Dr. Kim for "knocking her up". LOL.
Jade....where do I even begin with this woman! She has definitely made this journey end on such a good note. She constantly keeps me updated with pictures, videos, or symptoms. I really feel a great connection with her and even though I'm not carrying...I feel a great connection with my baby girls. I know everything they have been doing to Jade. I truly couldn't imagine having anyone else as my surrogate. She has been AMAZING! I love how big her heart is and how much she cares for others. I keep teasing her that she isn't done after they are born....I'm going to need help! She laughs but on a serious note I know she would help me out if I ask.....she is just that type of person. I do not know one person who has met her who doesn't like her. She has great sense of humor, big heart, and is a wonderful friend. Zoey and Kinsley are so lucky to have her as their Auntie Jade. And.....she loves the challenge of carrying twins with her little body. She cant wait to show everyone that she can do it!! :)
I've been having mixed emotions cross through my head. A few months ago, I began to feel scared and nervous. I've talked to my best friend who just had a baby about all my feelings. I told her that I felt stupid for saying or feeling these things because all I've wanted the past 3 years is a baby. She explained to me that I'm human and I can feel those things. It is scary and my life is going to change 100%. I'm not worried about my life changing but learning how to adjust to all the change. I'm constantly on the go and I never slow down but I'm going to have to learn to slow down. My friend explained that I will be too exhausted to constantly go. She said there will be days where you will want to give up because sometimes being a mom is tough...it is all part of the process and everyone mom goes through it. For me the hardest part is going to be asking for help because I always try to over do things or be superwoman. My friend explained how hard it was for her to ask for help as well. It has helped so much having a best friend that has gone through some life changes around the same time as me. Plus her and I are so much alike when it comes to a lot of things. I'm learning to allow myself to feel all of those emotions because I am human. Yes I went through a lot to have a baby and my dreams are coming true but that doesn't mean I cannot feel scared or nervous. Some people have asked me how I'm doing when it comes to me not carrying. You know at first when we decided the surrogate route...it killed me. All I thought about was not feeling a connection with my baby, not being able to witness the kicking, and not being able to witness my belly growing. Well....now....I don't feel those emotions very much because Jade has made me feel apart of everything. I think I've accepted the fact that I cannot carry. The more I hear about other pregnancies, I think to myself how I couldn't handle it. LOL. My cousin is fixing to have her baby in October and her boyfriend teases me saying, "How is your pregnancy going." The other night I went out to dinner with Mikie and ordered a margarita. I took a picture of it and sent it to her saying "This is how my pregnancy is going". Everyone in my family has helped me feel better about not being able to carry. They've supported me when I've had my down days about it. When we use to go to the doctor, I use to wish it was me on the table getting the ultrasound or embryos transferred....now I don't even think about it. All I think about is my two baby girls....no matter how they come into this world they are still MY babies. :)
Mikie and I are working on getting the back rooms cleaned out and windows replaced. We want to put in more energy efficient windows in the babies room and eventually throughout the house. He wants the best for his babies. I sort of scared him a couple of weeks ago. He was talking about all that he wants to do and I said "When do you plan on doing all of this" He said, "I don't know in the next month or so" I said, "You do realize that we need to have things ready sooner than January because anything could happen and she could have those babies sooner." He jumped on the ball last week and started ordering windows. LOL. I love my husband to death but you know how men are....they take forever to do anything around the house. I had to light a fire under his tail, otherwise, it will never get done.
Last weekend, I went shopping with two friends to pick out all the room décor. We decided to go with pink, grey, white, and gold. We loaded up two baskets full of signs and decorations from Hobby Lobby. Now we have to decide on what color to paint the walls so I can get that done before they come over to hang up everything. I'm not crafty at all; therefore, I'm leaving all that to Kristina and Kayla. They love to do stuff like this and I'm excited to use their talent. Once we get the room painted, signs hung up, and the cribs ordered....I will really start feeling all sorts of emotions. I'm already anxious for them to be here but I will be even more anxious! HA! I have a few plastic tubs in the spare room that are slowly getting full with gifts they have received. Our baby showers are coming up in October, another one in November, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then its time for the girls to arrive!!!!! Time is flying by.
Last week, I stayed at my parents house because I had to work long hours. My mom was so excited and called me to ask me if I needed anything specific from the grocery store. She tells me not to make my bed when I leave in the morning that she will do it. My dad calls me the first night I'm going to stay there to ask me if I wanted to go to dinner. They were both very excited about having me for the week. I told my coworkers, "I better enjoy this because as soon as Zoey and Kinsley arrive I will be chop liver." HA! My parents within the next year or so want to move back this way. They are looking at houses in Richmond and Katy....I'm on cloud 9. I wish they were moving back tomorrow! HA! My sister finally got a house in Pearland and she will be closer as well. She is also building a pool in her backyard and talks about how Zoey and Kinsley will have a place to swim during the summer. I told Mikie, "Our little girls are going to spoiled rotten."
I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. I'm so anxious to meet my sweet little Zoey and Kinsley. I cannot wait to hold them in my arms that have long awaited for a baby to hold. Thank you again for all of your love and support. Our journey has been a long one but worth every tear, every penny, and every laugh.
My beautiful girls from our last ultrasound.
Huge success on our diaper raffle!
Jade's belly is GROWING!
A comparison between singleton and twins.
All three of these women have been here for me throughout my journey. We celebrated Baby White last weekend. I cannot wait to meet my nephew.
Joy, a woman who has been there for me through my entire journey. She has been nothing but nice to me since I moved Sealy and met her. She is always there for me. We were selling raffle tickets in Sealy.
Mikie couldn't believe he was told to pose this way! Hahahaha!
Our journey has been nothing but fun with this couple!
Our crazy/fun surrogate...Auntie Jade!
My handsome nephew breaking in Zoey and Kinsley new blankets that their Aunt Nina bought them! :)
Zoey and Kinsley are head down facing each other at our last appointment!
All three of these women have been some of my biggest supporters. I'm using their talent to decorate the girls room! My girls are so lucky to have all three of them as their Auntie!
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