Our Appointment

This morning I had an ultrasound and it looks like I'm ready to go! So, tonight I will get a shot that makes me ovulate in 36 hours, then I'll go in on Sunday morning (arrive 7:30am, procedure 8:30am) for the egg retrieval. Then they will put the eggs back in on Friday morning.

All is well, the weather is hot again, Pete and Wanda are on thier way home and Werner and Frida have left for Capetown. So, we are here for a fairly relaxing weekend. Hopefully we will be able to go to a rugby game on Saturday night :).

As far as prayer.....I'm having a hard time thinking of anything that I haven't already asked a million times before. Not sure, maybe I am just more numb this time, it is a strange place to be. Anyway, pray for the procedure on Sunday of course and I guess continued prayer for our time here, that we can be an impact on the family here as well you all out there. We have gotten some amazing feedback from you all and it is such a blessing to us.

Take care and I'll update you on how the eggs are doing each day.

Wednesday

The last few days have been pretty uneventful and normal. Pete and Wanda leave tomorrow, so we had a nice "going away" meal with everyone tonight. Renee, Wanda and I went shopping at all the "end of summer" sales (yes the season are opposite) and got some amazing deals! Not to mention it was fun to have a bit of a girls day :). Gabe has turned into a true 'african" by now.....tan, blonde, barefoot and dirty! The kids never wear shoes around here....really not at school or stores even. Seems so wierd to us since we aren't allowed in public places without shoes. Gabe is even starting to say a handful of Afrikaans words.....the favorite is "myna" (mine) as you can imagine. He even now says "water" with an accent...very cute :). I had a snapshot of life here and wished I had a camera to take a picture. Renee and I took the kids to the park to play this afternoon and when we got there we saw about 10 little kids all with thier maids. If you know what I mean by maids......most all families here have live-in maids, all dressed in their uniforms and headscarves. It is a very different life here....someone to do your dishes, laundry, cleaning, gardening, cooking, watch the kids whenever you need it, etc all for the price that we pay for a housecleaner to come in every other week! As with anything, you just get used to it and it becomes a way of life. Interesting, none the less.

The big news is that Dale is going to fly to Cape Town to do a road bike race. It is called the Argus and is the most popular road race in the country (36,000 people). All of the Reinach's do it every year and Dale has been dying to do it for years. Since we are staying he is here to do it! He is going to fly out on Saturday (8th) in the afternoon, do the race on Sunday and fly back that evening. He is taking Gabe since his aunt will be there to watch him and I will be on bedrest. He is soooo excited and just lights up when he talks about it. The cousins and uncle are very excited as well. He is also excited that he can sort of show Gabe Cape Town (where we honeymooned).

I will send another update after our appointment tomorrow.

Tracy

Our Trip Plans

It has been decided.....Dale and Gabe are staying! Yeah! (for me anyway :)). We changed our tickets and we are leaving South Africa on March 12th, arrive home on the 13th. I must say I am very excited they are staying. I was geared up and ready to stay on my own (that was the original plan), but since our office basically told us that Dale wasn't welcome back :)...(funny you all) we decided to take them up on it! Dale has some business things to work out, but all in all it will be nice. Dale's aunt and uncle are going out of town for 10 days, so we will stay at thier house which will be nice for us to have some time to ourselves. We are also thinking about going on a 4 day trip to the coast, we'll see if it works out. Otherwise, all is well. The guys went to lunch at "Madders" where all they serve is a huge slab of meat. They've been looking forward to it for the whole trip. It rained like crazy today, so it seems that the fall weather is starting. We are going out with all the adults for sushi tonight (kiddies are staying with the grandparents), so that will be fun.

We've been doing shots now for 6 days and I am already quite sore. It reminds me more of the first time. I'm guessing it is becuase I never was really able to recover. We go in on Friday for our first ultrasound.

My thoughts

I really haven't put much of my thoughts down through this whole process as that is not my nature. Bad excuse but one none the less. Tracy has summed up my feelings pretty well in her posts. Its difficult to put into words the myriad of emotions that run through you when you go through a process like this. I had thought that I would be very angry if it didn't work. I had asked for prayer to guard against that which worked well as that wasn't one of my emotions. What I found myself feeling was a sort of 'numb trust'. Its hard to explain but I felt His presence and His command to trust Him but it wasn't an overwhelming feeling of peace that filled my every pore. It was a dulling of the extreme reactions I thought I would have. I have an angry side that rears up when I am contunually thwarted in my attempts. That was not there even though I was afraid it would come. The Lord calmed my spirits and instead filled me with a numbing sort of trust in Him. There weren't bells going off in my head saying "It will be Okay, It will be Okay". I just knew without having to ask that His best could still be trusted. I didn't need specific instructions I just could rest in Him.
Now this might seem like a strange reaction but what can I say, this is my journey through the most difficult questioning time in my walk with Christ. It has been so refreshing in the fact that this is new ground for Tracy and I. We really get to practice what we preach in so many ways. The great realization is that it could be so much worse. Maybe we have been protected from that, a miscarriage a few months in, a child that is developmentally challenged, this process without Gabe, the list goes on. We don't know it all and I'm glad we don't. One last point, I/we wouldn't change one single day of all of this!! It strange to write that but its true.

Dale

Tuesday

Hello!
Sorry for the long delay in writing, I was hoping Dale would add an entry, but he has been busy working.

We had a nice weekend at the farm. Gabe had a blast....a little boys dream......dirt, mud, playing in the streams, swimming, riding in the back of the truck, etc. It was really hot so we spent a lot of time in the pool. We had some amazing food (as usual with this family) and a nice time hanging out with everyone. I'm doing OK, still have my sad moments, but those do fade as the days go by and the reality of the next IVF in process takes over. It is kinda exciting, but not like the last two, we are much more cautious.

We still haven't decided who is staying or going (besides me, of course), hoping that Dale and Gabe stay, but there are some things still pending that he is waiting to hear about, so hopefully we will decide today.

Otherwise we are going about our days the same as before, kinda in a routine. I see the doctor for my first ultrasound on Friday and that will determine how the rest of the time goes.

Thanks again for all your thoughts, prayers, etc, I am still overwhelmed by your generosity and concern!

Tracy

And We Go On....

It has been a roller coaster of emotions that last 24 hours. It is hard to put in words how I am feeling. Sad, dissapointed, angry, discouraged and completely exhausted is a start. Wondering why? Everything looked so good, great in fact! But amongst the lump in my stomach, the tears and the headaches (from the tears), one blessing that I have seen from the Lord is the INCREDIBLE support we have! I've always known this, but the reality came crashing in on me this time and what a comfort! All of you that are praying, reading our blog, sending encouraging e-mails, calling; the family here who are willing to do anything we need, my sister who offered to fly here to help me, my inlaws who are willing to stay in SA with Gabe, our staff who are insisting that Dale stay, and even many of Renee's friends who have been texting her all day to find out the results. It is just overwhelming to me that so many people care enough to sacrifice whether it be thier time, thier prayers, thier heart........and I really want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Never will I forget you for your kindness, love and genuine concern. What a blessing to have!

I think the Lord is working in me, as always, to continue to grow my character. I can't even count how many times I've had to open my heart and trust in his goodness. For those that don't know me....trust and the opening of my heart doesn't come natural or easy! It has been a daily task for....but what a blessing! I could be home, going about my normal life, trying to remember to pray, to have a quiet time, but instead I get to have a 24/7 quiet time! Truly that is what it feels like! So amongst all the pain, I am already seeing the Lord work in my heart, to trust in his plan, whatever it may be and trust in his love.

So from here we are trying to muster up the energy to start again. We went in to see the doctor(who also said he and Cornelia shed a tear) today for blood tests and ultrasound to make sure I am ready for the next try. I also started my first injection and will continue with both injections until March 29th when I go in for another ultrasound to see the size of the follicles. He talked to us for a long while about what happened and in reality he was shocked it that it didn't work. He talked about the reality that almost all of the steps are controlled and measured except that last one.....implantation. We did everything we could to provide an environment that was conducive to implantation, but the reality is that we don't know what goes on inside of there. There is a few minor things he may change, but really we just have to try again.

We had a nice time last night.....the grandmas and grandpas took the kiddos to the farm yesterday afternoon, so Barend, Renee, Dale and I went out to a movie and dinner. It was nice to sort of "check out". We are leaving just now to join them at the farm for the weekend. There is no cell phone or internet coverage there, so you won't hear from us for a few days. I think it will be nice time to get away, have some fun and do nothing if we want to!

Please be praying for our travel decisions...there are so many options, I can't even put my head around them all! Everyone stays; Dale, Gabe, Pete and Wanda leave; Tiff comes; Pete, Wanda and Gabe stay, etc! Also to decide when would be best for me to come home. I am only staying as long as I need to after the embryo transfer.

Thanks again for all your support, I only wish I could thank you in person (or at least on the phone)!

Tracy

I was waiting hoping Dale would add here before I published it, but it looks like he is busy packing and won't be able to, so you can hear from him when we get back from our weekend.

The News

Well here we are back in the place we were 3 months ago........I started spotting this morning, went straight for a pregnancy test and it was negative. Not sure how to express the emotions and pretty sure I can't at this point. The only thing we do know is that we are going forward with a third try. So tomorrow I start my meds again. For now that is all we have.

Thanks for your prayers and we'll update again in a few hours after we have the chance to collect our thoughts.

Dale and Tracy

Wednesday

So far so good! Headache is gone and I did not wake up to spotting today! Gabe seems to be doing better, sleeping through the night and taking good naps.

Tuesday

Hello!
Dale and I had a GREAT time at Red Ivory Lodge. It was a very cool lodge on a hill overlooking a lake. We were the only ones there! So, we felt like royalty :). We had a fabulous meal, one the top 5 best meals for sure! and just a nice time to talk, catch up, go over our life plans, do some business planning, etc. It was really great! Gabe did very well here with grandma and grandpa, slept well and played. Now I am back, but Dale and his dad rushed off with Nico (Dale's cousin) to spend the night at Klasserie (a Big 5 game farm and one of Dale's favorite places to go) and do some business on Nico's farm.

Please be praying....I am kinda stressed....I have a huge headache today. I know that it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I always get a huge headache 1-2 days before I start my period, so the timing is not good if it is "just a headache". Tomorrow is also kind of a big day......it was the day I started spotting last time we did IVF, so we'll see what tomorrow brings! I still have a good feeling about this, but can't help be a bit sad. Also pray for our decision to do a 3rd try if it doesn't work this time. We decided that we needed to decide before we find out so that we don't make an emotional decision. The decision would have to be made the day I started my period because on day 2 I'd start injections again. For those of you that don't know, we had a tentative plan in place for me to stay and do a 3rd round while Dale, Gabe, Pete and Wanda go home. So there are a lot of implications here 1. me doing this on my own 2. the rest of the crew heading home without me 3. being away from my family for ~2 weeks 3. Wanda watching Gabe most of the time, etc, etc. Anyway, Dale says "no", I say "maybe" and everyone one else here says "of course!". So, need less to say, there has not been a decision made yet! Please pray for clarity on this decision!

Thanks to all!
Tracy

Here are the babies! Obviously super microscopic. This was taken just minutes before they were put in. Pretty cool for the baby book :)!.

The weekend

We had a very nice weekend. Saturday was Renee's baby shower which was really nice and fun. Dale and I were able to go out to dinner on Saturday night, nice to have some time alone! Sunday we spent the afternoon at Nico and Marissa (dale's cousin) swimming and we had the most AMAZING meal! I hesitantly asked her "would you mind giving me all of the recipes?!" I tried to take it easy most of the weekend and I think I did pretty good! It is hard cuz I feel fine, I just know I need to rest :). Dale and I are leaving in a bit for an overnight anniversary get away that Dale planned! We are heading to some remote lodge. We are really excited!

Please pray for Gabe.....we've had a few hard days and nights. It turns out that he is getting his 2 year old molers, so he is agitated and has had a fever. He has spent more than one night with us in bed trying to keep from waking up the whole house. So, the combination of pain and a cold/cough he's not the happiest kid around! We are hoping it is not an ear infection, just sore teeth, but Wanda might take him to the doctor this afternoon. Otherwise continue to pray that these embryos stay nestled in!

Hope you are all doing well and would love to hear an update on how life is going for you!

Tracy

Tracy

Sunday

The last few days have been days of mixed emotions. Tired of being stuck in a room, but at the same time praising the Lord what what he is doing inside of me. Not sure whether to be excited or anxious, but resting in the reality that God is totally in control no matter the outcome. I was reminded of the verses that I shared during the last journey in October and amazingly so they have a totally different meaning! Isn't it amazing how God works that way!

Daniel 1:20-23 says "Praise be to the Lord forever and ever: wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons, he sets up kings and disposes of them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you O God of my fathers: you have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we have asked of you, you have made know to us the dreams of the king."

This verse could become a sermon it is so rich, but I just want to concentrate on a few points that really spoke to my heart in a new way. If you remember last time this verse basically spoke that God has a different plan for us for our South Africa trip, that pregnancy wasn't why we were there, there was a different purpose for us. Now it is speaking to me in a new and encouraging way. Specifically "he reveals deep and hidden things"...you have made known to me what we have asked of you." I'm going out on a limb and being totally vulerable here, but I really feel like God is telling me "this is it! this is your time, enjoy it and relish in it". I fight the dark side that says "don't get your hopes up", but everyday I bring those thoughts to the Lord and ask him to take it away. So, here I stand, amazed and encouraged that the Lord is sovereign, he is powerful and true and cares for us so deeply. I rest in that reasurrance and wait with anticipation for Friday's results.

Please pray for Gabe.....he is quite sick now. Started with a bit of a runny nose and turned into a cough and very congested. He was up mutilple times in the night and ended up sleeping with us so we could keep him from waking up the entire house. He would sleep for about an hour then immediately wake up kicking and crying like something was really hurting him. Finally we gave him some Tylenol and he calmed down and slept the rest of the night. We really aren't sure what it is and hope it is just a cold.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

In His Grace,
Tracy

Friday

Today was another day of rest. Basically I finished a book (The Shack.....which I HIGHLY reccomend to everyone! thanks Jini!), watched a movie, and had a massage (Dale's cousin Renee has a physical therapy practice attached to her house so massages are a regular for us :).....only $10. for a 30 min massage! can't beat that!). Dale and Gabe had a fun day running around, a trip out to the country, and the daily golf cart ride (vroom, vroom as gabe calls it) around the nieghborhood. Tonight all the grandmas and grandpas are going out with friends and we are having a pizza/movie night. Pete and Wanda are taking Gabe to the big farmers market in the morning and they can't wait :). I feel pretty good, just stiff from laying around so much, a bit sore, but nothing to worry about. I keep telling everyone that they better watch out cuz you never know who I might turn into with high doses of progesterone and estrogen!

Tracy

Thursday

Happy Valentine's Day to all!



Today has been a good day, not much action for me as you can imagine :). I have spent the entire day in bed, only getting up to go to the bathroom and to watch a movie. I have had lots of visitors in and out of my room all day and Gabe visits between fun times with grandma and grandpa and daddy. I feel good and rested, but not to anxious or bored. The doctor doubled my dose of progesterone and added estrogen to the regimen, so hopefully those babies stay nestled in there this time! Tomorrow will be another day of resting, but not so stringent (maybe I'll even take a shower :)). Dale had a nice bike ride this morning, did some work and ran some errands. We had a nice "Valentine's" dinner with the family and the guys cooked (well sort of, they grilled at least). So all in all, it was good day :). Thanks again for praying, it made for a smooth day!

Tracy

From grandma

Well what a day!!! Tracy allowed me to come to the hospital for the procedure and what an awesome experience! We had such sweet times of prayer and worship before hand being aware of the allmighty presence of God. There were a number of good eggs on monday so we prayed asking the Lord to show clearly which ones and how many to implant . So we all went upstairs to the operating room and were ushered into the "lab". There she showed us that God had already made it clear and there were 2 excellent embryos!!! She said that they dont come much better!!! I just silently wept and kept saying all the time "thank you Father, thank you Father" So then the two little ones were implanted safely into Tracy s womb. Actually they were entrusted into God s hands for Him to care for as He pleases and for His glory. My emotions went from total excitement and wanting to jump up and down to silently standing in awe of what God is and has done to tears just running down my cheeks!! What a God we serve!!! What a priveledge to be part of His plan.

some pics from our trip!

Technically we're pregnant

Tracy went in today to get the eggs implanted. It was a big day of seeing how many eggs progressed to the Blostocyst stage which can be implanted and have a good chance of developing. We ended up with 2 excellent eggs! Cornelia, the tech said these were as good as you could hope for. 1 was actually called an expanded blastocyst which is a more advanced stage than a regular blastocyst. Both cell membranes were so well advanced that they didn't have to do the assisted hatching technique they needed to do last time. Assisted hatching is done when the cell membrane hasn't thinned enough. We are very excited as this time it looks significantly better than last time. It is a cautious optimism as we know what its like to get your hopes up and not have the outcome be as you want. Tracy has been lying down at the hospital for 4 hours now so its time to head home and rest for 2 days where all she can do is get up to go to the bathroom. The Doc said she's pregnant as she has live progressing eggs implanted. Our prayers now are that they implant fully and continue to grow. Pray that Tracy can stay down and not go stir crazy.

Tuesday

Today has been a pretty uneventful day. As far as the eggs, today is a "silent" day. On day 4 they don't touch the eggs. So, tomorrow we go in for the embryo transfer. Our appointment is at 11:30am and basically we'll go in and they will give us an overview of how the eggs turned out, suggest how many we should put in and then at the moment we have to decide! So, pray for discernment in the case that there are many good eggs to choose from. Then they will put me out again, do the procedure and I will have to stay at the hospital for about 4 hours again. Then home to bed!

As far as today...we drove home from Zebula, did some curio shopping, stopped for breakfast then off to Jeanine's (Dale's cousins daughter) 3rd birthday party. It was lots of fun with lots of kids, Gabe had a blast!

I am feeling good and doing well. I do feel much better, more at peace and less anxious. I did break out into some kind of rash tonight, it doesn't seem like anything, but please pray since any abnormality kinda makes me nervous. We had a nice time of prayer tonight after dinner and Werner (dale's uncle) gave us a very encouraging scripture that I wanted to share with you:
Psalm 9:10 "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you Lord has never forsaken those who seek you." So, our hearts desire is ultimately to seek Him, to trust in him as our healer, our father, the one who makes all things possible and good.

Tracy

Monday

Hello,
Sorry for long gap in entries, but I did a bad thing and entered the wrong PIN number into the SIM card to many times until it disabled it. So, of course it is assumed that it was stolen and almost impossible to get it refreshed, so need less to say we haven't had internet access for a few days. So, sorry if you have been checking with nothing entered!

We are still at Zebula. Pete and Wanda arrived last night after 3 weeks in Namibia and a week on Cape Town and now just Dale, Gabe, Pete and Wanda and I are here enjoying the place to ourselves :). Everyone else went back home to work :).

The eggs are doing well....as of today 3 have divided by 8 and 3 have divided by 4. The goal is to have at least 30% of them divided by 8 by today, so we are ahead of the game with 50%!

I thought you'd all like to know that Dale had a run in with a rhino yesterday.....no I'm not kidding! The guys went for a mountain bike ride in a game park that has the Big 5 (the lions are in a different enclosure) and they were being "guys" tryng to go as fast as they can (like "who is the best" kind of thing) when Barend yelled "rhino" and Dale and the Yohan looked up to see a Rhino crossing the road right in front of them! They locked up thier brakes and the Rhino sort of vered to the side (thank goodness!) and they went right past him. Well actually Dale stopped right next to him until the other guys yelled "let's get out of here!" So, that is the adventure of the week for us! Need less to day Dale said that mountain bike ride was a "little piece of heaven" as you can imagine :).

For me.....I am feeling very good. Much better than last time at this point. I am much less sore, almost feel back to normal, so all is well and we are enjoying the relaxing, swimming, laying in the sun, sundowners, game drives, etc.

Until tomorrow...
Tracy

Friday

This morning we went in for the egg retrieval. We arrived at 6:00am, waiting in a room until 7:30am, then headed for my procedure. I, of course, don't remember a thing except the doc trying to find a vein, then I was out :). Woke up 3 hours later. All went well, I had 10 eggs, 7 of them were mature and were able to be fertilized. Dale's sperm was great again (100%)! All needed ICSI. I am pretty sore....feels like I got punched in the gut, but otherwise I feel OK.

Gabe had a fun time with Oma and Opa (dale's aunt and uncle). They had a nice breakfast, went for a ride in the golf cart and ate all sorts of treats :). They have been amazingly hepful and accomodating. We are so thankful for them.

Now we are at Zebula Game/Golf resort. Dale's uncle own a share in a house, so we are staying here for the weekend, then Pete and Wanda will join us on Sunday evening and the 5 of us will stay until Tuesday morning. It is amazingly beautiful, relaxing, and serene. The guys plan on a mountain biking everyday and the girls have some spa treatments scheduled. It is hot here, so I am sure we will do lots of swimming!

Anyway, that is all for now. As you can see Dale did finagle a internet card, so we should have access all weekend.

Today - Thursday

Yesterday and today have been pretty much uneventful, but nice. Yesterday Dale, Gabe and I went on a nice walk and drive around in the golf cart (which is Gabe's favorite for sure!), had dinner with Renee and Barend's small group and just caught up with vists from family. Today we went out to breakfast and ran some errands and now Dale and Gabe are napping :). Sounds like a rough time...huh! The weather is amazing and Gabe just wants to run around outside all day without shoes on.

We are gearing up for tomorrow's egg retrieval which will occur at 7:30am (check in at 6:00am). We are 8 hours ahead (9 for those in Utah). Not that I expect any of you to get up in the middle of the night to pray, but maybe just a quick prayer before you go to sleep tonight :). The process itself will take about 30 minutes, but with check in, check out and being put under I will be there for about 4 hours total. That afternoon we plan to go to a golf/game resort that Dale's uncle have a share in. We've been there many times and are excited to go back. It is an amazingly beautiful place to just rest and relax and we already have spa treatments scheduled for the girls and the guys will go moutain biking :). I'm not sure if we will have internet access while there, but if we do we will keep you posted on how the eggs are doing. The technician will call us everyday and update us on how they are doing. We are feeling exceptionally well and peaceful about the process this time. I know that the "unknown" factor is not there and that is super helpful for me, I am much less anxious about how things will go, who will try to talk to me that I don't understand, what will happen next, etc. Clearly the Lord has been working in our hearts to cause us to relax in Him and trust that he has our best in mind. So, for now things are good and we await the next steps!

Resting in grace,
Tracy

Ultrasound

It's time! We went for our appointment this morning and my follicles are ready and everything looks great! The doctor mentioned that if we would have waited one more day the follicles would have burst, so PTL for our travel mercies!! So now we do an injection to stimulate ovulation tonight then go in early Friday morning for the egg retrieval.

All is well here....it is hot and sunny :). I must say it is really nice to be able to play outside with Gabe, it has been a long, cold winter mostly inside the house.

One thing I wanted to add to Dale's blog from last night. The whole flight thing was awesome and totally a gift from the Lord. Basically when we arrived in DC we immediately went to see if we had some open seats around us that could be blocked. We found out that we were actually in a bulk head, which means no laying down and no putting Gabe on the floor to sleep. So, we (Dale, being the risky one of the two of us insisted) waited until the last minute to board (literally they called last call) and the flight had closed. The agent checked and ended up moving us to another row and blocking two seats!! It was awesome to see how the Lord came through for us and how trusting my husband (which can be hard for us non-risky girls) totally paid off! Great learning experience in itself.

We all had a pretty good night last night. We were all pretty exhausted and Gabe went right to sleep. He woke up at 1:30am ready for the day :), so I did my best to get him back to sleep, but he just kept saying "out", meaning "I want to go play!" Finally I gave him a benadryl and he was out and didn't wake up until 10:00am! Dale and I woke up at 5:00am. So all in all, I think one more night and we'll be back on track. Gabe totally remembers being here, knew where his room was, where the toys were and was so excited to see and play with his cousins!

For the prayer's:
1. Continued prayer for the "process", especially the next few days that the follicles don't burst too soon.
2. For Gabe (and all of us) and his sleep habits.
3. The ability to rest, relax and not get stressed. I must admit this time is SOOOO much easier on me, knowing what to expect is huge! I realize now how anxious I was about not meeting the doctor, not knowing what to expect at the hospital, etc.
4. That our time here is fruitful and that we are aware of opportunities as the come up.

Thanks to all!
Tracy

We made it!

Tracy, Gabe and I made it to SA. The Lord blessed us with a whole row to ourselves so we could sleep and most importantly that Gabe could sleep. We were very fortunate to drive up to Chicago for our flight vs. flying from Peoria because the weather was horrible. The Peoria airport basically shut down on Monday. We were able to get out of O'hare before the storms hit. Gabe got a chance to sit in the captains chair in the cockpit and push all the buttons! He was very chapped with himself. We go for our first ultrasound tomorrow morning after a wonderful dinner here by Frida. Its quite a tradition to be treated to a stunning meal our first night here. Thanks for praying, we're rolling now!

Time to go!

Hello all,
Well it is time for us to be on our way! We leave tomorrow morning (sunday) to drive to Chicago and spend the night there with a friend of Dale's from college. He is excited because it happens to be Superbowl Sunday, so he will get so see a lot of his college buddies. Then we fly out Monday morning from Chicago to Washington then onto Johanesburg. The long flight is 15.5 hours. We are excited and a bit anxious, but it seems the weather is holding up so far. I am feeling pretty good, definately feeling the effects of the injections, but nothing too dramatic yet. I do think it will be a bit of an uncomfortable flight for me though. My ultrasound/bloodwork appointment went well (no cysts this time!!).

Thanks again for all of you who are praying! We have a postive outlook and a peace about doing this again, so PTL!

Please pray for Amanda from the office. She is the one who will hold down the fort while we are gone and she spent two days in the hospital with some infections late last week, so pray for her health and strength to be able to dive back in when she returns on Monday.

We'll update again when we arrive in SA!

Tracy