Highlights from the Past Week

** Still no further followup from my CEO regarding my benefits appeal (no shock there. I think the issue is dead.).

** Co-worker/friend Pam (mentioned in previous post) was moved by my appeal, and decided to devote last Wednesday to prayer and fasting for us. She didn't eat the entire day, and devoted time to pray for our insurance situation. Mike and I decided to join her in a non-food fast -- we gave up TV, and I gave up Internet usage for the day (including Facebook -- that was tough!). During my lunch hour, she and I went out to her car and spent about 20 minutes in prayer for various things, but she especially prayed that our company extend us the coverage needed to proceed with IVF. I added to that by praying that God open our hearts and minds to other paths, if he has something planned for us that's not what we have in mind. That was a toughie. It was nice though to have someone care so much about us that she would devote a day to our cause. The other day, she also gave me this prayer bookmark, made for me by her teenage daughter:

** We took Mike's sister and her three kids (ages 9, 10 and 13) on a three-day trip last week, one that we'd promised the kids two Christmases ago. We all had a terrific time, and it was interesting going from zero to three kids in an instant. Thankfully their mom was there to take charge, but Mike and I still got a taste of looking after kids on a vacation. It was so special seeing them get excited about things and experience sights for the first time. What a joy that must give a parent.

** Mike turned 38 on Tuesday. As he now says with a smile, birthdays are blessings, not curses. It also hit me that by the time both of our parents were our ages, they were done having kids. We haven't even begun. Ouch.

** I'm really getting the itch to start trying to conceive again. The trip we just took provided a good distraction for a little, but now that we're back to the hum-drum of everyday life, I'm starting to feel the emptiness again. Unfortunately, I think there's really only one way to fill that hole, and I still don't feel like I have a clear grasp on when that will be.