"Places to Go, Peeps to See"

Well hello, yes...It's been "a minute or two" but I wanted to send a quick note to say all is well on the "Kingcannon Home Front". We can't believe we are already into July! Where does the time go! David and I have been doing great and enjoying our summer with each other. In May, we took a much over-due trip to the East coast to see sights never seen before! David fulfilled a dream of mine by walking hand-in-hand with me down NYC Times Square. It was an amazing sight and met ALL of my expectations. We were blessed with a great tour guide, Carmen a dear friend of ours, who showed us the NYC "ropes." We visited upper and lower Manhattan, walked around Ground Zero, ate pizza in "Little Italy", and even road a dirty subway. I cherished every minute and can't wait to go back!

After leaving NYC David and I partaked in another adventure as we jumped on the Amtrak for a 4 hour commute to Quanico, VA to visit my best friend Candice and her hubby, David. We were both a little "sceptical" about taking a train, but had a blast, and HIGHLY recommend it to those who have never experienced it. We arrived in Quanico to lovely cold weather and rain and had a great few days with The Janeckes. While we were in VA, we took a day trip to Washington DC, where we visited famous Smithsonian's, toured the Lincoln Memorial, and witnessed The Changing of Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These were all experiences that we have always dreamed about visiting, and we were so grateful that Candice and her family took the time to show us around. We also spent one day on David's Marine base, shooting M16's and touring helicopters and Humvees. During this week, David Janecke graduated as a second lieutenant in the US Marine Corps Officer Program. This was an amazing accomplishment that David has reached and we were so excited to see him graduate with this honor.

Our adventures weren't over yet...moments after David's graduation, (litterly moments) David and I jumped on another Amtrak bound for Greensboro, NC. This is where we surprised my other best friend, Brooke for her graduation from Dental Hygienist School. Brooke was shocked to see us, and so excited that we made the trip. We stayed the weekend in Charlotte, NC with Brooke and her fiance Chad, partaking in Brooke's Bridal Shower, eating some southern-fried food, and reminiscing on the "good ole' days".

We arrived home in Phoenix for just 2 days before heading to the "Dirty South" for the best reunion of my life....drumroll please.....David and his sister Quisha, were reunited with their Father, Step-mother, and half-brother and sister after 23...yes 23 years of separation! We visited Augusta, GA for Destiny (David's 18 year old sister) high school graduation. We surprised the whole family, they had NO idea we were coming, and it was one of the greatest moments of my LIFE to witness! David's family was shocked and drawn to tears that we would make the trip. We made memories to last a lifetime and I am sooo grateful to our God for allowing that moment to take place. WOW how AMAZING our Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways! David's family accepted me as their own daughter and they all have so much love to give. We are planning to see them again in August, as they travel to our bordering state, Denver, CO. We can't wait!

We leave again in just a couple weeks for a 4-day cruise to witness Brooke and Chad exchange marriage vows on the beautiful beach of Cozumel, Mexico. I have been honored with being one of Brooke's bridesmaids for the occasion, and we are looking forward to a beautiful day ahead. I always wanted to walk down the wedding aisle "barefoot" and I will get my chance soon. Brooke and Chad have been engaged for 2 years so we all can't wait for this event to happen! FINALLY it's here!

And yes, for all of you wondering, amidst of all the traveling and enjoyment of summer, David and I are still making time for "us". We hope to have good news soon when God blesses us with another little "bean". So stay tuned and keep praying for a healthy pregnancy!!!

"Our Little Angel Grew Wings"

Sorry, it's been a little bit since I have posted. Needless to say the past two weeks have been very sad and emotional as our little angel, "Baby Kingcannon" was taken to heaven. We are not sure when it exactly happened, as I experienced a "missed miscarriage".

"A missed miscarriage occurs when the fetus dies, however the woman's body continues as if the fetus is still viable. The diagnosis of a missed miscarriage is usually considered after fetal heart tones are not heard or the size of the uterus has not grown. Then a ultrasound will be performed which will show a fetus that stopped growing several weeks prior to the ultrasound and there will be no fetal heart tones."

Here's to catch you up to speed: We went to our first ultrasound appointment with our OB on 4/21. We were ecstatic to see a heartbeat on our little one, however the Doctor was slightly concerned as the heart-rate was considerably lower than normal. We continued to keep faith and pray that our baby would be okay. We went in for a follow-up visit on 4/28 and the doctor confirmed there was indeed no heartbeat. In addition, the baby had not grown from the previous week, and was only measuring at 6 weeks, when I was indeed 8 weeks pregnant. Despite this horrifying news, David and I both insisted there was a "flutter" on the screen and requested another ultrasound. We went to an imaging center later that afternoon for another ultrasound. Once again, we saw very faint movement and the radiologist later confirmed that it was not a viable pregnancy. Still not giving up faith and hope, I prayed and prayed for God to allow our baby to grow. I asked Him for His will to be done and prayed for this baby to survive. After still no signs of miscarriage, we went back for another ultrasound on May 1st. A third doctor confirmed that the life of this baby has indeed ended. I was not able to see the sonogram screen during the ultrasound, but David did confirm that there was no movement on the screen. Since my body did not give the "signal" to miscarry the baby naturally, I was prescribed Cytotec which assists in the "abording" process. 12 hours later on Sunday morning, May 3rd I officially "lost" our baby.

It is hard to wonder why these things happen, but we have FAITH that God will give us another baby soon. I appreciate all the love, concern, and prayers from all of you thus far. David and I are doing good and keeping positive. We are surrounded with great family and friends and of course the comfort of our heavenly Father. We love each and every one of you and thank you for all you do!

6 Week Ultrasound

Well, we are happy to announce that we had our first u/s today with the reproduction specialist. Although it is still too early to see or hear a heartbeat, the "baby sac" looked perfectly healthy (the black spot is the sac and the white "dot" is the yoke sack with the growing embryo). We meet with our regular obgyn next week for another u/s. I will be 7 weeks by then, so hopefully we will hear a heartbeat! Please continue to pray for us as our lil' bean continues to grow! I am feeling great, and wouldn't even know I was pregnant except for the bloating belly and extreme exhaustion! O well, I can't complain one bit!

Yes, It's TRUE!!!

It's official...after 7 home pregnancy tests (yes, I had to do one everyday), and 2 blood tests, David and I have confirmed we are having ourselves a baby! Wow, GOD is Awesome!!! I don't know where to begin to tell you how blessed we are. To think that we only had to go through 1 month of infertility treatment is amazing, and we are so thankful. We have been very faithful in our conversation with God these past several weeks, really asking Him to bless us with the gift of a child, and to our delight, our prayers were answered.

We will be telling the family tomorrow at David's birthday dinner. We thought it was only fair to tell our moms while they were together. After all, finally their FIRSTBORNS are going to be parents! They have been waiting for this for so long, and I know they will be elated when we share the news!

David and I are still and shock and probably won't really believe it until we hear a heartbeat! We will be having our first ultrasound on April 13th and I will definitely be back then with more details!

Once again, no matter what your waiting on from the Lord, remember Jeremiah 29:11.

The "Two Week Wait"

We are right around the corner from ending the "two week wait" period. For those clueless on this term, the "two week wait" is the two weeks from ovulation to the due date of your next period. This time frame is pure torture for a woman like myself trying to conceive, as the days tend to go by very very slow.

Because I was injected with the hcg hormone "trigger shot" on March 15th I was instructed by the nurse to not take a home pregnancy test until March 29th, as it takes anywhere from 3-10 days (and possibly up to 14) for this pregnancy hormone to get out of your system. Testing too early, could cause a false-positive result on a pregnancy test. I waited day after day...and after experiencing some minor abdominal cramping and out-of-the-norm moodiness I broke down on Wednesday afternoon (3/25--11 days after my "trigger shot") and tested. To my SHOCK the test read "Pregnant". Giving the fact that I have taken what seems like a gazillion pregnancy tests over the past two years, I wasn't sure what to think when I saw that word across the screen. I had big plans on how I was going to tell David when I finally confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. I had many ideas like filling the house with pink and blue balloons, buying him a "I love daddy" bib, or even putting together a scavenger hunt with clues leading up to the surprise. However, when I saw the word "Pregnant" I couldn't help but run right down the stairs and break the exciting news to him. I was in shock as I skipped to every other stair like a 5 year old on Christmas morning. As I reached the bottom, my hand still covering my mouth in awe, David said "What's wrong", I brought the test over and his grin was priceless! He said "Honey, are you serious"...I was speechless and all I could say was, "YES". He didn't really know what to say either. I told him however, I didn't want to get too excited as I still had another 4 days before I should be testing. You could tell he wanted to start jumping up and down with excitement but he stayed calm for me, not wanting to get me too worked up.

I was able to talk to my nurse the next day to find out if this could indeed be a "true positive" result. She was quite confident that it was a true positive and told me to test again on Sunday. If it was still positive, I would go in on Monday for blood work. I of course tested again on Friday and Saturday and both results were POSITIVE!!!

It has been so amazing this weekend talking to David about our future plans. Still very very surreal, and still not reality. We have both been praying for God to give us a family, and it seems like this is our beginning. We will continue praying and hoping for a healthy pregnancy. Of course, I will return in a few days when we have confirmed that we are indeed having a
B-A-B-Y!!!

The road to "starting a family"

As most of you know...I have been dreaming about becoming a mommy since I was...uhhhh....barely out of my mother's womb. Well, maybe not THAT young, but I know I used to nurture and "boss" my baby brother around when we were little and he used to say "Bonnie, your not my mom...quit acting like it". Needless to say, many years later I am still dreaming about getting the opportunity to become a mother. I can't even imagine what it might feel like to hold someone in your arms that you created and I look forward to the day that this comes true. On top of that, I can't WAIT to see David with a little one of our own. He is such an amazing uncle, and has such a gentle and playful spirit. The first time he holds "he or she" I know it will be an incredible moment for me to witness.

To begin our story, you should know that I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Endometriosis in April of 2007. I had minor surgery which temporally removed the scar tissue from my uterus lining, in hopes of relieving my pain and future problems with infertility.

In Sept of 2008 I saw a fertility specialist who told me that I only released 2 eggs on each ovary which was very abnormal for someone of my young age, as the "normal" is anywhere from 8-16. He quickly encouraged us to go w/ "IVF" (In vitro Fertilization) because it was once again "abnormal" to be off any birth control for over a year and not end up pregnant. Keep in mind he was drawn to this conclusion before ever testing my blood levels, David's (ah..hem) or any other "pre-natel" exams. Needless to say, I didn't like his response (seemed like he only wanted money) so I decided to get a 2nd opinion and consulted with a new fertility specialist.

I wanted to wait until after the holidays and my much over due "jaw surgery" which took place in January before we started in infertility treatment. We waited, I healed, and was ready to get busy!!

In Feb 09, I had a HSG (hysterosalpingogram) with a new fertility specialist which came back totally normal. Earlier this month, I had a ultrasound which determined same thing as with first infertility specialist that I only had 2 eggs on each ovary. I was disappointed by this news but hopeful as I would start 100mg of Clomid, which is an Infertility drug to promote ovulation. *Clomid turned out to be a success with my mom as she took this drug to help get me here, some 27 years ago =o). When I finished the Clomid, I was injected with "human chorionic gonadotropin" aka "trigger shot" at the doctor’s office. This is a pregnancy hormone that assists in releasing of the egg during ovulation. After the ultrasound was performed the nurse was encouraging as she said I had 4 mature follicles. (Our goal was 3-6) I started Progesterone supplements a few days later, which supports the endometrium lining during fertilization.

So, that brings us to now...the waiting game...Waiting to see what happens next and praying for a "bean" to develop in my young and fresh womb. You are invited to follow us through our journey of trying to conceive, hopefully getting "knocked up" and finally beginning a new chapter with a Baby Kingcannon! Your prayers are appreciated, and we know God is by our side every step of the way! Enjoy and STAY TUNED!

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Psalm 27:14

History has occured, change will come...a letter to our future children to document this moment.

Dear precious one,
Well, the time has come that this world has seen another moment in history. It was approximately just after 9:00pm on November 4, 2008 when your dad and I witnessed the first African American man, Barack Hassan Obama become president of our country that we love so much. To see the new "first family" walk on the stage for the victory speech caused me to erupt with tears of joy! For once, this country is going to see another side and see that we are all equal despite our race, religion, or culture. I am sooo grateful and thankful to God that you will be born under the leadership of this man. May the world that one day you will come to know surround you with the knowledge that you can do whatever you want and live whatever dream you have nestled in your heart. You have a chance, and may President Obama leave footprints in the sand for you to follow, understanding that with God all things are possible and we are ALL EQUAL! God Bless you little one!