Reality is Sinking in

WOW!!! I must say that I'm still in shock, but I'm looking forward to all of the fun changes our future has in store. I think Dan is adjusting to the reality much more quickly than me. He will probably have a whole new appreciation for the peace and quiet he will get while away at school :)
I will go back to Dr. Dodds on August 5th for another ultrasound. The impression I got from him at that appointment was, I will then be given a referral to a high risk specialist in Grand Rapids (one of which he would select), and then have the babies at Spectrum. We realize we are far from "clear" at this point, so please continue to pray for my body to handle this as best as possible, and continued health and growth for the babies (eeek, it still feels weird using plural there).
Again, thanks for all of the prayers, calls and encouraging words...they are so appreciated.
Dan and Gretchen

Brace Yourself....

We prayed and God delivered, we found out today we are having TRIPLETS!!!! We so thrilled, but scared to death as well. We know a lot can happen between now and the end of January (is where they hope I make it to), but have a lot of choices to make and things to buy...WOW!!! God is Great, and we know he wouldn't give us more than we are capable of handling...but I think he's stopping just short of it this time.
We will have 2 identical babies and a fraternal.
Please pray for:
1. Continued Health for me
2. Healthy babies
3. Dan and I as we process what the future holds for us

Numbers are UP!!!!

Praise the Lord...my numbers more than doubled this morning. The Dr. is back to thinking there may be two little ones in there.
Thanks for all of the continued prayers and support. This truly and incredible experience.
I'm feeling pretty well other than just feeling EXTREMELY tired...nothing too unusual for me.

Have a fabulous weekend, I'm going to for sure enjoy mine. This is the first one in a long time that I've not had something to worry about (because I'm giving this one to God).

Gretchen (and Dan too)!

Tomorrow

Not a whole lot to say for today, but prayers please. Please just pray that the blood work comes back tomorrow w/double (or better) the numbers that I had yesterday!!!! I'm pretty nervous, but I know God has gotten us this far, he surely won't abadon us without a plan.

Blessings-
Gretchen

Today's Results

Well, let's just say they weren't exactly encouraging. I got the call from my Dr.'s office this morning saying they usually like to see the hcg increase by 80% every 2 days, and on Monday I was at 223 and today it was 403. The nurse said this could very possibly be that my numbers were so high on Monday they simply didn't increase as much this time. They also said it's possilbe that 2 may have implanted intially, but we are down to 1 now therefore not increasing so rapidly. They have ordered a repeat blood draw for Friday, so please pray that everything is "normal".

Happy Anniversary Dan!!!! What a wild and eventful 3 years we've had....here's to many more :)

Gretchen

Excited

We can't even put into words how excited we are, but we are well aware that we are not in the clear. Please continue to pray that everything goes well and God will protect this little one or these little ones!!!!
On that note, July 22 will be the date that we will find out if there are more than 1 Blakeslee to be babies...as well as "Graduate" from Dr. Dodds office until he is needed in the future :) We will trust him with our 6 other frozen children in that time.
We know that we have been very blessed to have this work the first time, and thank all of you for your continued prayers and support through the last year of many ups and downs. I know that God has a plan to use this experience to glorify him, and I'm anxious to see where I will be used. Like I've said before, this is such a sensitive topic for those experiencing it first hand...and I'd love to be able to help others through the highs and lows as I've been helped through it.
I will have one more blood draw tomorrow morning to make sure that my numbers are increasing appropriately, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous for it....but nothing like Monday's nerves :)

Stay tuned for updates~
Dan and Gretchen

POSITIVE

Yes....that is the call I got this morning. We are most definitely pregnant, and will have a double check blood draw on Wednesday. I'll post more later!!!!

Thanks EVERYONE for your prayers!!!!! God is sooooooo good!!!!

Fun Weekend

After a weekend of laying low, we enjoyed each others company at a ball game on Sunday. It was our friend Andy's surprise 30th birthday party...but you wouldn't know because my lack of pictures :( We had a great time with everyone, and it was so nice for Dan to be able to just relax for a change.
We are looking forward to a nice anniversary get away this weekend (I can't say where because Dan doesn't know where), but I'm going to make an effort to capture some Kodak moments :)
All of this busyness should help pass the agonizing days until we find out whether or not we've succeeded. You can tune in to the blog for a results update, please, please, please do NOT call us, we promise we will let all of you know. This has been a very trying time for us, and after several failed attempts of other previous methods we've learned it is much easier if we don't tell people the date we are waiting for. For those of you who do know the date....multiply your anticipation by 1000 and that is what we are feeling right now :)
Thanks again for your continued prayers as we now just wait it out. The nerves are shot, but we are trusting that the Lord has a plan for where he has us.
Love~
Dan and Gretchen