Endometriosis Part 1:

Matthew and I went through and overcame many trials and tribulations when it came to getting pregnant. In 2008 I had started getting extremely sharp pains in my female organs and had no idea what was going on. I had previously had surgery for cysts while I was in high school. I kept going to the doctor in Dodge and they kept running many different tests to see what was going on. They couldn't come to a conclusion on what was wrong with me. Finally 8 months later I couldn't take the pain anymore. Early one morning Matthew took me to the ER in Hays and they gave me some morphine to calm the pain. I was then referred to Dr.H (OBGYN). My very first appointment Dr.H told me I had endometriosis. Within the next few weeks I was scheduled for surgery.
You see these type of female problems run in my family......and I didn't escape the luxury of having them either.
Surgery Day: My mom came up for the surgery and Matthew and Kristen waited around the waiting room as well (probably trying to keep my mother calmed down). Dr.H told them it should take around 30 minutes to clean all of the endometriosis out. Well it took 1.5 hours to get it out and they couldn't even get it all out. The endometriosis had grown so much that there was no where else for it to go, so it decided to attach my uterus to my colon..OUCH!
The doctor came out and talked to my mom, showed them the pictures (it looks like cottage cheese) and said that once I wake up in recovery she can go back there. He stated that the endometriosis had strangulated my entire right side of "baby making parts" and that I will struggle conceiving (if I am even able to).
I am not very good at waking up when on all those drugs. I had a hard time trying to sit and stand up without passing out. The nursing staff made me use the restroom before I could go home, thank goodness for the nurse as I started to pass out on the toilet :) 
Endometriosis will come back, but each person is different with how quickly it will come back. I didn't seem to luck out to well. The disease came back (quickly). So Dr. H put me on this cancer steroid shot that sent my organs into menopause that way all of the female parts basically "deadened," and the endometriosis wouldn't grow. This was not fun as I was having major hot flashes, gaining weight, and throwing up if I were in the heat longer than 30 minutes. Needless to say, I was a 25 year old in a 50 year old body!
I went through this process for about 6 months and then got back on birth control to see if it would either start growing or stop for awhile......it started right back up again...........................................

A lot has happened............

A lot has happened since Matthew and I got married on July 10th, 2010. We bought our first home in Hays, found our wonderful boxer (Roxie), bought my SUV, got on fertility treatments because I have endometriosis, bought Matt's new pick-up and three days later found out we were pregnant. Since finding out we were pregnant Matthew has passed his CPA exams and we have moved back to Dodge. At first we weren't sure we wanted to move back home so quickly but with being pregnant family is a huge priority to us and we want our little girl to be around her family while growing up. The position Matt took was just to good not to accept the offer. After selling our home in just FOUR days I joined Matt in Dodge at the end of July. Everything has just fallen into place for us and God has made it very easy on us to make all of these quick decisions. I was just going to substitute teach for awhile (as I was not able to continue my position in social welfare), along with teaching a few college classes, until our baby girl arrived. But...plans changed....I am now working for my Uncle, doing his books as he owns a tire store and I will get to bring baby Brielle with me everyday to work. Does it get any better than this?

The toughest part about moving from Hays is leaving our friends. We have an amazing group of close friends in Hays and it is tough being away from them. Also just the community of Hays and Xplosion. I sincerely miss all of my cheerleaders!

As of now Matthew and I are enjoying being home around both of our families! Roxie loves being around Buster and Babe (my parent's boxer and boston terrier), and baby Brielle continues to grow and move more and more each day! Matthew is very busy helping his dad and grandpa (what a great husband)! He is also enjoying poker night with the guys!