Part One: Our Journey...from the beginning

I'm going to start at the beginning.  I've always known that it would be hard for me to conceive...if it was even possible. So when people would ask me about having children I would always say maybe we will...preparing myself for the possibility of me not being able to have children of my own, but always dreaming that I could have my own biological children with Grant.

When I was in high school I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Part of my health concerns involved me not ovulating. When I was young that wasn't a big problem, but I knew it would be when I met Grant. It was always in the back of my head. Would I be able to get pregnant? Would Grant be ok if I couldn't? Why am I broken?

This was something I discussed with Grant early on. Being the amazing man that he is, he loved me for me with or with ovulation. I knew that I had eggs and that Grant had swimmers...and we had a lot of love, faith and support...that's all you need, right?

Grant and I got married in 2006. It was a hot, beautiful day in Chicago.

I couldn't have asked for anything more. We each chose 3 places we wanted to travel to together before we started a family. Grant picked California, Colorado and New York. I picked Hawaii, France and Italy. Just a little difference in our taste! ;)

We had a blast during our first 5.5 years of marriage. We traveled up the coast of California from San Diego to San Francisco. We learned to ski together, swapping Utah for Colorado. We cruised the Hawaiian islands, enjoying our 5 minutes of cruise ship fame on The "newly wed game." We enjoyed a long weekend in the Big Apple. Our last trip was the best trip...we traveled to Europe together in September 2011.

We flew into Paris, traveled to Nice, then Monaco. We to a train from Nice into Italy...stopping in Milan on our way to the Cinque Terre. It was on that train that I found a sense of peace. I remember the moment. I had this sense of clarity that I was ready to be a mom and take that next step with Grant. I looked outside and realized that we had just entered Italy...our final destination as set in 2006. God was with us on that train and has been with us through each step of our journey.

BG