We're home...

We are home from St. Louis. We arrived back home this past Sunday. We had a great time. Can you believe that we didn't take one single photo! Crazy, huh? We were just too involved & having to much fun. To be honest, I just didn't want to be bothered with it. Let's see, where to start? We just really had a good time. Our hotel was amazing. It was more like a suite. It had not one, but three flat screen televisions...one of which was in the bathroom so you could watch while you were in the tub! Go figure?!?!? It had a little living room area with a couch & some chairs & then you turned & went up a few stairs to get to the bedroom. It was beautiful & certainly it spoiled us for a few days! The place had the most awesome indoor/outdoor pool & hot tubs, all of which we enjoyed most everyday that we were there. One evening my Aunt & Uncle came down to see us. They only live about an hour away from St. Charles (which is actually where we stayed). We had a lot of fun with them. We hit one of the casinos for a little while & then ate a wonderful dinner while they were there & just really enjoyed our visit with them. On another evening we went to the Maryland Plaza area & ate at this place called "The Drunken Fish". WOW! Wonderful Sushi! We sat outside & enjoyed our meal. It was the neatest little area of town. There was such a great mix of people & it was a beautiful evening out...perfect weather! Then, from there we drove & met a friend of ours for an evening of fun & had a great time with him. Another night we met another friend who lives in Warrenton. We met her, her boyfriend & her kids for dinner & then went to her new house & visited for a while. We did some shopping, at some great food, swam, RELAXED, worked out everyday, visited with family & friends, watched movies together & just basically immersed ourselves in all things "Thomas & Jen" when & how it suited us. Oh & speaking of the working out...if I may brag on myself a little. (For those of you that run, you will understand this...) I made six miles while we were away. The gym where we stayed had the most awesome Precor equipment. It was so smooth! Anyway, the machines had these t.v.'s hooked to the front of them. I plugged my Mp3 player headphones into it & took off. After a while I almost forgot what I was doing. I just kept going. The next day I only did four miles. None the less, I am getting there! Still not confident enough to officially call myself a "runner", but I am learning the ropes & getting better at it everyday.

From St. Louis we headed to my parents home at the Lake of the Ozarks. We stayed with them through Sunday. We had a nice visit. My brother & his family came over one evening for a really yummy dinner. Madison; my niece, & I went shopping & basically the rest of the time we just hung out. It was great to be with our family!

We are settling back in at home now. Back to work schedules, household chores & commitments...that's okay though, for the most part life is good.

When I last posted I had told you that my SIL was having her insemination's. Well, she had one on that Monday & the second one the next day on Tuesday. They both went well. Now we are just waiting. Today is day nine post insemination. So, it won't be long now until we now if we are pregnant or not. She is in fact having a symptom or two that could lead us to believe that maybe this worked the first time around, but we are trying not to over analyze every little detail. Most of you know how difficult that is, not to ponder & over think every single little twinge, ache or pain during the two week wait to find out, but we are trying very hard to keep our feet on the ground & to remain hopeful, but to be very cautiously optimistic at the same time. We don't have any expectations really. It is what it is & is done & over at this point...all but the finding out. They tell us that there is a 40-70% chance that it worked. So, for now we just continue to wait.

The Olympics have been pretty amazing, huh? Go Michael Phelps! (Like he needs any cheering on!) That guy is a phenom! I read an article today where he says that he eats on average 12,000 calories a day & he can't keep weight on! He burns so many carbs training that he is still burning more than he takes in! http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Michael-Phelps?urn=oly,100671
The above is the link to the article where he talks about it. He list his normal daily menu...you won't believe it!

Well, referrals did in fact come in while we were away. It looks like even though technically more days were referred as you would calculate on a calendar, that the CCAA only got through two actual log in dates. Well, all I can say is at least they are through January 06, right? Now, with the Olympics in full swing, it will be interesting to see where we go from here. Congrats to all of you families who have just seen their babies faces for the very first time! What a moment that must have been! It won't be long until he or she will be in your arms!

Well, I am off to call my SIL before she heads into work for the day. I want to see how she is today. I know if there was anything to tell she would have already called us, but I can't resist checking in with her! :o)