Goodbye 2016!

I ended 2015 with my first IVF cycle being cancelled and not knowing if I would ever be able to have a baby. I also ended it with having adopted my son! Two big extremes on the emotional spectrum, which seems to be the theme for 2016 as well. Looking back on 2016, it was also a year of extreme ups and downs for me. Some 2016 Highlights:

The Not-so-Good: 

• Failed fresh transfer for IVF Cycle #2 
• Failed FET #1
• I got laid off --> unemployment 
• Cancelled IVF #3 cycle (converted to IUI #7) / failed IUI #7
• Pregnancy Scares (SCH, bleeding, first trimester screening high risk) 

The Good: 

• IVF Cycle #2 led to my one and only egg retrieval, one of those embryos would turn into my baby boy :) 
• My son was baptized 
• FET #2 worked and I became pregnant with my baby boy! 
• Starting a new job at a great company 
• Taking Financial Peace University 
• Getting serious about budgeting and attacking my debt
• Celebrating one year of being a forever family with my son! 
• Reconnecting with my mom and little brother 
• Everything that is my son, his year being 2 years old and celebrating turning 3 :) 

Some of the Not-So-Good stuff was pretty difficult to get through, especially the unemployment, the failed transfers, and the pregnancy scares (which I guess will continue into 2017). 

I have absolutely no regrets. Even when life is difficult and I wonder how I'm going to survive or provide for my family, I know that the path I am traveling down is bringing me to where I need to be. It can be hard to trust God in those difficult times, but when I look back and I see the results, I know it's all for the better and I was led to a better situation. 

Unemployment --> I was able to get out of a toxic/stagnant work environment and now make a better income and work for a better company. 

Failed Cycles --> If any of my failed cycles would have worked, I would have been pregnant and unemployed. Also, I wouldn't have my baby boy gestating today and I truly believe that he is the baby I was meant to have. 

Pregnancy Scares --> I'm still going through this right now... but I think one of the lessons that I'm learning is that I just need to Let Go and Let God. I need to trust that all will work out as it should and maybe having more information isn't always the best. In the end, God decides how it plays out and all the screening/testings in the world isn't going to change the outcome of whatever is to come. 

Overall, it's been an extremely blessed year for me. Not only did I get to celebrate an entire year of being a Forever Family with my son, I also was able to start some family mending and reconcile with my mother and little brother after 8 long years. Not to mention the little life growing inside of me right now. 

I'm really looking forward to 2017. A year where my son will become a big brother. A year where my baby boy will be born. A year where my extended family will continue to mend and find peace. 

There's so much to look forward to and so many blessings to come! Thank you God for 2016 and for all my experiences this year, I look forward to another year filled with love and joy.