national infertility awareness week :: guest post

i'm honored to be hosting a guest post this week from amanda over at a royal daughter.
she's been a great inspiration & encouragement to me through her writing!
her love for Jesus is contagious & i believe you will not regret checking out her blog!

please read on & share some love!!

Hi there, have we met before? Just in case we haven't met, let me introduce myself:

I am a country-living, ice tea drinking, good book reading, farming, ranching, Jesus-loving, curly-headed wife of a seminary professor.   He's a teacher, I'm a writer. He's a thinker, I'm a creative. Together we make our home on a small farm in Texas.

I met Shannon through the Influence Network, and I'm so thankful that she is allowing me to be here today to share about something that is near and dear to my heart.

April 21-27 is National Infertility Awareness Week, and as a woman who is currently battling barrenness, I am trying to make the most of this painful journey by spreading awareness about infertility.

A few facts about infertility:

• Approximately 1 in 6 couples in the United States are diagnosed with some degree of infertility each year. 
• "Infertility" defines the inability to conceive a child after one year of unprotected, well-timed intercourse for women under the age of 35. Women 35 and older may be diagnosed after 6 months of unprotected, well-timed intercourse without conception. (The inability to sustain a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks is also classified as "infertility.")
• 30% of infertility is the result of an ovulatatory dysfunction (i.e. there is a problem with the woman's ovulation cycle).
• 30% of infertility is the result of a problem with the man (i.e. sperm structure or production).
• Women who face infertility often describe their situation as "lonely," "isolating," and "painful."
• There is a large spectrum of treatments for infertility, with varying degrees of invasiveness and cost.

My own journey with infertility:

• My husband and I started trying for a baby almost 4 years ago.
• We were officially diagnosed with "unexplained infertility" in February 2012 (the same month our foster boys were removed from our home). 
• We have tried various therapies and treatments, from "alternative" therapies to traditional western medical treatments, including Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).
• In September 2012 we embraced a gluten-free diet, as gluten intolerance is closely tied to infertility. 
• We've experienced the pain and frustration of two failed IUIs.
• Until last November my husband and I kept our struggle to ourselves. We were completely unwilling to share our story, and to some extent we were unwilling to accept our diagnosis.
• But now I feel called to share my story as a way to encourage others who are also facing this same struggle.

National Infertility Awareness Week:

This week on my blog, I will be dedicating the entire week to spreading awareness about infertility, offering encouragement for those battling the pain of barrenness, and providing resources for friends and family of those facing infertility. Topics will include:

• Ideas for stepping up out of the pit of infertility and transforming negative emotions and energies into productive, worthwhile activities.
• Collaborative efforts from women currently battling infertility, and how they overcame common lies women believe about being barren.
• Online and print resources for those battling infertility as well as those who want to come alongside and encourage and support their infertile friends and family members.
• How to encourage and support your infertile friends.
• Owning your infertility + embracing the waiting period.
• Collaborative efforts from women who have made it through to the other side of infertility straight to the hearts of those currently navigating the muddy waters of barrenness.
• Infertility from the husband's perspective.

There will also be a giveaway during the week with items I've hand-picked to offer hope and encouragement to those battling infertility. My goal is to offer encouragement and inspiration not only to those currently facing the isolation and frustration of infertility, but for those who wonder how they can minister to their friends who are facing infertility.

I hope you'll join us, and help spread awareness about infertility. It is an isolating journey, but it doesn't have to be.

You can connect with me at my website, on twitter, facebook, and instagram. I'm also on pinterest and google. However you decide to connect with me, please take time to introduce yourself!

that time my picture was floating around pinterest.

so i just have to share a funny story with you all.

i'm just sitting here chuckling to myself, though also a little nervous, but once i get done with the story, you'll understand why.  

a couple of days ago a friend from church writes to me on FB asking if i knew that my picture was floating around pinerest.  

at first i thought it might be a scam & someone hacked her FB account. i responded with a "what??" thinking that if it was a hack, she would see it & could do something about it.

but then the more i thought about it, i began to get scared that someone stole my picture & was using it as their identity, which i've seen happen before. 

or even worse, that someone was using my picture to advertise something gross or weird.

i got a little nervous about how easy it is to get pictures off the internet & all that, so it's definitely not out of the realm of possibilities, right?

fast forward to today when she responds back to my message:

 "I was on my home page looking at pins and all of the sudden this pic went by, and I was like wow, that really looks like Shannon! So I followed the link to some lady's blog who wrote an article about how to raise a baby on a budget and the photo accompanying it was one of your maternity pics by Kelsey Shearer where you were sitting amongst packages of diapers!"

 

 

hmmm...kind of like this one?

{photo credit to the amazing kelsey shearer from lovefusion photography}

ok, there is definitely no cleaning being done today until i figure this out & find this picture! 

{said by me to myself}

 

 thus begins mad searching on pinterest until, lo & behold, sure enough, there's me....several times all up & down the pinterest page.

i clicked on the picture & was directed here.

is that not crazy?????

i mean, it's pretty funny, right?

you find a random picture of yourself out there on someone else's blog that you have not intentionally put there?

 it's funny, BUT it's a little nerve-wracking too because you find a picture out there on the internet on someone else's blog that you did not intentionally put there or have knowledge of. 

hmmmmm.

so there you have it folks, your tip of the day:

beware of what pictures might be floating around on pinterest of you!

spring.

i don't know about you, but i am sooooooo happy that spring is really finally here. 

i don't think that i've been more ready for spring in all my life. 

i'm so ready to shed the warmer clothes, let a little sun soak into my skin (with sunscreen on, of course), and take in the fragrances of new blooms, freshly cut grass, and the first signs that grilling season will soon be upon us.

i know having a little one in the house makes a lot of the difference.  

in these current days of teething & stir craziness, getting outside changes him into a brand new little boy. 

spring & all it's new possibilities can do that for a person, can't it?

this is why i love spring.

stepping into the sunshine, casting off the cold & darkness of winter.

embracing the idea of a fresh start.

signs of this new season reveal themselves every day & i'm reminded that a new season is beginning for me too. 

what this new season holds i'm really not sure, but i'm always more hopeful in spring.