Wow, what a difference a year makes!

If you would have asked me a year ago to describe my life right now there would have been no way that I could have done it accurately! In one year my life has totally turned around.

A year ago we were getting ready to start our first IVF, so full of hope that it would work on the first try and we soon would be celebrating my pregnancy. After the first IVF didn't work I was crushed, but still hopeful that the next time it would work.

I spent hours researching and meeting with different fertility specialists here in town and after much deliberation decided to switch doctors. Our second IVF went off without a hitch- everything went great- and then we got the best news of all- it had worked- I was pregnant. I remember driving home from work that day, it was like a weight had been lifted, I had forgotten what it felt like to not worry about getting pregnant.

Little did I know that all that happiness would be short lived- two days later we got devastating news that I was not pregnant- it had not worked, we were right back were we started. That week, the first week of August was the worst week of my entire life- that was the lowest point in all my life. My world was crushed, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Then somehow someway I managed to pull myself out of the hole I was living in and got some stuff together. I found a card in midst of all our business cards and it was for an adoption recruiter for the county. I called and they said the first step was to attend an informative meeting, and amazingly that meeting happened to be the following weekend. I showed up got the paperwork, told my husband that we were going to get fingerprinted and take these classes so we could possibly adopt through the county.

It all seemed to fall into place, everything just happened so quickly and by the end of September we were sitting in a classroom with 16 other couples learning how we could expand our family through adoption.

And here I sit almost 7 months after our first class- with my beautiful daughter sleeping like an angel in her crib upstairs. Who would have thought it. I have a new outlook on life- I know now that I can get through anything and that everything happens for a reason.

Have all our prayers been answered?

Two weeks ago I went to the foster/adoption association meeting, while I was there I starting talking to a woman who asked me if I would be interested in a one month old baby girl, whose foster parents could not keep her due to some personal family issues, she gave me the phone number to the social worker that was working the case and told me to call her.

The next day I called the caseworker and left a message- and for 2 days I did not get a call back, but only by the grace of God I got a call 48 hours later on Friday from the case worker saying the baby girl was still available and could I pick her up that day, I just said yes! I didn't even call my husband and ask him. After a few phone calls we decided that we would pick her up on Monday February 1st.

That weekend we spent getting ready for the baby- we were both so excited. On Monday we picked her up and we were instantly in LOVE. We have had our little monkey for a week now, she is 6 weeks and 4 days old and is growing like a weed. She gets me up every few hours, but I love it.

She is perfect. She was meant to be a part of our family, now I just pray and pray that she stays forever!