From the RESOLVE.org website:

In solidarity with RESOLVE and infertility awareness, show your orange this Valentine’s Day! Help RESOLVE show some love for the 1 in 8 couples facing infertility today in the U.S.

Ways to participate:

Let’s use Valentine’s Day to show our friends and family that we care about increased awareness of infertility issues through public education and advocacy. We will be looking out for your #IFawareness #resolveorg messages and we will be sharing our favorite posts.

*Photo credit RESOLVE.org

On Friday I said good-bye to the last of my grandparents; my Nana was age 94.

At 36 I would say I am pretty lucky. I also lost my paternal grandmother this year. Both women lived very long and full lives, but it is never easy to say good-bye. Solace comes when envisioning each of them holding hands once again with my grandfathers. At peace together, at last.

Now closes a chapter of my life that left me feeling somewhat close to my childhood. Spending time with  grandparents as an adult brings you back to your younger days in many ways. My Nana’s age and wisdom always humbled me and made me feel child-like in her presence. And now that she is gone, I have moved up in the ranks. My children won’t benefit from having the influence of their great grandparents. Therefore, my job became all the more important.

My Nana was one tough lady. We thought she was going to pass away over two years ago. It really looked like the end. So much so that when I found out that I had become pregnant after 9 years of trying, I felt the need to flee to her house as she lay in bed and tell her the wonderful news. Nana was  one of my greatest confidants during a very difficult time in my life; I know she cried many tears as I struggled to get pregnant and thought perhaps I would never be a mother.

Alas, she rallied and saw my beautiful baby days after she was born. She also got to witness her grow and thrive for the first 18 months of her life. I am so grateful to have had that time with her.

Now comes the task of cleaning out her house and possessions. My mother bears most of the burden of this exhausting job. It’s so funny how meaningless possessions become once the house is empty of the person who once lived there. The bins of hats and gloves and cupboards of food while full, seem vacant at the same time. There really is nothing more important in life than the ones you love.

I only hope to have the priviledge of caring for my parents as they age. I know it is not an easy task by any means. But I want to have them in my life as long as possible. Watching your parent care for their elderly parents is very humbling. It really reflects how fleeting life is. I have often thought that in a blink of an eye, I will be the caregiver and my children will be there to spend the final years with their beloved grandparents soaking up the memories and reliving their childhoods.

When Parenthood for Me, Inc. was founded in 2008 there were only a few other organizations that offered financial assistance for adoption or Assisted Reproductive Technology. Throughout the past six years I have seen a few come and go.

I would like to recognize s fellow non-profit named AGC Scholarships www.agcscholarships.org and its founder, Aprill Lane. Taken from their “About” page:

AGC is nonprofit group committed to providing both advocacy and scholarships for those struggling with infertility in the United States.

Help put a face to infertility and join AGC’s I Am the Face #Iamtheface campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks for all you do and being an ally to Parenthood for Me.

Here we are! Show your face too.

We have reached 14 months already. Baby is the same age as Min when he came home from Korea. When I was waiting for him to come home, I was very sad for all that I missed in his development. And now that I have experienced that with Sammie, I wish even more that I had witnessed all the various stages of infancy with my boys. Whenever she would make a milestone, I wondered when they made the same milestone. It is difficult not knowing how and when they started teething, sleeping through the night and crawling. I will not be able to explain to them when they first said a word or took their preliminary steps. There will be many blanks I cannot fill in on their timeline of life. The baby books I provide will start at the time they came home with only a few details of their life in Korea.

There is a chance I can get in contact with their foster mothers at some point. They will be able to share with us what their first 14 and 19 months were like; I hope I can help facilitate this reunion of information for them so they know their story.

As for life with 3 children, busy does not even begin to explain my days. We got through all of the spring birthdays and are now into summertime with activities and mini-vacations.

Here in Western NY we only get about 10 weeks of warm weather, so we are going to enjoy it to the fullest.