Barbados Baby

Happy Winter (I love the snow but hate the long cold) and almost Merry Christmas!  Christmas is my favorite!  The decorations, the music, the love and family all around.  Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Some of you may already know this but we have decided to do our IVF treatment overseas.  With our flight benefits with Joe working for Delta Airlines and the treatment being half the price compared to here, it just made sense to us.  

I've already started the first phase of medications and have been tirelessly working to compare prices for the rest.  It's insane the amount of medications and the cost!  I'm probably going to be going thru several pharmacies just to get the best prices on each drug.  

I thankfully won't be starting any injections I think until right after Christmas so I shouldn't be a total hormonal mess thru the holidays.  Though we have extended family parties the first 2 weeks in January so I apologize in advance to all my family if I cry uncontrollably for no reason at all!  Maybe I'll be fine, right?!?!?!

All of this will put us in Barbados the middle of January thru the end.  No better time to be on an island than January when you live in Minnesota! And I've loved the Doctor and Coordinator I have down there already!

That's my update for now and I hope to keep better at this thru this journey.  I realize it's different and unconventional but I am hopeful and feel excited about it.  I have a very good and positive outlook on this course of action.  I'm also just excited to be moving forward with a plan of action.

Benefit Update - SUCCESS!!!

I've been meaning to write a post to give everyone an update on our benefit.  

It was a huge SUCCESS!  

We can't even begin to thank everyone who helped and donated.  Without our family and friends it wouldn't have been nearly as successful as it was.  

We raised on that day alone around $4,200!  This is awesome!  It's all put away in a special savings account for our IVF treatment whenever we're able to move forward with it.  

Now we are actually researching doing our treatment over seas.  With our flight benefits with Delta and the money we have saved, it puts us even closer to attempting IVF than if we were to do this at home.  I'll try and keep you guys updated on here if we move forward with that.  It could be a very interesting journey to follow, doing this over seas. 

I want to give a special thank you and shout out to those that helped and donated for our special day;

• Action Auto in Minneapolis
• Ray J's American Grill
• ThreadJoy
• LOOKS by Milan
• Que Viet Consessions - best eggrolls ever!
• Glitterati Illustration
• Tiny Moment's Photography
• Colleen Christina Photography
• Bekki McClure for Young Living Oils
• LifeSpa St Louis Park
• Lifetime Fitness
• Selah Therapies Massage
• Michaela Tieben Massage
• Teal Macziewski Pedicures/Manicures
• Zina Lisak and her sister and her church Riverdale Church
• My mom Lisa =)
• My sister in law Brianna
• My brother Isaac
• My Aunt Wendy
• My sister in law Kristie for putting together gift baskets
• My mother in law Gwen
• Linda Leach & Karissa
• Kaley Miller
• Katie Jacob
• Angie Sokol

I really hope I'm not forgetting anyone but if I am, Thank you!!!!  We couldn't have done this or been this successful with out all of you!  

BENEFIT WEEK!!!!!!!

OMG its the week of Baby Bents Benefit!  

Having a benefit thrown for you to help you raise money, for any reason, is not something you ever think you will need in your life.  We have been very humbled by the amount of support and love and generosity shown to us through this process.  

A special thank you to my mom's co-worker Zina and her church, Riverdale Church in Andover, for putting this together and hosting for us!

Now.....I get to tell you about all the things we will have available at the event!

We will have multiple vendors setting up and selling their items;

• Glitterati Illustration
• ThreadJoy
• LOOKS by Milan
• Magnolia & Vine
• Melaleuca
• 2 Massage Therapists setting up chair massage!!!!!!

The following are just a few of the auction and raffle items we will have available;

• Kerastase, Matrix, DevaCurl & Moroccan Oil Professional Hair Products
• Ray J's Gift Cards!!! Best Wings around!
• Action Auto Gift cards
• Boar's Head Meat and Cheese Basket
• Photography sessions from Tiny Moment's Photography and Colleen Christina Photography
• Lifetime LifeSpa Spa Package
• Lifetime MediSpa Package
• Lifetime Membership Package
• Pedicure
• Manicure
• Airbrush Makeup Application
• Lacrosse Lesson
• AND SO MUCH MORE!!!!

You can tell I work in a salon with all the hair products and spa sessions I have to give away!

There will be a large section set up like a garage sale as well with tons of random stuff to shop for including plants for you garden!

We are also selling the AMAZING Que Viet eggrolls!  These things will seriously change your outlook on eggrolls in this world.  I can't eat any others now.  And my mom has been working hard on lots of breads and bread doughs for take and bake you can purchase as well!  

ALL proceeds will be going directly into our baby fund.  

I want to say again how much we appreciate all of the people putting their time, money, merchandise etc into this event for us.  We can't even begin to thank you all enough.  

Hope to see as many of you there as possible!  Let's make this a great event not just for Joe and me but also for the wonderful vendors setting up shop for us!  

Baby Bents Benefit

Happy Summertime!!!!  
Summer is my favorite season of all, too bad it's the shortest here in Minnesota.  I love the heat and sun and a good thunderstorm!  

We have been blessed with the surprise of a friend planning a fundraiser/benefit to help us raise money for IVF.  This is something I would never have done on my own because we have ZERO desire to ask people for money.  But we have had multiple friends and family members ask us how they can donate to help us have a family.  Because of this I'm happy to participate in this benefit if it brings us closer to having our own little family.  

The benefit will have a number of things going on! We will have multiple crafters and businesses set up selling their items, items for a silent auction to bid on and a handful of items for a raffle.  There will also be baked goods and our friends' amazing eggrolls for sale for eating.  :-)

I really just want the place to be packed with people we love and who support us with no obligation of donating anything!  

If anyone has any ideas of anywhere we can ask for more auction items or ideas, please let me know!  We will take all the help we can get to make this as successful as possible.

The Baby Bents Benefit will be held on Saturday August 15 from 10am-1pm at Riverdale Church in Andover, MN

I have also set up a youcaring page for those that can't make it to the benefit but have it on their heart to contribute.

http://www.youcaring.com/alaina-and-joe-bents-386014

Garage Sale-ing!

Hey y'all! I think summer has finally arrived for us Minnesotans and I'm so very happy for it. With summer in Minnesota comes garage sales, Joe's favorite thing!

I have decided this year to join in on our neighborhood garage sale! I am using this as a jump start to raising money for us for IVF treatments. We have been blessed with many donations of items from family and friends for us to try and sell.

The sale is Saturday June 13 from 11-6. If you want to stop and just say hi I'd love to see your pretty faces! No need to buy things, I'm sure we will have plenty of garage sale-ing people for that.

If you are in need of any items like tools, household items, baby clothes etc, feel free to come look around. There may or may not be special treats for your purchasing pleasure as well 😉

Woo-hoo for summer!

New Seasons

Hello Spring!!!!!!  Is everyone as excited about the nice weather as I am?!  I have beautiful plants and flowers coming up and it makes me so happy!  Spring means new growth and life and a new season.  And also no more winter ;-)

I've been trying to brainstorm ideas for raising money for us to do IVF.  I've received a lot of advice and support on different things to try.  The big one everyone recommends is garage sales.  I'm going to try and join up with as many as I can.  We don't have a garage nor a yard really to host my own.  If anyone out there does one or plans on it this year and wouldn't mind me setting up my own stuff and helping you work it, I'd love to!  Also, if anyone out there has stuff they know they want to get rid of but don't like to or don't have time for marking and selling, I would love for you to consider donating the items to my "cause".  I will happily price, transport and sell it for you!  I'll do whatever you'd like me to do with the proceeds I make from selling your things. 

I'm also thinking of making/sewing items to sell either in an Etsy store or possibly at these garage sales. My sister in law Brianna can knit and will learn to sew things with me and my other sister in law Kristie has offered to help teach me how to sew!  Considering I've never touched a sewing machine (maybe in middle school???) I will need all the help I can get!!!

Feel free to contact me if you're interested in helping in any way.  Or if you have ideas for me!  I'm not good at this whole brainstorming/raising money thing.  I'll take all the help and advice I can get!

One more time

The last 2 months have been kind of intense on the baby front. We have increased my meds including injections and progesterone supplements. If any of you know me, you're aware of my hatred of needles but I'm rather proud of myself having done them all myself! Unfortunately, even though my body reacted perfectly to the meds and our numbers on all fronts were fantastic, it still didn't take. Here are my fun shots - 

With this heartbreaking news comes some major decision making on our part. We're allowed one more round of what we've been doing. Then we will have to move forward with IVF most likely. This option is scary and stressful not only in the case of what I will have to go thru but financially. The prices are astronomical and that is a stress I'm not sure we are able to endure.  Elsa tries to help me feel better by taking naps with me....its as comfortable as it looks

In the meantime, prayers are always welcome. For what choices to make and God's patience, healing and guidance for my heart.

Also a hilarious video of what I imagine it was like having me as a child getting shots.  My dad says that's pretty much what I was like....