2016 In Feb, we go to Ireland and visit all the places our relatives used to live. In March we refi our cottage to a fixed rate loan. In April we visit Paris and the Champagne region of France. In May we go to the Nantucket Wine Festival, I visit New Orleans with a friend over a long weekend, and we close on our current home. Its a three bedroom, two bath Cape and big enough to have a family in. Doesn't actually need a lot of work but we want to make it our own. We are able to keep our cottage by the water and have it on Airbnb. We use the rent money coming in to redo our new house, every room but the one I have designated for the nursery. On June 24th, I take out my Nuva ring for the last time. I buy ovulation tests, pregnancy tests, and an AVA bracelet that falls off so I never wear it ($200). We have scheduled sex, although we went a few months of me being the only one to know its scheduled. A student gets me sick, and I work too much and end up in the hospital on IV medications in Nov. First time since I was four. I am out of work for a month. I wonder if this is the beginning of my decline to death. Does having children make sense? Can't try while on IV's. My lung function rises but never back to where it was. Still considered to be very healthy...for someone with CF. I complete my capstone for my masters in counseling with an IV capped in my arm. We take our families to VT for their Xmas present. Fall of 2017 We have been trying to conceive for over 12 months. At my primary care visit in August our doctor recommends that we call to get an appointment with a specialist, as it can take awhile to get an appointment. I don't even know if we are ready to be parents. We are enjoying life, and mentally I am not in a rush. Due to my health though, I am aware that while my health is good enough now, that can change. I have better possibility of watching my kids grow up the younger I am when I have them. So we forge ahead. We have a consultation in the Fall and are amused by the funny stories of people having sex on blocks of ice to increase their chances of a girl and the poor guy who couldn't fill up his sample cup so he filled it with hand sanitizer. They order blood work and an HSG, a painful experiment of shooting dye up inside me to see if my internal reproductive organs have any issues. They only see one Fallopian tube but its open, and stop looking because they don't want to torture me anymore. They aren't concerned and say it can help with insurance to not see everything. The nurse says that some people get pregnant right after this procedure. Got it! My husband got bloodwork done and a sperm analysis (he is stellar!). We had our follow up and are diagnosed with unexplained infertility, a blanket diagnosis for when they don't find anything. I ask about CF being a factor, he says its possible but there is no way to know. The mucus throughout my body is extra thick so it would make sense for my cervical mucus to be thick too. The doctor says that our insurance requires two IUI's first (turkey basting me with my husbands sperm) and then he recommends we move to IVF. My husband and I talk and decide to put it off another year. Maybe we just need more time. Maybe we will be able to get pregnant on our own and we aren't super desperate for a baby now...we just want to have one sometime. We travel to Iceland over February break and enjoy the hot springs and the ridiculously expensive food. Go closer to home for April Break - Long Island NY and check out their vineyards - trying to be fiscally responsible for our future family. I think about getting a job closer to home, one with a union, a sick bank, and a raise. I hold off...I wouldn't want to be pregnant and not 100% at a new job. 2018 & Early 2019 Traveled to Spain during February break with Arden & friends: best place ever! My in-laws house gets torn apart by storm Riley at the beginning of March and moves in with us. They are with us from March 18 - February 19. Insurance companies and builders take forever. Hard to try - not a ton of privacy. Spent some time on short trips in New England - tried to align to cycle. I have an ill fated accident in a bouncy house over the summer of 18 and am out of work and stuck on the couch for six months. Can't try while waiting for surgery - and not the most comfortable or in the mood afterwards for awhile either. Got into Project333 and Marie Kondo - my house looks great! Started reading financial books - got more serious about our finances! Decide to go back to the specialist while I have some time off and do three IUI's between Dec 18 and February 19. Insurance only requires two but nervous about IVF, and had enough time to do another IUI before returning to work but not enough to get IVF approval and do any of that.Went on a cousins trip for a weekend to Nashville in Jan - got stuck and had to drive home...but I had fun. (still on crutches)Had plans to travel to Charleston/Savannah in Feb and Amsterdam in April but money is tight so we cancel them all and book a trip to Spain for Feb and decide to explore the countryside this time. Most affordable place ever and got direct flights for $300 each.