I love weddings. There’s something spiritual about having all the people who know and love you in one room. People who have known you since childhood and people who know you as an adult. People who have witnessed your struggles, heartbreaks, first loves, wins, and losses. A wedding brings together two people in love and all of their witnesses, saying they are here for the next chapter. We are blessed to be loved and witnessed by many. Our IVF journey is part of that story. Evonne and I are both eldest daughters. We each played a role in raising our younger siblings, and through those experiences we learned to be nurturing, responsible, and selfless. Those lessons shaped the women we are today and the lives we hope to continue impacting. Evonne has worked in a cancer center and in pediatrics. After losing her father to cancer in 2016, she learned firsthand how precious life can be. Today, she saves lives as an Emergency Room nurse. She also provides a safe landing space for survivors of sexual assault as a SANE nurse and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Nursing with a focus on psychiatric mental health. I have served as an elementary school art teacher for 16 years, sharing my passion for visual arts with children in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, where many students face challenges related to poverty, violence, and immigration. Art saved my life. It gave me a voice, taught me to follow my dreams, and helped me become a fearless leader. One day, I hope to establish a college scholarship for underprivileged artists of color so they can pursue their dreams too. There’s a running joke about lesbians U-Hauling and moving too fast, but there is also the saying, “When you know, you know.” When I met Evonne, I knew. She never saw me coming, literally. On our first date, there were two entrances to the restaurant, and she positioned herself facing one while I entered through the other behind her. That first date was filled with laughter. We felt like old friends. What she did not know was that I had previously made a secret agreement with the universe. I said, “The next person you send me needs to be able to dance.” I was taking salsa lessons at the time and decided that would be my sign. After hearing about my lessons, Evonne sent me a silly video showing off her dance moves, ending with a moonwalk. I could not believe it. She sparkled in a way I had never seen before. The first time I went to her home, she told me she loved Whitney Houston and asked for my favorite song. I said “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” It was 1 a.m., but she immediately played it and asked me to dance. We were like two silly teenage girls at a slumber party. When she went to the bathroom, I texted my best friend: “I think I found my wife.” A few days later, Evonne asked, “Be honest, have you thought about what it would be like to spend your life with me?” I laughed nervously and told her to answer first. She immediately said yes. I slid my phone across the table and showed her the text I had sent my best friend. It took us a while to find each other, but I am grateful for every experience that prepared us to love one another. Love is our foundation. We both come from loving and supportive families who openly celebrate our relationship. We know how fortunate that makes us, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Our families are excited about the possibility of welcoming grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. When I met Evonne, I had already started pursuing motherhood. I had spent four years saving money and had selected a donor. I told her early on that becoming a parent was one dream I could not give up. Evonne did not hesitate. She told me she had always dreamed of having a family too but had never found the right person. Within a few months, I prepared for a medicated IUI. Evonne, being a nurse, jumped right in. She came to appointments, administered medications, and stood beside me during the procedure. When it failed, she ran me a bath, held me while I cried, and tucked me into bed. When we later moved forward with IVF, she showed up again. She bought me a pink tackle box for my medications and filled it with flower-shaped Band-Aids. She gave every injection with the gentlest touch. We started going on “wife walks” to improve circulation, much to the delight of our dog. This journey has tested me in ways I never expected. It has taught me to advocate for myself, surrender control, and continue hoping when there are no guarantees. Both of us are high-achieving women. We are accustomed to working hard, overcoming obstacles, and eventually seeing results. IVF is different. You can do everything right and still experience loss. After our most recent failed transfer, we find ourselves living somewhere between grief and hope. But we are not giving up. Receiving this grant would help cover donor sperm, genetic carrier testing, embryo freezing, PGT testing and the continued medical costs of trying to grow our family. More importantly, it would give us another opportunity to keep trying. We hope that one day, surrounded by the same loving witnesses who have celebrated our relationship, supported us through loss, and cheered us through every step of this journey, we will finally introduce them to the child we worked so hard to bring into this world. Thank you for considering our story. Regardless of whether we receive this grant, we are deeply grateful for the work you are doing to help families like ours continue hoping.