If you know us, you probably know that Joe and I have been together for a long time—15 years and counting. Over the years, we've built a life we love and got married in 2020. From the very beginning, we always knew that we wanted children and dreamed about the family we would one day have together. Becoming parents wasn't a dream that came later—it has always been part of the future we pictured for us. In 2021, we officially began trying to make that dream a reality. We planned. We tracked. We timed. We hoped. And we truly never imagined that five years later, we would still be waiting for our baby. Our journey hasn't been simple. Shortly after we began trying, my cycles disappeared for months. That started what would become years of doctor's appointments, bloodwork, testing, medications, and eventually diagnoses of PCOS and thyroid disease related to an autoimmune disorder. We've gone through multiple rounds of Letrozole to help ovulation. Some cycles worked and some didn't. Even during the cycles when everything seemed to line up perfectly, pregnancy didn't happen. Additional testing showed that my right fallopian tube is blocked. Still, we kept going. Anyone who has experienced infertility knows how quickly life can begin revolving around dates. The first day of your cycle. Medication days. Ovulation. Bloodwork. The two-week wait. Pregnancy tests. And then, when it isn't your month, somehow finding it in yourself to start all over again. After five years of trying, we recently decided it was time for the next step and had our first consultation with a fertility specialist. And we walked out of that appointment with something we hadn't truly been given before: Hope. For the first time, we have a plan. We still have more testing ahead of us, but now we know what we're working toward. We will both undergo genetic testing, along with additional testing to make sure there aren't other factors standing in our way. I am scheduled for a saline sonogram and mock embryo transfer so our fertility team can evaluate the anatomy of my uterus and make sure there is nothing that could interfere with successful implantation. Once our testing is complete, the plan is to move forward with IUI. If IUI isn't successful after 3 rounds, our next step will be IVF. Nothing about that plan comes with a guarantee, and we know there may still be unexpected turns ahead. But for the first time, we finally feel like becoming parents isn't just an impossible dream we keep chasing. There are options. There are things we can do. And we are ready to do them. Unfortunately, that hope also comes with a very real financial burden. We are incredibly fortunate to have insurance that provides fertility benefits, but having fertility coverage doesn't mean our treatment is completely covered. We currently have $10,000 remaining on our deductible before we can receive the full benefit of that coverage. As we complete genetic testing, additional diagnostic testing and procedures, and eventually move into IUI—and potentially IVF—a significant portion of those expenses will fall on us while we work toward meeting that deductible. Between testing, procedures, medications, monitoring, and treatment, the costs can add up incredibly quickly. That's why we created this fundraiser. Asking for help isn't easy. But we've also learned throughout this journey that sometimes you simply can't do everything alone—and maybe that's where the saying “it takes a village” begins long before a baby ever arrives. Our village already includes the doctors and nurses helping us find answers, the family and friends who have loved and encouraged us, and now anyone who chooses to become part of this journey with us. Every donation, no matter the amount, helps us take another step forward. It helps make the testing, procedures, medications, monitoring, IUI, and potentially IVF that stand between where we are now and where we desperately hope to be a little more financially possible. Every share helps our story reach someone new. And every bit of encouragement reminds us that we aren't walking this road alone. We don't know exactly what the next chapter will look like. We don't know how long it will take, which treatment will ultimately work, or exactly what it will require. But we finally have hope. And after five years of waiting, wondering, trying, and starting over, we are going to fight like hell for that hope. Our dream is still the same one we've shared from the beginning: to become parents, grow our family, and someday bring our baby home. If it takes a village to get us there, we'll be forever grateful to every person who chooses to be a small part of ours. ❤️