The Blogging Browns

Where do we start? That was a question we had to figure out from the get-go. There are a million different answers and approaches to dealing with infertility. It is important to do your research and understand what kind of doctor and what kind of treatment you will be subjected to and have to undergo in this process.  Chris and I felt like we were a step ahead on most of these questions when we began to address our fertility struggles. My oldest sister walked a really similar journey, and she had the grueling work of researching and finding doctors she felt comfortable with treating her.  Thanks to all of her hard work and research, Chris and I knew what kind of direction we wanted to walk in pertaining to our fertility.  Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro) is a  women's health science that uses the Creighton Model System to help a woman reach their optimal state of reproductive health. Its medical and surgical approaches, developed over decades of r...

Continuing to talk about grief, I want to share with you how grieving has affected my faith. I wish I could say that I met infertility with a strong, deep belief in the goodness of Jesus, and that I had some really spiritual response as I moved through my grief. I am sorry to say that I had the opposite reaction. As a person of faith in Jesus, I believe that everything I do and everything I go through comes through the hand of God. I firmly believe that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and by Him, to Him, and through Him are all of our experiences in life. But how does this faith in God work when He hands us pain, brokenness, and grief? How can His goodness allow such pain? These are all huge questions that I realize can make or break people's faith. I don't pretend to understand or know fully how to answer these questions, but what I can do is tell you about my experience in exploring them. When I sat down to do my intake with my counselor, she asked me...

First of all I just want to say wow. Thank you. I am overwhelmed by the kindness, love, and encouragement that I was met with when I shared my first post. I don't think I fully explained how terrified I was to click "post". I shared my first post at 9 PM at night hoping everyone was asleep (we are old folks and go to bed early!). I posted it and basically hid under my covers, trying not to puke, and listened to Leslie Knope run on my television as I tried to calm down. Thank you. For all those who sent messages, left kind words, shared your stories and struggles with me, thank you. My heart is overwhelmed and my little love tank is full to the brim. You all are good people. I have been reading through my journals and trying to find a good place to start with a deeper explanation of infertility, and what I noticed was this thread of sorrow, grief, and loss that ran through most of my journal entries. Some are marked with anger and bitterness. Some are truly a deep, p...

Friends, strangers, people of the internet: hello! I am Dayton, and I am new to the blogging community. I must admit I was hesitant to join this community. Do we really need another person pouring out their life into all corners of the interwebs, expressing opinions, and sharing what eyeliner they're using every day? Probably not, but I hope this blog can provide much more than that. I truly enjoy reading other people's blogs, so I don’t know why I’m so afraid to participate. Every new year, I pray for a word the Lord wants to use as a banner for the year ahead. For 2017, my word is VICTORY. Whether it be victory over fear, victory over shame, or victory over some of my greatest aches, this year will be about victory. This blog is victory over fear. Despite my hesitation, here we are. I would love to tell a little about myself, my family, and how I ended up blogging even though I swore I never would. I want to prepare you upfront that this blog will primarily deal w...