A Tribute to Fur Babies

       With only a week to go before our first IVF appointment, it seemed fitting to do a tribute to our most beloved fur babies. Chris grew up loving a special German Shepard name Max as a teen and myself, well I had every animal known to man. I think we both agree our pets drive us crazy sometimes, but we have often learned so much from them.
        As I said before Max was Chris's canine buddy as a teen and my most beloved girl growing up was Kenya, a pound puppy. She taught my parents that if you promise a girl a dog on her birthday, you must be first in line waiting at the pound even if it means at 4a.m.. My mom often still refers to her as the 4a.m. dog. It was worth that early morning wait, as she was my world growing up. We gave her a good life and she gave all of us so much in return. I still tear up thinking about the phone call from my parents the day she died.
        People can bring many things to a marriage, for Chris he brought a cat named Ashtray. He was never a smoker, but when you have a group of guys living together, cat names get interesting. Ashtray had his place in Chris's life before me and he let me know it claws and all. As our family, previous neighbors, current neighbors, or any friend who has tried to check up on him for us in the past knows, he's not what you would call a people kitty. I specifically remember our old neighbor and friend Becki stopping by our house, before she even made it in the door he was hissing. Somehow through the years Ashtray has become fondly attached to me and no longer claws me unless I completed the savage act of forgetting to fill his food bowl and he is unable to wake me up. He has never dared to wake Chris from his sleep, or use his sharp dagger claws on him unless by accident. I guess it is their form of "Bro Code". Ashtray's Siamese Instruction has taught us a few things and here is a list of the best:

                   1.) Cat food comes before all things, including your sleep. You will not sleep
                        unless the cat bowl is full, not half full, but full. We recently were forced, not
                        of our own will, to place the cat food upstairs. Ashtray had decided he needed
                        an escort to the food bowl through the night and this was our compromise.
                   2.) Just because they are your friends, doesn't mean they are mine. Ashtray has
                        one friend in the world besides ourselves and that is John, a very dear friend
                        of ours. Our thought is that Ashtray remembers John would share his bed

                        when Chris would not, something the cat never forgot. I remember fondly   

                        John coming to visit while we were still in Georgia, Ashtray couldn't get to
                        him quick enough. Any of our other friends who enter our home, risk some
                        serious claw marks.
                   3.) It is not your bed, it is mine. We never knew until a couple of years ago just
                        how little of the bed you can actually sleep on. Ashtray decided that sleeping
                        between us was much better than the foot of the bed. He really is like having
                        a spoiled toddler.
                   4.) There is kitty church and it can take place at any given moment.
                         Our cat likes to feel the holy kitty spirit and he is louder than
                         any human any place of worship. I joke that revival starts at our place after
                         midnight.He is now the proud owner of a nice charity shop cat statue,
                         everyone needs prayer piece even cats.
                    5.) Fresh water in your cup is best always better than the fresh water in
                         in my bowl. He taught us the hard way, not to leave cups of water out. I'm
                         pretty sure we lost a few power cords while learning this lesson.
                                               

          Before we were ever married, we were given a little Yorkshire Terrier by Chris's dad. When we brought her home, she fit in my husband's pants pocket. It did not take long for her to become the princess in the household, everyone adored her from the beginning and she knew it.She was the best engagement gift and she has taught us many lessons in her past eleven years (well eleven at the end of March). I have put together our some of our favorite lessons learned from her:
   

                     
                      1.) Little bitty dogs can snore like giants. If she is in the room with us,          

                           there is no sleeping if she is out before us.
                      2.) There is something faster than Superman, it is Keepsie's mouth to food
                           when you drop it. She loves food more than anything, I promise she is not
                           starving. We feed her twice a day and she could still eat a whole T-Bone in
                           five minutes flat.
                      3.) If you think your kids pitch a fit, you should see her when she wants
                           something. She has a whiney bark that won't stop and reluctantly you must
                           give into her terrier demands. She has recently started to bark when Chris
                           leaves for work, only to let me know that she has had breakfast and is
                           waiting on a treat. She will whine until I go down stairs and the treat is in
                           her mouth.
                       4.) If it is hers, do not touch it! Even if it is not hers and she stole it from you
                            do not touch it! She has a pink Cozumel bag that carries all of her
                            toys, food, treats, etc. when she has to travel to grandparents, or a friends
                            for a weekend. That bag is hers, not ours and she is quick to jump in it
                            and tell you so. The positive to this is that if we have her in the car, we can
                            sit it next to her and she doesn't move. I remember once having to put on a
                            thick pair of boots and gloves to get her out from under a bed when she
                            stole a bag of cookies.
                        5.) It is possible for something under 13 lbs. to train a human. Keepsie is
                             living proof. For example, if she wants a treat (she gets these sometimes
                             when she goes potty) she will go outside and squat as if she actually went
                             to the bathroom and come back in expecting that treat! If you are
                             sitting down expect to become her personal massage therapist, she will    
                             rub against your feet until your toes magically start to work.
         
            For so many years our pets are the only babies we have had. They challenge us in ways we didn't think possible, but we wouldn't trade them for anything. Our babies have crossed countries twice to join us in England, as we do not believe that you get a pet only to give it up when you move away. They give us unconditional love and I hope they will do the same for our future children one day.


                                                                           MAX

                                                                         KENYA

                                                                       KEEPSIE

                                                                       ASHTRAY

                   UPDATE: We dropped off the remainder of IVF paperwork at Bourn last Monday. We are asking for prayers that we continue to go towards our goal at gofundme.com/BabyforButigiegs. We are also asking for healing prayers that I will not get any worse with this sickness I have come down with before our appointment. I apologize for any typo's but at this point I am very sick and it is time for bed.

Some Good, Some Bad, and a Touch of Awesome

    I never really had anything medically wrong with me before moving to England apart from some anxiety, a small potassium problem, and some reoccurring ear pain. We moved here and I made the mistake of telling a friend about my fear of IV's and how I did not want one, ever! Two days later I had kidney stones and learned to appreciate IV's and the medications they were running into my system. A kidney stone surgery, two tubal pregnancies, the blood work that goes with them later and I have to think England has it out for me, but then I remember some of the good things that have occurred since moving here in 2010.
    Many of you know that since living here we have had many opportunities to travel and see much of the world. Flying to other countries is fairly cheap from England and we have taken the advantage to enjoy it. Flying to places like Poland, Ireland, and Malta (Chris's place of birth) to spend time with the in-laws. We have tried surfing in Cornwall, ridden the London Eye, and seen Stonehenge. We are very blessed to have been able to do these things and I can only thank the Air Force for sending us here.
   So before I tell of touch of awesome that changed my life forever, I must put out a disclaimer first! Disclaimer: I dearly love all of my brothers and sister. I have four brothers in ABC order as to not make any one jealous, George, Kevin, Micheal, and Ricky and a sister Natalie.  Kevin sadly passed away when I was little. Now that I have said that I will share the miracle that made my life even better.
   For years my dad had a big red tool box that had a picture I was curious about taped inside. I would often ask about the high school picture of the boy I did not know or recognize, but never got answers. I do not know whether I annoyed him into it or if Micheal just finally gave in, but my older brother finally told me about my other older brother. Yep! Thats right surprise I had another brother and he lived up north somewhere. I made it my project to find him! Years passed and to no avail, I was getting no where and I didn't have much help. I am sure my dad wanted to find him, but at the same time it was not fair to Ricky to change the world he knew.
   Fast forward to February 2011 and phone call that changed everything. I came across a phone number that was his at one time in January and contemplated dialing the number for awhile afraid that no one would believe me, or someone would pick up and it would no longer have been his number. It took a couple of weeks and then I dialed that number and on the other end a woman answered... and after some convincing and some Facebook photos she actually believed me. This sweet woman happened to be his ex-wife and she went out of her way for me. I knew his mothers name, I called him Ricky (apparently people call him Rick), he looked just like my dad in those Facebook photos she was looking at, and last I had the details of that old high school photo that I had been so curious about.
    After some convincing she drove over and told him all about our interesting phone call and sparing some details the first conversation with my big brother Ricky occurred about a week later. I still remember actually talking to her on the phone and hearing her tell me "He wants to talk to you". I asked "When?" only to hear "Now" and to reply "like right now?". At times it is still hard to believe that I actually found him and it is something I will forever be thankful for.
   Not only did I find my brother, but I found two wonderful nieces Brittany and Samantha. That February phone call, led to all of us meeting in August of 2011. My brother flew to Georgia with my nieces and met all of us for the first time. Even with the distance we are close and in the summer of 2012, they all flew England to spend some time here. Some bad things have happened while here in the UK, but some pretty amazing ones have happened for which I am grateful. At least now when we do have children, my kids will have an extra Uncle that I am sure they will love just as much as I do.

                                                      Meeting the Family Georgia 2011

             

                                                  Chris and Brandi Rome Colosseum 2012


IVF UPDATE:  Our labs have all been completed and we are awaiting some results that I will need to send to Bourn Hall before our first appointment on March 3rd, 2014. Not long now and we are both nervous and excited for the process to start. Thank everyone for the continued donations as we try and start our little family.