How I got here...

I grew up a tomboy. I wanted to play football and baseball. (Quarterback or pitcher only. I didn't want to get hurt, but I did have a pretty good arm.) My friends were mostly boys, I wore baggy shirts and shorts, and my hair was always in a ponytail. I would've DIED if anyone of them had known I had a secret stash of Littlest Pet Shop and Quints toys that I played with every afternoon. The only part of being a girl that I really wanted any part of was to be a mom. I remember always volunteering to watch little kids, and knew that whatever I did as an adult would be something with children. I don't remember exactly when I knew I wanted to be a surrogate, but it was sometime in high school when I learned about infertility and what it meant. I used to have nightmares even before I got married of not being able to have kids of my own, and I constantly prayed that one day God would bless me with two boys. (I was an only child and hated it, and there was no way I would voluntarily raise a mini-me, so they were big issues for me.) I was beyond thankful when we found out our first child was a boy. We had a gender reveal party for our second, and when I cut into that blue-filled cake, I couldn't not believe God actually answered my prayers and blessed me with another boy. I was in shock for a few days after! After each birth I remember staring in their eyes and being overwhelmed with knowing I was their mother. Their momma. Both times I also cried because I knew there were so many women that couldn't have this and it broke my heart. I have close friends that have had devastating fertility issues and I just knew I wanted to help someone else have that moment. I had researched a little after my oldest was born, and about 6 months after my youngest, I got serious. My pregnancies were very easy, and besides some irritating back pain towards the end of both, I was one of those annoying women that LOVED being pregnant. So, for me this was the greatest idea ever. I could be pregnant, but then be able to SLEEP???!!!! Yes please!! It didn't take long to find an agency I liked. My second call was to Shiva Landry at Shared Conceptions, and after just a few minutes of talking to her, I knew I found the right place. As I'm sure you'll see as this whole thing comes along, I'm a big go-with-my-gut kind of person. Most of the time, I just know. And most of the time, I can't explain why. I just know. Pretty soon, I'd gotten my profile together, and was waiting to be matched with a couple!