Dear Family and Friends

Welcome!
Here's a copy of our letter:

June 17, 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing you today to let you know what’s been going on in Ryan and my life recently. I would like to ask you for your thoughts and prayers during this very exciting time in our lives.

If you don’t already know I was born with many congenital heart defects and as a result I won’t ever be able to carry my own children. Five years ago I went on a medication that I will be on for the rest of my life. Before I went on this medication my doctors told me that I wouldn’t even be able to conceive and then transfer the embryo to a surrogate due to possible birth defects the meds could cause. So, before I started on the medication (at the age of 17) my parents and I started to search for a doctor that would harvest my eggs so that there would be a hope in the future of children. I found a doctor in Los Angeles and the summer before my senior year of high school. I was lucky enough to have already been dating Ryan who made this hard time in my life so much easier. When we harvested my eggs the doctor told us after the eggs had been frozen for 5 years the chances of getting pregnant drops to nearly nothing. We are excited to tell you that it’s been close to 5 years since then and after being married for three years we are in the middle of the process towards our dream of having children.

My cousin Shannon has unselfishly volunteered more than 9 months of her life to help us bring our dream of a family to life. Shannon lives in North Carolina and has three beautiful children of her own. Her husband Randy has generously agreed to put up with Shannon during the 9 months of her pregnancy as well.

In February Shannon and I went to LA so she could meet the doctor and have a consultation. Shannon started on hormone therapy Tuesday June 12, 2007. She will be on the hormone therapy for close to 12 weeks. Shannon truly is an answer to prayer and is a true Godsend.

In July Ryan and I will fly out to start the process of making an embryo and Shannon will be flying out shortly afterwards so that she can have two embryos transferred to her.

Ryan and I have been blessed with a very supportive family and friends and are excited to share this exciting time with everyone. We ask for your prayer during this time of uncertainty. We thank you for your support, and if you want to keep up with what is going on in our lives we have a blog. I will be updating the blog often as things progress. Please stop by and give us your support by giving your encouraging comments. http://salsersbabystory.blogspot.com/ . Thank you all for your concern and desire to know more about our situation.

Much Love,

Ryan and Rebekah