Booberry hit it on the nose on what beans need to germinate. In good warm moist soil they will be fully up within a week. I have the best stand if I plant a day or two after a good rain. Allow the soil to dry only to the point that it can be tilled easily without clumping. Then plant and hope it does'nt rain for a few days. In about three days the beans will start popping up. If it rains within three days after planting the ground compacts and forms a crust making it hard for the beans to break through and many will rot in the ground. If there is no forcast for rain I will soak the area well then till the next day to break up the soil and plant. I get a perfect stand everytime. If when it is time to plant and the forcast is rain and the ground is already wet, I start the plants in pots and transplant. This is also what I do for rare beans that I only have a few seed of. The only seed I have ever soaked and every heard of soaking was Okra until these past couple of post. In my opinion I see no need for it and it would seem there is a greater chance of rot. Rodger

Thank you as always for your continued support, prayers and suggestions. This forum has been one of the best outlets for me to post and read since I first posted after my diagnosis. Somehow I just KNEW this was the place to write about my journey. :) I have been thinking about your replies for the past few days before replying. The reason I never reached out to any of you after saying I would the last time I posted is pretty much the same reason that I don't want to talk to my friends/family, a therapist, a support group, etc. There really isn't anything to "talk" about, it's all a matter of waiting to see what happens with the next treatment. No amount of talking is going to change the future and the more I think about mental help, I'm afraid so many more things will add to my stress (why didn't I have a baby sooner, why did I have to delay starting a family to have the "perfect" time to start, what is going to define my life if I never have a baby). This is all I think about for the most part. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still function as a regular person day in and day out but this is always in the back of my head. It's exhausting to tell anyone who asks how I'm doing as there is really nothing to say, if that makes any sense. So in that regard, avoidance is the easiest solution. My poor husband, he's done anything and everything for me and I don't even want to talk to him some days. I mean, I do. It's not fair to him to have a wife caught up in her own head-chaos but honestly, some days I'm just faking life. In regards to the hormone levels and stress, my doctors and my nutritionist did explain it all to me. My estrogen levels and cortisol levels have to be managed to ensure my body is healthy. Of course, worrying about stress causes me to stress out! :) I have been eating very healthy for the past year and a half plus I exercise at least an hour a day. I joined a yoga class but decided not to go back, I'm not really a yoga-type person but wanted to give it a shot. My fertility doctor asked me sincerely if there was anything he could do for me to help me personally. I jokingly said "Put me in a coma for these 2 months until the IVF is over." and I guess I really wasn't joking. I just want to click my heels and get to the future knowing my fate. He wants to be sure DH and I are taking time for ourselves and doing things together, enjoying life, etc. but I don't really understand how to do that at this point. I probably already wrote too much here but just wanted you all to know where I am at right now. Thank you again for checking in on me and writing to me here. I mostly lurk and read the posts here but I'm always around. :)

I don't at all understand the fascination with DW or DL though I know many families who absolutely love going there. When I hear about the trip planning, it just sounds so incredibly stressful and planned out to the minute that I have no desire to go. We did go to DL and California Adventure about 6 years ago as it seemed much more manageable than trying to plan a DW trip. My BIL lives about 30 minutes from DL and works for a large commercial construction company. They do a lot of work at DL and he was in charge of Finding memo when we were there so he as able to get us in one day for free then we paid for an additional day but back then it wasn't that expensive, mainly b/c our youngest was free and the others were still kid prices. We liked Calif Adventure more but my kids weren't big into Disney characters. BIL is currently visiting us here so we are doing the tourist thing with him visiting Washington DC. He was telling us how the my other BIL just visited him in Orange County and June spent the day with them at DL. He said it was basically $100 pp for him and his two girls for one day in the park. Plus it's still the off season so several rides were closed for maintenance. Even tho he lives nearby, it doesn't make sense for him to get annual passes as they just don't have the time or desire to go that often. I'm glad we got Disney checked off our list and that none of my kids are clamoring to go back. Mtnrd, my 15 y/o went to Maui last summer with BIL and loved learning to surf. It was one of her favorite things. Dh grew up going to Maui every summer (his family owned a couple of condos there) and BIL now has a condo there. Dh and I lived on Oahu years ago so Hawaii is near and dear to our hearts (we got engaged on the beach in Kaanapali). We'd love to go more often but with limited vacation time and budget, we want to take our kids to new destinations, but some day when the kids are grown, we'd love to visit more often. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

Congratulations on your sweet beautiful Emmett mom and dad! I too love the name. Funny how they want to stay inside where it's warm and safe for longer. :?( ) What time was he actually born? I see this 16 hours later. :-). My advice rest while you can. :-)