Last month, we celebrated our third anniversary.

The month prior, we passed the two-year mark of "trying" for a baby.

Two years. In the time since we first started trying, six of our siblings have given birth to seven children. Three of those siblings are expecting again. Ten kids in the time we've tried to have one. Two years seems like an eternity, and yet I know that's only a fraction of the time some couples have had to wait for their children. For all we know, it could be another two years or more before we finally conceive.

You see, in May we were officially diagnosed with infertility. We had multiple doctor's appointments and tests administered. We were poked, prodded, and made to feel more than a little uncomfortable more than once. We had ultrasounds and took medication and supplements.

After our diagnosis, we clung to the hope that a surgery might be our golden ticket to getting a baby. Six months later, no baby. Not even a hint of a second line on any pregnancy test I've ever taken. And believe me, I've taken quite a few.

The irony of the Costco-sized boxes of tampons juxtaposed with the towering stack of 88-cent pregnancy tests underneath our bathroom sink is not lost on me. In more hopeful days, we would buy a few each time we went to Walmart, "just in case." I haven't bothered to take one in months. No point in getting my hopes up just to see a negative test and start my period a few hours later.

So now it's back to the drawing board. Back to doctor's appointments and tests. Unless the tests are drastically different from before, we'll most likely need IVF (in-vitro fertilization) or adoption to start our family. We haven't decided which we'll go for. It's a big decision. And it'll require a lot of financial planning on our part. IVF will cost around $13,000 out-of-pocket.  That's almost as much as our new (used) car. And of course we need to finish paying the car off before we can save up for fertility treatments.