J.R. and I bought the house on Mebane Road in Oakland on May 20, 1994.  I lived in our house until we were married on November 18, 1994.  When we got married, J.R. was working for Ring Can Corporation in Oakland and I was working for Wilder Youth Development Center in Somerville. 

In 1995 I started trying to get pregnant. After one year, our doctor started having test ran on J.R. and me. All test results were normal. I was really having a hard time. I wanted a baby so bad. This is all I could think about. Every month I would think "this is the month". My father-in-law, Rudy, told me that God was not going to let the love that our family had to go to waste.  I did not know if that meant getting pregnant or adoption.  I started reading alot of books on adoption.  After another year and I still wasn't pregnant, we decided to try fertility pills. I took them for 6 months. After 3 1/2 years, I still was not pregnant.  We decided to visit a fertility doctor to see what our options were.  All of the options were very expensive.  After much prayer, on our last visit to this doctor, we told him we had decided to not go that route. 

My Dad and his brother owned a plumbing company called Culver's Plumbing. Around March 1996 my Dad asked J.R. to go to work for him. I did not want J.R. to work for the company. I was afraid that it would be a problem for Daddy and J.R. to work together. So J.R. told him he did not think it was a good idea. In April 1996 Daddy asked J.R. to go to work for him again. This time J.R. thought it was a good idea. So J.R. started working for the plumbing company. From the first time J.R. and I met, God was shaping our future and we did not even realize it. In May 1996 my Dad and his brother split the plumbing company. My Dad's company is called Jerry Culver's Plumbing and Septic Co., LLC. His brother started a plumbing company with his three sons, who were working for the company. J.R. has been working for my Dad for 16 years.

In 1998 a friend had just found out she was pregnant.  She called Jan, my mother-in-law, and told her she was about to call and tell me before I heard it from someone else.  She wanted Jan to check on me after I recevied the news.  I did not receive the news well at all.  I remember crying, well more like sobbing.  I could not believe she was pregnant and I was not.  I remember thinking why would God allow her to get pregnant and not me.  She already had one child.  I was hurting so much.  I did not understand why God was not hearing my prayers.  God had other plans. 

I was pregnant at that last fertility doctor's visit and did not know it.  I was pregnant when my friend called to tell me she was pregnant and did not know it.  When I thought I was pregnant, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.  I told J.R. and he told me to not get my hopes up and to take another pregnancy test.  It was positive.  J.R. once again told me to not get my hopes up and to take another pregnancy test.  It was positive.  I took one more home pregnancy test and it was positive.  J.R. once again told me to not get my hopes up and to go to the doctor and let them test me.  I did and it was positive.  I asked J.R. "can I get my hopes up now?"  That was a total of 5 positive pregnancy test.  We did not tell anyone what was going on.  We had talked about painting our house.  So we decided to have a paint party with our families and give them the news.  Everyone was so happy.