"Expecting" The Unexpected

We are happy and excited to announce that come August, Lord willing, our 4th child will be joining our family.

We told our kids the news this morning.  It was fun!  This is the first pregnancy when we've been able to actually get a reaction.  They actually get what is going on.

(I'll post the video separately, once we get it uploaded in the next few days)

Shortly afterwards we asked Jack is he was excited and he said "yes, but did you want 4 kids?"  We asked him what made him ask that question.  His response was "a long time ago you said you didn't want any more children."  It's crazy that he recalls that.

The truth is we were not planning on having any more children in the near future.  Maybe adopting sometime down the road.  It's not that we don't have the desire, it's just that our current living circumstances doesn't really lend itself naturally to an addition.  When we found out we were moving to NYC I was already pregnant with Lillie and Elliott and considered it a blessing to be carrying twins, because I always wanted a big family and big families are not the norm here.  In fact 3 here is pretty big, especially living in a 1 bedroom apartment.  But I saw it as God giving me the desires of my heart in giving us the twins and a calling to NYC at the same time.  It gave us a "big" family when we probably would not have tried past 2 kids if I had been carrying a singleton.  

Within the last year we officially have emptied our apartment of all things baby.  We felt like we kind of crossed the baby road and now have more independent kids.  Kids who can be out all day and it not be too big of a deal.  Kids who are potty trained and there is no need to pack diapers and extra clothes.  Kids who can eat whatever we eat, no need to be prepared with baby food.  It was actually feeling kind of good.  It kind of felt like we were finally settling in and ready to really put our roots down here.  Like we survived the "hard younger years" now we can do anything!

Everything changed on December 23rd.  I shared with Freddy T. on the 22nd that I had a few suspicions  I might be pregnant.  But everything I could think of that seemed off I had an answer for.  I was tired a lot more than normal, but it had been a busy December, so that seemed to make sense.  My appetite was not quite right, but I had been fighting a cold so that made sense.  The other thing was my period was late, but mine aren't normally normal so that wasn't so strange, except I was on birth control and that usually makes them normal.  That one I could not really explain.  The next morning and 3 pregnancy tests later, it told me what I suspected...PREGNANT.

We were in complete shock. Scared. Nervous. Overwhelmed. Excited. What are we going to do?  What will our family and friends think?  Holy Cow... this was not in our plans.

Proverbs 16:19 says "The heart of a man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." 

Proverbs 19:21 says "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."

That day these 2 verses brought us comfort.  We had plans, but God's are bigger and better and we can trust that.  Children are a gift from God and we believe that with all of our hearts and we accept the new gift we've been given.  There are still a good bit of logistics around here that we need to figure out.  We have ideas of where we'll put the baby bed, how it could work in our apartment.  I think a year ago we would have immediately packed our bags, now we are not so quick to get out of here.  A lot has happened in the past year, this past Fall especially, we really feel like we've hit our stride.  It's not our first desire to load up and move.  We find ourselves praying for wisdom in how to navigate these waters that we find ourselves in.  We would be honored if you would pray for us too.  We've had a good month to let the shock wear off, now we are just excited and humbled to get the opportunity to raise another child.  Now we are ready to embrace sleepless nights, lots of feedings, diapers again, and all things baby!

After we told the kids this morning Freddy T. left the room to get something and Jack looked at me and said "was Daddy telling a joke?"  So funny... no joke Jack!  We later loaded up to go hang out and play in Grand Central Station for a few hours.  When I was helping Jack get dressed he said "I guess the baby is going to go with us" and before he left the room he patted my belly.  On the bus he announced it was the baby's first time in New York City.  It's going to be fun seeing this experience from his eyes.  

I've been to the doctor.  So far everything looks good.  Here they use an older, smaller ultra sound machine to check the babies heartbeat, so Wednesday we saw the baby and a heartbeat and got an estimated measurement.  I go back this coming Wednesday for an official ultra sound.  Oh and by the way, she only saw one!

Stick around... I'm sure the next 7 months will fly by and there will be lots of changes around here and lots of excitement.  August 13th will be here before we know it!