Our little peanut

Maybe making an appointment for an early ultrasound on April Fool's Day was not the best way to ease my nerves for this big event. Nevertheless, I couldn't wait until today; I was crawling out of my skin waiting to see the image of our baby. Finally - the one thing I needed to reassure me and calm my anxiety about this pregnancy - we saw a healthy little bean with the rapidly blinking flicker of a healthy heartbeat. What a joyous moment! Praise God!

At the moment when the ultrasound technician put the wand on my belly and found the baby, John was in the restroom. So when he walked back in the room, I was beaming, "John, look! There's a heartbeat!" He approached the screen and said, "Oh wow..." He was beside himself. It wasn't real to him until now, that we are having a baby and he is going to be a dad. I had fun watching him process the fact.

That evening we were able to call our families and tell them the good news. Our parents have been faithfully praying for a little one, so we just couldn't wait any longer to break the news. Actually, I told my mom a couple weeks ago, before anyone else, besides John. I needed the moral support and prayers as I was processing all kinds of questions and anxieties, especially in light of our loss last spring. It really made a big difference in my outlook and gave me a sense of peace, knowing that my mom was praying for me and is only a phone call away.

As soon as I got home from the ultrasound, I called my dad and grandma. I had this great intro planned for how I was going to tell him, but it didn't happen that way. I was supposed to say, "So do you want to come out this summer and help us paint our nursery?" But instead, all I could say was, "Guess what? I'll bet you can guess what news I have for you!" Why would I put him on the spot like that? I don't know, but he guessed right! Of course he was happy for us, and I could hear my 87 year old grandma in the back ground saying, "She's pregnant!" and clapped her hands. When I told my brother, he was proud and so happy for us. He said it felt like when he asked his wife's father for her hand in marriage. He was almost speechless, but obviously ecstatic.

John's mom Nora had been questioning a lot this month and was inviting us to do all kinds of things that we had to turn down, like snow sleding. I knew she suspected it! She was so happy to hear the answer to our many prayers. John's sister was screaming in the phone, "Wahoo!" His dad Jim was also very happy to share in the glad tidings and this long awaited news. Grandpa McLaughlin said, "I've been waiting!" Haha! Then he says, "I don't care if it's a boy or a girl, as long as it's a boy." His was the response I was looking forward to - 97 years old and waiting for his legacy to continue through his grandson, John, his namesake. Everyone is overjoyed :)