It seems that each year gets better and better. Just when I think that the year before can't be topped, there is always something. 2010 was filled with lots of travel abroad...Kenya, England, France. Life changing travel, we felt. Well when the docket was somewhat empty in 2011 we thought, "Well, I guess we'll just chill." But that's not ever the case.
In March we went to Disney World. The first time for me in about 14 years. LOADS of fun.
In April we celebrated 6 years of marriage at our favorite condo in Florida.
In May, I ended a 6 year teaching career to join my husband full time in ministry.
In June, we took a cruise with our friends and family. That's always a blast. :)
In July, we were whisked away to beautiful St. Thomas for my brother in law's surprise wedding.
In August, we celebrated Justin's last year in his twenties...haha ;)
In September, we began the wedding showers for my baby sis. Still can't believe she's married!
In October, I turned 28, and enjoyed the daylights out of bridesmaid's ziplining trips and Halloween parties.
And in November, shortly after marrying off Sambo in a beautiful wedding ceremony, we realized this little Peanut would add to our household :)
It is still so surreal looking at it!
It all started with a plan. And little did we know that the Lord would agree. :) After a few lady problems that had me a little worried, apparently my body cooperated and after one "round' of "organized fun," we thought we would just see what happened. I had one of those really cheap, pharmacy brand pregnancy tests so I took it, but the blue line was so faint, I was afraid to trust it. I remember going in to Justin and saying, "Look at this....does that look like a line in that window to you?" His response was, "If that is supposed to be positive, that's disappointing!" So...I didn't jump up and down, but I didn't rule it out either. While I was out running errands that afternoon, I grabbed a couple of the really nice digital ones. I came home while Justin was still out at the driving range with my Dad. I made sure I had drank a ton of water, and headed to the bathroom. Less than the time that the test said it would take, I saw this:
I remember wanting to take a picture of it in case it went away and no one believed me! I just stared at it. I had taken these things before and they ALWAYS said "not pregnant." And that was ok. Those other times, we weren't ready! I guess I just assumed that's what it would say again. NO ONE gets lucky the first go 'round. The worst part was: Justin was still out, and I didn't want to tell him over the phone, especially if he was with someone, but knowing he wouldn't pick up his phone while at the range anyway. So....the torture began. I had to wait on him almost an hour before he finally arrived. I slid the test on the table in front of him while he was watching a video on his phone (of his golf swing, haha) and he immediately looked up and said, "For real?! We're gonna have a baby?!" :) I was still in shock and felt weird saying, "yes!" We headed out to a concert that evening, keeping our little secret to ourselves, and took another test the next morning, just for safe measure. Yep...still pregnant!
Our caravan left the next day for the Smokey Mountains for our family Thanksgiving vacation. We had to wait ANOTHER 2 DAYS for all of the parents to arrive before we told everyone. As Justin prayed for our breakfast that morning, with all the future grandparents and most of the future aunts and uncles accounted for, he asked for God's protection over our growing family (my sis in law was already very pregnant), and thanked Him for the new life "growing in Denise's belly." Needless to say, the blessing ended there. Everyone flipped, cried, hugged, cried some more, and then eventually made it around to fixing our breakfast plates. :) It was such a special time. As was the outlet shopping trips that followed for Baby's First Christmas and other gender neutral items. There was no stopping us!
We swore everyone to secrecy until our first doctor's appointment on December 6th. Our 6 week appointment where they confirmed what 3 tests had told us... congrats! You're pregnant! They set our due date at July 30, 2012 and scheduled our first ultrasound especially for us to see before Christmas. :)
It wasn't until we saw that little Peanut above that I actually believed it. But when she said lay still to we could hear the heartbeat, I think both of our hearts stopped. We thought we would have to wait until January, but because of the internal ultrasound I was having, it was possible. I started crying and Justin went silent. We just couldn't believe what we were hearing. With a heart-rate of 165 bpm, that little sucker was ALIVE inside of me! What a miracle! I still can't believe it.
Although the nausea, cravings, food aversions, and pure exhaustion are making it more believable, we still can't believe sometimes that this is actually happening to us. After almost 7 years married, I guess God was ready for us. :) There isn't much to see yet. Now it just looks like I haven't been minding my P's and Q's with diet and exercise. Ha! I'm slowly trying to get back into my routine, starting with running my first 5k a couple of weekends ago. More than anything, we are just in awe at the changes that are already happening for us. We are looking forward to February when we will find out if this lil' booger will be Jack or Mia, and are already beyond excited to meet him/her.
It's been a year we will never forget. And as always, I have to say....this year was even better than the last. Of course ;)
Happy New Year, friends! Much Love!
