Well, folks, we decided that since we make such darn cute kids, we might as well bring another one to join the party! Baby number FIVE is due September 1! We found out we were expecting shortly after Christmas, and to be perfectly honest, it was not something we exactly had on our radar. The lifestyle we have chosen is one that is continually
open to having another baby, but that does not mean we are always
expecting it. In this case, it took us completely by surprise! The same cannot be said of the rest of our family and friends... but I'll get to that in a minute.
My first thoughts when we got the positive result weren't of the amazing gift that this baby is, or of the great joy that has come to our family. No, selfishly, my first thought was, "Ugh. Pregnancy's HARD. Ick." Three months of sickness, clothes that are always either too big or too small, progesterone treatments, heartburn, fatigue... the list started running through my head. "How am I going to survive pregnancy and still parent my other children?"
But my initial reaction flew out the window the moment we announced the pregnancy to the kids. For starters, they had already been discussing the name of "the next baby" for months prior to this news. Top choices? Luke for a boy or Leia for a girl, of course. So they were not surprised when we told them that yes, there was a new baby in Mommy's tummy. But they were ecstatic! They jumped up from the dinner table and started running circles around it, hooray-ing and cheering, only stopping to kiss my tummy and their newest sibling inside. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Saint John Paul II once said, "The greatest gift you can give your child is another sibling", and never did I understand the truth of that more than on that day.
Then we told the news to our family and close friends, and the joy just continued to grow! But there was a trend that kept coming up, especially from Paul's family... no one was surprised in the least. Everyone spoke of clues I had dropped while visiting at Christmas, before
I even knew! Granted, I had an inkling by that point... and it must have shown. But to top it all off, when I announced it to my grandparents, my grandma informed me that my
grandpa, of all people, had called it
days before we had any idea!
Finally, we took the news to social media to announce it to the masses. For the first time, I was slightly nervous about what the reaction would be... "Baby news? Again?? This is getting old." I mean, how exciting can it be for my friends and acquaintances the fifth time around? And what if they even start thinking we're a little crazy? But I was blown away by the love and support from every corner of my diverse list of friends! Not that anything should be based on the number of likes a photograph receives on Facebook, but to see that the picture I posted garnered more positive responses than any of my previous announcements... or any post, for that matter... blew my fears away. I am surrounded by wonderful people on every side.
We are blessed and thankful beyond belief for the opportunity to raise up another little soul. We count on each and every one of you to pray for us and share our joy, and we can't wait to meet our little one at the beginning of September!
