SURPRISE!!

Let's talk babies...

I remember having this conversation with our buddies at Urban Stack over a bottle of wine at our last supper in Chattanooga. Both couples that we were with have a child who are one month apart. Both kids are so very different but extremely adorable, but Scott and I wanted to wait at least four years to have kids. We had very good reasons for this, which include: me going back to school for Dental Hygiene, we JUST got married, we wanted to wait until Scott's brother started having kids, and we just weren't ready financially. Our friends didn't think that would last long.

Well, the thing about life is, it will throw you a curve ball when you're not paying attention. I suppose God had other plans for us that didn't fit our timeline. We were married on February 20th, and on March 15th, I took a pregnancy test. Most people ask me why I took one and I really can't answer that question. Was I tired? Yes. Was I sick? No. Were my boobs tender? Yes. Was I weepy? Yes. Was I late? Not yet. So those are all the signs of my next menstrual cycle, right? Hmmmm.... I can't really put my finger on it, but somehow I KNEW that I was pregnant.

When I took the pregnancy test, I was more excited than I have ever been. I let it work for 5 minutes and then peeked. There was a faint line. What did a faint line mean? Did it mean that I wasn't pregnant or that I was? In movies and commercials (and that's all I had to go on), the line was bright and sure, but this line was barely there. Naturally, I did what I always do when I'm uncertain- I google it. I mean, seriously, I grew up in a world of technology. Any answer you want you can find on the internet. I had to do some research to learn that there are no false positives. A few days later I took one more just to be sure.

Scott was so excited that he wanted to tell everyone that day. I knew that things could still go wrong so I wanted to wait a while. My parents came to visit us and I was able to tell them in person. I wrote a note that said "Scotty and Jessi's egg will hatch on Nov. 22nd." and put it in a plastic easter egg. The other easter eggs had their favorite candy. My dad opened the egg and he was blown away. When my mom read it, she squealed. It was so exciting!

It took a few months for Scott's parents to get excited, though. Jonna had to let it sink in a while before she excepted the news. She wasn't ready to become a grandmother, yet. I can only imagine how hard it would be to watch your kids move thousands miles away and then find out about becoming a grandmother. My parents are grandparents already so that probably helped. Either way, I know they are beyond excited now.

So that's my surprise story. It was surprising to us, our family, and friends but we're so excited and thrilled to be given the chance to raise a child. Our parents raised us with love, showed us what it takes to be a follower of Christ, gave us support, and let us deal with the consequences of our mistakes. Because of this, Scott and I have grown to be the people we are, and I can only hope and pray that we have the strength to do the same for our children.