Nothing short of a miracle

I don't know of a dramatic way to build up to this in writing, so I'll just say it:

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

This was a total shock to Amy and to me. Amy didn't even tell me until she had had a blood test to confirm the home pregnancy test(s) that had shown a positive result. She refused to believe it until she saw the lab's results. Over the years, we had come to accept that we would not have children this way, and we were totally thrilled to anticipate the next adoption. In fact, we still are, though the pregnancy does raise questions about whether we will have to delay the adoption. That is unknown at this point since so much is unknown about the timing of the adoption. We are in the waiting period and can only watch from month to month to see when others are getting their referrals to make an educated guess about when we will get ours. So far our best guess is sometime next March or April.

Less uncertain is the timing of the pregnancy, since the old 9-month countdown does not vary by much, no matter who you are, and no foreign governments are involved. By God's grace, we hope to welcome our next child into the world around April 3rd. That is a few days shy of Sydney's third birthday, and we'll see how enthusiastic she is about that as a birthday present!

We had a sonogram done last week to make sure everything appeared normal. We heard the baby's heartbeat, saw all the expected parts (for 10 weeks), and even saw the baby move. It was absolutley a surreal experience! God's mercy in blessing us this way is overwhelming.

After the sonogram, we started getting together with the family members who are here in the area and calling those who are not. The reactions we got were priceless! For most, we put in a 3-minute tape of the sonogram and played it without any fanfare or lead in. The reactions varied from absolute hysterics to "Who is that?" Sydney has seen the video enough, and seen the reactions it elicits, that instead of looking at it and saying "Not this one!" like she did the first time (she prefers Veggie-Tales), now she starts jumping up and down and laughing and clapping as soon as it starts, waiting for everyone else to do the same. She has no clue what it means for her future, of course, but we love her imitation of the reactions she has seen.

I'm discovering how much I don't know about pregnancy and the effects it is already having on Amy. I may very well leave the grill out so I can cook her a midnight cheeseburger on a regular basis, though that may change back to a craving for ice cream or move on to some other unrelated food soon. She has not been feeling very well for the last two or three weeks, but we both hope that won't last too much longer. Apparently the queasiness and nausea usually ends around the end of the first trimester for most women, but there are no guarantees.

We would very much appreciate your prayers in the coming weeks and months for a safe and healthy pregnancy for both Amy and child. Prayer for Sydney and her adjustment to the idea of having a brother or sister is also appreciated, as right now she thinks Mommy has a "boo-boo" in her tummy!