A Year Ago Today

We found out Carter was on his way.  The pure joy and excitement I felt that day as I stared at the pink lines and then the word “pregnant” in disbelief was nothing compared to what was to come.  I had no idea the joy and love I had yet to experience.  

I was a different person on this day last year.  I didn’t know what it felt like to be a mom.  I didn’t know what labor felt like.  I had never experienced the inability to tie my own shoe (well since kindergarten).  My life has changed so much since then.  I am so much happier.  My life is much richer and filled with more love.  It’s hard to imagine life before Carter.  It seems like he has always been here, intertwined in our lives, making life the amazing journey that it now is.  

I wrote about the day we discovered we were pregnant here.  In honor of this amazing day, we will be recounting how we shared the news with our loved ones.  Ty has agreed to write about telling his parents for a guest post.  That should be coming tomorrow.  Today I will be sharing how we told my parents.  So here we go…

When Ty and I first looked down at those two beautiful pink lines I was dying to read the word pregnant and to say it out loud.  For some reason I was also afraid to say it out loud like it would somehow jinx the whole thing.  I wanted to call my parents right then and there to tell them.  I felt like the words might burst right out of my mouth. 

Ty wanted to wait.  He thought we shouldn’t share the news until after our first doctor’s appointment.  I agreed, but the next day as I took another test in the morning I knew there was no way I could wait that long and why should we?  My reasoning was that we shouldn’t tell people we wouldn’t want to have to tell if we had a miscarriage.  I knew if we had a miscarriage I would need the love and support of my parents.  When I explained it that way, Ty agreed with me.  

We found out on a Friday and on Sunday evening we told our parents.  I called my parents to see if we could Skype with them.  At the time we Skyped with Ty’s parents quite a bit, but we never really Skyped with mine.  Since they live closer, we saw them more often and there was less of a need to Skype.  The fact that we wanted to Skype with them tipped them off that we must have big news.

When I called my parents, my dad had been working on an air conditioning unit and his hands were dirty.  My mom was working on a project for Vacation Bible School and had glitter out.  I heard the excitement in my dad’s voice as he relayed the message to my mom that we wanted to Skype with them.  He said they both had dirty hands and asked if we could wait about ten minutes.  We of course agreed.  We already had the computer out and Harper ready with her sign so we just sat and waited.

We were surprised when the computer began to chime due to an incoming Skype call from them a few short minutes later.  My dad said he and my mom rushed around excitedly after receiving my phone call, washing their hands, and exclaiming, could it be that they are pregnant?!!?  

The sign Harper wore to share the news.

I had Harper sitting on my lap with a sign reading, “Daddy said no more pets, but get ready for another grandbaby!”  I watched my mom’s eyes rapidly dart back and forth as she read the sign.  My dad just sat and stared at the screen, bouncing up and down, and appeared to not read the sign.  When my mom finished reading the sign she exclaimed, “Okay, where’s the cat?!!?”

We responded that there wasn’t a cat and that we were pregnant.  That’s when tears crept into both my parents’ eyes and we began to excitedly talk about how far along we were and what was to come.  I had been a little bit nervous to tell everyone we were pregnant.  We had said we were going to wait 3-5 years to have children.  I was afraid they might think it was too soon.  My parents’ reaction proved to me that great news is great news no matter when it arrives.

May 4, 2012 was one of the best days of my life.  May 4, 2013 has been an even better day.  I was with my amazing husband and perfect son the entire day.  Every day I get to spend with them is a little slice of heaven.  Each moment spent with Carter is the best possible moment.  He is my sunshine, not my only sunshine, but possibly the brightest.  I thank my lucky stars he is with us and I feel blessed to have him in my life.  One year ago today we discovered he was on the way and life has only gotten better.

Our happy boy after dinner this evening.