Presenting...


Zachy's little brother!!!!  (Or sister, but that's a fat chance.)

If you have been following our blog, you may have heard that we are once again blessed with a little miracle!  Zachy gets the chance to be a big brother, and I'm keeping fingers crossed that he will be out of diapers before Number 6 arrives (again, fat chance...)

So, what's his due date? many have asked.  Well, technically it's April 2, the very day I TURN 39....ugh!  So when our sonogram yesterday estimated March 29, that sounded good enough to me.  Better to have this baby before I'm officially ANOTHER YEAR OLDER.

The second most-asked question I have received:  "Are you praying for a girl this time?"  Do I want a girl?  Is the ocean blue?  Is the pope a Catholic?  Are you kidding me?  I always want a girl!  But we fall so in love with each and every one of our sons, from the moment we know of their very existence, that there is no way we could ever imagine life without them.  I couldn't even begin to think which one of my Five Little Blessings that I would trade in for a girl.  EVER.  And so there will be NO prayers for a girl.  Not from me, anyway (though Alex has other plans.)

I'm saving those prayers for a healthy baby.  Of course, everyone prays for a healthy baby.  But when you have been there, when you have heard those words "I'm sorry, but we can't find a heartbeat..." two different times, when you know you have babies you will never hold, when the doctor says "There's something wrong... we aren't sure he'll survive," when you see your child cut open and hooked to machines just to keep him alive, that fear in pregnancy is very real.  Yet still, I'm not sure if it's right to ask God for a healthy baby.  Because still in all the heartbreak of losing unborn children, and in the pain of watching your baby struggle to live, there are lessons to learn and and joy to be had.  In Zachary's ordeal especially, we are grateful for all the beautiful souls we have met on this journey.  We thank God for the new outlook we were given on life, and have learned in some small way how not to take for granted His many blessings.  We have met so many of YOU and seen firsthand the beauty of people helping others, of the selfless sacrifices even strangers make to comfort those in need.  These experiences have indeed softened our hearts, and many others have confided that their lives were changed as well having traveled this road with us.  So who am I to tell God to send us a healthy baby?  I guess I'm just letting Him know that my feelings wouldn't be hurt if this time He chose to let our baby be born at a local hospital, and to go home the next day with no strings attached (or wires, or tubes, or monitors...)

Our boys are outrageously excited to get a new sibling.  Next spring sounds to them like such a long time to wait!  Even Zachy comes to me almost every day and pleads "Mommy, you get baby out you tummy RIGHT NOW!!!"  I wonder what kind of crazy thoughts must be running through his toddler head?  And Alex is really hoping for a sister this time, because he says that he has plenty of brothers who are way too crazy and make messes.  While they are waiting, the boys will have plenty of opportunity to practice baby holding, bottle feeding, and maybe even diapering!  Two of my cousins have newborns and my little sister expects her first son next week!  In fact, over the weekend I found my boys fighting over my sweet little goddaughter!



Joseph was tickled pink!

And so, our entire family is thrilled to announce that another Little Blessing is on the way! Please keep us in your prayers as you have always... that our baby is born healthy if it is God's will, that Mom sucks it up and deals with this all-day "morning" sickness, that Dad holds it together while he's picking up Mom's loose ends, and that Big Brothers learn the importance of pitching in to prepare the way for Baby.

Thank you, dear friends, and God bless you all!

Comments

  1. Danielle @ Living Out LoudAugust 19, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    EXCITING NEWS!!! I somehow "missed" it if you announced previously! I've always wondered when you would get busy on #6! I hope you don't get too sick this time. We are due on Feb. 20th and I think I'm finally starting to turn a tiny corner in the feeling awful all the time department. I admire people like you who have done it so many more times than me with many more children to care for at home! Pregnancy is a tough business :) We will keep you in our prayers and anxiously await the news of a healthy baby... who just might be a girl :)

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