From 2 to 3

I think most women go into the conception and birth of their first child with expectations of how they would like for it to go.  I certainly did!  When Andy and I found out we were pregnant, we were very surprised.  I had come off of birth control in January of 2009.  I had been on it our first two years of marriage, and I had pretty much not had a real period since I had started it.  I was looking forward to a regular cycle and the hopes of getting pregnant when I came off of it, but that wasn't what the Lord had in store.  During that year of being off birth control, my cycle was all over the place- skipping 3 months here and there with no consistency.  My doctor said even though all my blood work came back normal, he thought I might have some issues with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).  I wrestled with the thought of "How long Lord?"  How long will we try?  Why is it not easy for us?  Thus began a sanctifying journey for me of trusting the Lord and believing this is good even when from a worldly view it doesn't "look good".  My hope during this time was found in-

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

I also remembered the women of the Bible such as Sarah and Elizabeth who were barren and the Lord blessed their womb.  He opened their wombs, and he would do the same for me in a way that would bring him glory.

Knowing that God is sovereign over all things and works all things for his ultimate glory and my good was my hope.  Trusting that God had a plan to bless us with children in his own timing (or not bless us with children) and knowing that it was GOOD was not always easy to live by, but it certainly gave us hope in God's good pleasure.  We prayed fervently, I charted my cycles, started taking some supplements, and Andy and I started P90X.  At the end of that month, I finally broke my 126 day cycle and started a new one! PRAISE THE LORD!  It was right around Easter, and as we sat around a Sedar Supper with dear friends, we cried as we shared how the Lord had blessed us in recent times with hope of a new cycle!  According to the chart that month, it looked like we missed our opportunity to conceive, but the Lord had planned differently.  I took a pregnancy test and saw the faint line! I couldn't believe it! May of 2010- and we were pregnant.  Thus began the journey of no longer being the two of us, but the three of us!

Weeks after we found out we were pregnant, our friend Angela took some pictures for us to make a slide show to reveal the news to Andy's parents.

Don't worry, we cleaned them first!!