How We Told The News

We knew we wanted to tell our parents in person. We wanted to see their expressions and be there to give hugs and celebrate together. We were very anxious to do so!

On Thursday (after the Monday we found out) I already had an appointment at my Obgyn's office. Why? Because I had made it a couple of weeks ago when I thought there was something wrong with me and that I was having trouble getting pregnant--Haha! Whoops! God showed me who was in control!! So when I called to see if I needed to cancel the appointment now that I am pregnant, the receptionist told me I still needed to come in so they could confirm the pregnancy, do bloodwork, and so we could learn the do's and don'ts of pregnancy from the Nurse Practioner.

The appointment went well, but we couldn't wait any longer to tell Drew's parents! So, we headed straight from the appointment over to their house. We had picked up from the grocery store a container of sesame seeds. When we got to Ken and Diane's house, Drew said we just wanted to visit with them for a little bit (obvious?!). We talked for a couple of minutes and then Drew said that he had something for them. He had them open their hands and he sprinkled a sesame seed into their hands. He just let them sit there confused for a few seconds and then told them that the reason he gave them a sesame seed is because that is the size of the baby that was inside me! Ken said "Oh!!!" and just started smiling and shaking his head. Diane, as Drew put it, went all Pentacostal on us. She started screaming "OH!!!" and had her hands up to her face. "OHHH!" and she started crying. "OHHH!" and she gave me a hug. "OHHH!" and she gave Drew a hug. They told us how happy they were for us. They are really excited to have a future grandchild living so close to them as the other grandchildren live in Houston.

The next day, Friday, we packed up and took a surprise trip to College Station as soon as Drew and I got home from work. I had told my parents that I didn't want them to ask each month if we were pregnant or not, because I wouldn't be able to tell them a lie over the phone and it would make me sad not to be able to tell them in person. I told them that they would know when Drew and I just showed up on their front doorstep. I was SOOO excited to tell them--they will be first time grandparents!! The whole way there I agonized over the logisitics of how to tell them. Do we walk in the back door like we always do? No, that would scare them. Do we ring the doorbell? Maybe, but what if only one of them comes to the door and then one of them gets to hear before the other one?! I probably drove Drew crazy with all of these questions the whole way there. Finally, we arrived in College Station around 10pm and walked up to the front door and knocked and rang the door bell. As though they had been expecting us, they came to the door TOGETHER and were already jumping up and down before they opened the door. When they opened the door they said "Ohhh! Does this mean what we think it means???!!!" and we smiled and said "Yes!! We're pregnant!!" They hugged us and we had fun sitting in the living room just talking about the exciting news for a while. My parents called Trey and told him and Katie to come over because we had come into town unexpectedly. They were troopers and came over late (although they are always late-nighters) and we told them as soon as they came in the back door that they are going to be an aunt and uncle! Katie said she knew it and that she was suspicious that we would be making a surprise visit on Valentine's weekend for any other reason other than to tell them that we are pregnant. Later I found out that my Mom had even told a friend of hers that she had a feeling she should put clean sheets on the guest bed in case we came!! Next time, there will be no hints, no warnings, and only surprises people!!! I can't believe so many people just knew! It was fun to talk about what Mom and Dad want to be called as grandparents and other things like that.

We told as many family members as we could in person and the rest we enjoyed making joyous phone calls to on the way home from College Station. We told Jared and Sam and our nieces and nephew on Skype--that was fun! What a blast it was getting to tell our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Joy is such a blessing and even more of a blessing when shared with others. Thank you, God, for giving us Baby Branch!