Expecting the Unexpected: Pink or Blue?

and the question that BEGS to be asked......................

and they are............

We can hardly believe that we are going to be evening out the numbers around here by adding two boys to the mix!  BOYS BOYS BOYS!!! That will be quite the change for us but we are so very excited.  It was also quite the change to see something that looked VERY different on the screen ; )

So, "Expecting the Unexpected" rings true once again.  Our hope was to wait until our sonogram today & have a photo & a little piece of paper saying what they were sealed in an envelope to take home.  We were thinking it would be fun to buy a couple pairs of boy shoes & a couple pairs of girls shoes then stand facing each other blindfolded with our hands out. We were going to have Jenny open the envelope & place the right shoes in our hands.  What a fun idea it was.

Turns out that the blood test I had done to asses for chromosomal abnormalities actually pulls a fetal DNA profile from my blood & it happened to show a "Y" chromosome.  Since the twins were determined to be identical we were pretty positive that it would be two boys. So it was an unexpected way to find out but to see it confirmed on that screen today was like the first time I heard the news. Boy oh Boy, I am going to be a mama of boys...TWO of them AT THE SAME TIME! That's all I can think about ; )

Another unexpected sweet blessing from the Lord happened the day we met with the genetic specialist.  We had found out that more than likely we were having two boys & were sharing the news with our family & a few friends.  Slight back tracking here but it is very important to the story. Graeme & Anita were the couple that Rob lived with when he was in Australia. If you remember, they gave us the pair of baby Uggies long before Charlotte was even conceived and diligently prayed for the Lord to fill those shoes with little feet. Read the whole story here.  So, back to present day...Graeme & Anita flew in for a visit just hours after our appointment. Steve & Jenny had picked them up & brought them to their house. We headed over for a quick hello before Life Group that evening & found Anita to be looking a bit like Santa Claus with a whole bag of gifts ; ) She had new Uggs for the girls, a coffee mug for me, some Tim Tams (oh my) & various other goodies.  Last but not least she pulled out something she kept hidden from me for a moment & said "these are for the twins." She opened her hands & held out these....

The pair of them just screamed twin BOYS to me & teary eyed I just looked at her & said "Oh Anita, you will never believe this but we found out today that they are more than likely going to be boys!" She of course was grinning ear to ear. She bought the navy pair the week she found out I was pregnant & said she was debating on what color & just felt God nudging her toward those.  Once she found out there were two babes, she returned & got a pair of the brown. I had been looking at all sorts of shoes to buy for our "big reveal" but this gift surpassed every little pair.  

All in all, it was unexpectedly sweet to find out the gender when we did, to share the news with two people who prayed for us & to receive that gift that was more meaningful than anything I could have imagined. 

Onto those two little guys that have taken up residence in my growing belly....

Baby A

Baby B

They were so funny on the ultrasound both sucking their thumbs & wiggling around. Baby B was sitting on Baby A's head the entire time & it looked like A was trying to squirm to get into a new spot that might be a bit more comfortable. I would too ; ) We could see a faint membrane between them & all the measurements of babies & fluid were right on target for nearly 16 weeks.  It was a little too early for the full anatomy scan but we were able to confirm that both hearts have four chambers & that the umbilical cords each have three vessels. We will return in three weeks for our next visit. 

There are many things I am so very excited about as I think about having two boys.  One that is really high up on the list of "exciting things" is that our girls are going to have two little brothers just like I do! I LOVE having brothers.  They were a blast to grow up with even if they brought a live snake in my room or drove me crazy as a team on our many trips from Houston to Dallas.  They along with Rob make me laugh harder than anyone I know....especially if it is all three of them together ; ) They are close friends today that make me smile when they call to chat, ask for advice or leave me a message in song.  Oh I love them dearly & I can't wait to see Charlotte & Eloise grow up loving & being loved by two little brothers. 

There is a lot of excitement within our families right now but I must say that the person who should be most excited is my nephew Isaac.  Isaac has a big sister & a total of seven girl cousins. He has been the lone ranger on both sides of the family until now.  These three boys will be just over a year apart if I make it to my due date.  Who knows, maybe they will share the same birthday! Whether he really understands or not, he sure does a loud screech when others are acting excited.

Rob shut down any talk about names until we were sure of the gender so I can hardly wait to get serious now that we know! Boy names are really challenging for us. I would venture to say that girls would already have their names by now. It's so funny, I was convinced Charlotte was going to be a boy & it was a shock to me when they said she was a girl. It only took about 5 seconds to switch into girl mode & now two girls later, I of course cannot imagine life any other way.  We would have been just as delighted to see two baby girls inside knowing how much we have enjoyed life with Charlotte & Eloise in fact I think that is what we were more prepared for! So, seeing those boys catapults us into a whole new world that will hopefully be filled with lots of dirt, some snakes (not in my house) & little boys that tell me they want to marry me when they grow up ; ) I am thankful today knowing I get to be a mother of sons. Praise the Lord who designs our family just as he desires & equips us for caring for the little ones entrusted to us. 

Thanks Christi (who is now open for business) for documenting our celebration. We are grateful for your talent!