Life is full of surprises

February 9th was an exciting day for the 5 of us. We went to go see our baby girl on the ultrasound! Imagine our surprise - my total shock - when that little baby spread her legs and...it's a BOY! I would've argued with that tech til I turned blue if I hadn't see with my own eyes that little...boy. How could this possibly be? My gut said GIRL...I've never been wrong! Tears streamed down my face as I tried to process this next surprise, which was almost as big a surprise as having this baby in the first place! Thankfully, it didn't take long for my heart to be glad. A boy! I love boys! And that leaves me with just 1 little princess. 1 little rose among the...dirt and trucks and stinky socks. I had no problem with that! As we went upstairs to see my midwife, I told Jared I didn't think I could handle anymore surprises. Of course I was only half kidding, because this was a good surprise. However, I had no idea what was coming. The "surprise" that would rock my - our - world. All is not well. A cleft lip. Dilated ventricles in the brain. Thickened nuchal fold. Enlarged kidneys. Strong indicators of Down Syndrome. Or some other serious chromosomal defect. My midwife went to make the appointment with the Perinatologist while we sat in stunned silence...tears starting to stream down my face, again. We left several minutes later with an appointment with Dr. Bonebrake (you're kidding, right?) set for Thursday morning, and a million questions forming in our minds. Of course I called Mom right away on the way home. Besides hold Jared's hand, cry, and ask God why, what else could I do? I needed my mom. The next few days were kind of a fog. There were tears and anxiety and questions and denial; but there was also strength and peace and encouragement and comfort as I ran to the Lord out of desperation. There again, what else could I do? He met me and He carried me; He gave me an amazing husband to hold me and let me cry and share this with...and He brought my parents to us to help carry the greatest burden we've been asked to carry. And so we waited... Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...and finally Thursday.