Making our Announcement

Oct 29 - I was really cautious about telling anyone after we found out we were pregnant this time. I think I have had so many friends who have had problems or miscarriages that I just wanted to be cautious. I was mostly worried about telling our kids because I knew if something happened, they would be so disappointed. And I feel like they should be among the first to know, so I didn't want to tell anyone else either. (I did slip and tell my friend Summer and my sister Heather and our neighbor's the Bladens knew because they had seen our messy house and me in my sick state!) This meant that I told a few lies to people who asked if I was expecting or asked if we were going to have another one soon. But, I wasn't ready to tell. Anyway, Darren and I went to the Dr for my first appointment on Oct 25. Everything looked great and the ultrasound was good and it gave me a lot of comfort, so I decided it was time to tell the kids. Besides that, since this is my 4th and I was starting to show much sooner and knew it couldn't be a secret much longer anyway. I was already 13 weeks along so I couldn't hide it for long!

So, I had to figure out a way to do it. For all our other kids, we have made it kind of a big deal, so I felt like I had to keep up the tradition. It wasn't anything extravagant - it just had to be more than just telling them. So, on Saturday morning, we set up a little treasure hunt for them. It wasn't fancy at all, but with the ages they are, they LOVED it! I wish I would have kept all the little poems and clues that I used to go with it, but I didn't. Reading the first clue - Each little written clue also came with a baby item. This one was a blanket.
Ready to go find the next clue...
There was a clue and a diaper under the sink...Off to find the next one. Logan and Rylee were totally racing to be the first to find the next clue the whole time.
Reading this clue in the bathroom that had a bottle
This last clue was in the laundry room and had a little baby toy
After that clue, we had the Justin Bieber song "Baby, Baby" playing (because we are cool like that) and had a little paper that said, "We are going to have a baby, baby, baby...oooh!" Darren and I sang it for them and gave them the paper which also had an ultrasound picture on it. They were pretty excited once they figured it out. Avery still walks around singing that version of the Bieber song. I love it!
Avery getting a closer look at the pic
Yeah for a new baby! They immediately started saying it was a brother.
Afterwards, I used an app on my phone to show them how big the baby was and what it looked like. They thought that was pretty cool. Next, we had to tell the family! I had already told my sister Heather. She was pregnant, too, and it just slipped out when I was talking on the phone one day. We went down to my parent's house to spend the weekend and the plan was to tell everyone the next morning, but Rylee walked right in and told my brother-in-law Brian as soon as we got there. So, it wasn't a surprise for Brian and Vanessa or Heather and Jay. We have already done a lot of different things to tell, so we made a candy bar poster this time.
Here is what it said.
(Sooo... We don't know yet if it will be a BIG HUNK or a BABY RUTH (but we DO know its NOT MIKE AND IKE) but we are having a bundle of JOY (Almond Joy). In May, our THREE MUSKETEERS will become four. You might SNICKER at our silly poster, but we thought you would find this announcement worth ONE HUNDRED GRAND.)

I don't think anyone was too surprised. Avery is two years old, so I guess they all figured it was about time. We showed it to my parents and brothers who live at home before church. The plan was to show my other siblings after church since they were all coming for dinner, but Heather and Jay already knew and so did Vanessa and Brian and then my kids left the poster just sitting out so Dean and Laura saw it before we even knew they came in. Oh well! Darren's parent's were in Texas visiting Darren's brother that lives there, so we used Facetime to talk to them and show them the poster. His mom put it on Facebook immediately, so there wasn't a chance to tell his other siblings. So.... the word was out! Baby #4 is on the way and due May 4th! Since I have C-Sections, it will probably be closer to the end of April. The kids are so excited and can't wait to find out what we are having!