FLASHBACK:AUG1;WHAT DO 2 LINES MEAN?

it was august 1st, and eric and i had been married just over a month. which most of had been spent on our honeymoon, and in milwaukee. (not a bad way to start, huh!?!) we wanted to start a family sooner than later because... hey, we're no spring chickens. after having afton around, it made parenting seem even more amazing. it was something we couldn't wait for. apparently, God was feeling the same way...

so anyway, we were doing respite care, and had taken the kiddos to the pool. on our way out i mentioned to eric, "ya know, i should have gotten my period today." so, it was only 2 in the afternoon, and really that didn't mean anything. BUT he said, "let's go get a pregnancy test." i started to get excited, which was completely rediculous. we had seperate cars because i was at school tutoring in the morning before respite, so i hopped in mine and headed for wal-greens. i picked up a test, a white chocolate kit kat bar (those are hard to find), and headed home. i went to the bathroom and peed on the little stick, and let it sit for those 3 agonizing minutes. (i did pass the time by eating that kit kat.) when the timer went off, eric and i headed upstairs to check the results.

i held the directions and looked for the results section, and when i saw two lines, i thought... "doesn't that mean PREGNANT??" but then i thought maybe the second line was a figment of my imagination, because it was kind of light. i read the directions again and it specifically said, "the second line may appear lighter than the first." WHAT!?! was it really that easy? am i really pregnant? this is where shock set it, and i don't really remember what happened for the next minute. eric decided that we should take another test, so he hustled to wal-mart and picked up that "clearblue easy"- the one that says either "pregnant" or "not pregnant". you can't get more CLEAR than that. (must be where they got the name) well, i squeezed out a little more pee, and sure enough it read PREGNANT. i was bursting with joy, and couldn't wait to tell my family!!

eric got on the phone and started telling his sister and parents, who were all elated. i had a hair appointment that afternoon where i was going to chop my hair. (the bridal butch) al had promised that she would come with me for moral support. we met at the barnes and noble parking lot, and she hopped in my car. we said our "hello's" and started driving towards the mall. i said, "so, do you think afton would like a cousin?" she screamed, and then shouted, "are you f-ing pregnant!?!" this was the funniest reaction that i got from anyone, since the girl doesn't ever say a bad word. we were screaming and laughing and celebrating all the way to the mall.

eric was at a softball game, while i was getting my haircut. al and i were trying to think of a creative way to tell my parents. our first job was to get them altogether. we schemed a plan to get them to meet at clint & al's for dessert that evening. we were brainstorming ideas, and then i said, "i wish afton could just tell them." well, this gave me an idea- she would be the one to tell them. we pulled out a onsie and wrote on the front, "Grandma & Grandpa, Guess what..." and on the back it said, "I'm going to be a cousin!" we put this on under her clothes, and waited for everyone to arrive. al asked mom if she would change her diaper, so she did. (of course, without taking off her clothes) al mentioned that afton might be hot, so mom should strip her down to her onsie. mom started reading the front... (the grandma/grandpa guess what bit) and seemed to be amused, and then flipped her over and was like, "WHAT!?!" (in a happy voice, not an upset voice) soon, clint and my dad looked over and realize what we were telling them. it was time to celebrate!! it's hard to believe that it is almost time for this little one to arrive. it has been such a crazy year, i can't believe that in the course of a year we can go from being engaged, to married, to parents. WOW! we are so blessed!