The rest of the story

Last fall, I began to wonder if we should have another baby. I guess you could say that I 

was prompted. Each time I approached Johnny with the idea, he became somewhat contentious 

and would sternly shun the idea. I asked him to at least pray about it and we planned a trip to the temple. 

On our way home from Dallas, I became more convinced that we should have a baby and he became more convinced that we were finished. Very confusing, right?  During this time, we never 

spoke of any of this with anyone- not our children, parents, siblings or acquaintances. 

One morning, Johnny was at work and I had just dropped the kids off at school. As I drove away from the sidewalk and my kids walked to their classrooms, my 4 year old, Ella breaks the silence with ~

"Where is our brother?"

me: "Travis? He is going to his class."

"No, our other brother." 

me: (I'm wondering if she is thinking about Jesus Christ or if she knows something I don't know.) "You don't have another brother."

"Yes we do! And he wants to live with us! He's trying to live with us SO BAD!"

me: "Really? What's his name? Where is he right now?"

She couldn't give me an answer, but it certainly made me think and, of course, I thought it was adorable!

That night, I hesitatingly recalled the conversation to Johnny. We both felt the Spirit. After that experience, we  were both excited and looked forward to welcoming another family member. I didn't know for sure if there would be a guarantee that we'd have a son, but I was certainly praying and fasting that we could. 

Before my first doctor's appointment, I was really nervous and worried that I might have a miscarriage. I've had two before and didn't feel like I could handle it this time. I asked for a priesthood blessing. I had faith that the Lord knew best and that if I were to have a miscarriage that I would be okay. In the blessing I was told that "the time had come for (my) prayers to be answered." A feeling of relief and excitement came over me! I felt like, "He said yes!" meaning, God said Yes, you can have a baby boy! Haha! But I couldn't allow myself to be certain that it would be a boy. Maybe I didn't have enough faith or maybe it was a trial- ?? In my heart, I felt like it had to be a boy, but I continued to dismiss it and say to myself, "Well, that's because you want it to be a boy." (Which I realize happens a lot, to everybody with different situations.) So I tried to prepare myself and my kids for the possibility of Heavenly Father saying, "No." Either way, Johnny and I knew this would be the last baby. (Who wants to drive a 12-15 passenger van everywhere they go? Joy- don't answer that! Hahaha!)  My oldest two, Katherine (almost 10) and Travis (almost 8) prayed every night for it to be a boy (even though I told them it was too late, and the baby was already one or the other) and gave me an extra hug before bed as they said, "I hope it's a boy!" 

Today finally came! My ultrasound was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. A sweet friend of mine offered to watch Ella and Bryn while Johnny and I went for the appointment- so much appreciated! Johnny and I were both anxious and nervous and excited. The doctor came in and as he prepped me for the ultrasound, I asked him if he was anxious to see the gender! He laughed and said, "Okay, we'll look for the gender first and then at everything else!" Yay! He moved the thing (what is it called?) around and as soon as he got in the right spot, I gasped! There was no doubt and Johnny saw it too! We were all so excited! Even the Dr was excited for us! :) I'm 17 weeks and 5 days today, and he said he'd do another ultrasound sometime later on in the pregnancy and check everything out, but so far it all looks good! I think I smiled so big that my cheeks began to hurt! As we got ready to leave, the Dr congratulated me and gave me a hug and shook Johnny's hand. Finding out that we ARE having a SON makes me so much more relaxed. Just knowing that I can plan and prepare and feel "completely done", I think I can enjoy the rest of this pregnancy so much more. 

Of course the kids are super excited and I feel like their sweet little testimonies have been strengthened. (Though we talked a LOT with them about how our prayers are always answered, just not always the way we want them to be. It doesn't mean that Heavenly Father doesn't love us or want us to be happy, He just knows what's best and what we want isn't always what's best.)

As far as names go... we've pretty much decided on Samuel (Sam) Cade. Of course, meeting him might change that. All of our kids are named after someone (first and/or middle names). We have a nephew named Cade ~ before him, I'd never heard the name. He's super sweet and smart and such a good example. Also, a very dear missionary, that was recently transferred from our area, is named Cade. We became very close to him and he means a lot to us. Right now he's serving in another part of the Dallas Texas Mission and doesn't know yet that we are having a son and naming him after him- won't he be surprised!?

Well, now you know the rest of the story! 

I mean, who doesn't want another one of these ↓ ??