There have been a few times that I sit down to write this because I am so excited, but on the other hand scared to death that things won't work out. This is where our faith is tested time and time again.
Let's start at the beginning...back in 2016 we found out we were expecting. We didn't want to say anything to anyone until the safe 12 week mark. Well, that backfired on us because I had to call my mom and tell her so she could watch the girls while Kevin took me to the hospital because we lost the baby. Turns out at the hospital they found another baby. I had already lost one at home. So, we had twins that pregnancy. That was hard to take and comprehend and really it still is. We were 11 weeks into it, August 21, 2016. I was 2 days away from my first doctors appt, it is likely that the babies stopped growing at about 9-10 weeks.
Fast forward to today, we are expecting, and this time there is only one. However, we have hesitated to say anything to anyone except for family, but we had to because one of our kiddos turned 21. Funny right, but we had been talking for months about taking him to a brewery for his birthday and I had to order iced tea, LOL. So, the older kids really knew that day. We told the girls and Kyle the day before we left for our Florida trip and told our parents when we arrived in Florida, that was back in May. I am very uneasy since I don't want to go through the pain of losing another baby and I really don't want to do it publicly. When I think that this one is going to stick, I doubt myself and retract back in my little world.
So far this baby has been through a lot, like chasing cows up and down hills, wrangling cows, tagging cows, ATV rides, ATV rescues, horseback riding, a ton of mowing and weed-eating and a lot of cleaning! We listen to the heartbeat once a week mainly for my reassurance since our appointments are so far apart.
This baby is also 23 years younger than our oldest! Sound impossible, but it's not, our grand-daughter will be 10 months old when this baby is born. I am a lot smaller with this one than I have been with all of the others, with the exception of our first, Matthew. I've only gained 5 pounds so far at the 20 week mark, which is good I suppose. The baby is doing great!
That brings us to the next thing, we are in NC and my doctor is in Largo, so we are commuting! Every 6 weeks or so we make a trip to Florida. This was our 20 week appointment done at 21 weeks since we couldn't leave the ranch for 4th of July. So, I'm sure you are now wondering what we are going to have.... Before we came down I was debating that we find out the gender or wait until the birth. The kids really wanted to know and honestly it would be easier than to have all grey in an RV with all grey already! So WE are having another BOY! Due November 19th, 2021
This baby holds a special place in our family (as do them all of course, but a bit more unusual than the rest) and one that God clearly planned on being here. How you ask? This is the 3rd 7 for us, so 777, a number of God. We had our first 2 kids close together and between the youngest one of them and our 3rd is 7 years. Then, between our 3rd and our last one is 7 years. Our youngest one is currently 7, so there will be 7 years between her and her new brother!
It is written in the Bible that God used the number 7 as a symbol of complete work! The number 777 is derived from it being a reinforcement of protection and God's unmistakable hand in the affairs of man. It was years ago that I had a dream that I told Kevin about that we would have a 2 year old boy and we would be in the mountains of Montana. How crazy to think that it is possible now! We can't wait to see what the future holds for us all....