It Was 5 Years Ago Today

D-Day 2003. It is a day that will live in infamy in our family, and not for the reason you think. June 6th not only holds significance for World War II, but it is the day we found out I was pregnant with Ethan. How ironic. Today marks the five year anniversary of that day. It's a day that turned our world upside down and changed everything. It threw a major wrench into the works for us, but of course it turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise.

Cody and I had been married for ten months and we had a plan. I would finish up school and work for two years and then we'd start trying for a baby. All of the money I made during those years of teaching we would put toward the down payment on a house. Our plan was set and the last week of May I sat in my advisor's office and mapped out exactly what courses I had left to finish my degree. I left her office that day feeling light as air and on top of the world because the end was in sight. A few days later I started doing the math in my head and realized my cycle was terribly off. My boobs were bigger than normal (can you imagine them being any bigger??) and I woke up one morning feeling queasy but I put it out of my mind.

On June 6th I woke up feeling funny again and for the heck of it I decided to take a pregnancy test because I happened to have one on hand leftover from a previous scare. I peed on the stick and didn't think much more about it because I was sure I couldn't be pregnant. I had been on the Depo shot for months and the statistics were highly in my favor.

I will never forget the feeling that overtook me when I saw that second line. After a moment I threw myslef on the floor and sobbed like a baby for several minutes. This could not be happening. Then I gathered myself together and did the only thing I could do. I called my mom. When she answered the phone I was crying and couldn't get the words out. She thought someone had died! Then when I told her I was pregnant she siged and I think she felt relieved that that was "all" that was wrong. She talked to me for a long time and the I finally mustered the courage to call the baby daddy.

I couldn't wait for him to get home. I needed him right then so I decided to call him at work and ruin his day. He was absolutely shocked and didn't know what to say. He raced home and then the two of us went straight to the doctor's office to get a blood test. We had to be 100% sure before we started to panic. After we left the doctor it was pure agony while we waited the two hours for the results. We stopped to grab a bite to eat at the Blue Plate Diner, a restaurant we had visited several times while dating. That place felt so safe as we sat their not saying a word and only picking at our food. I remember I looked over at a booth and saw a young mom with her two small children, one of which was a baby. I recall watching her and suddenly I was overcome with a feeling of peace. I knew in my heart that no matter what happened, everything would be fine.

When we finally got home the nurse called and said I was most certainly pregnant and my HCG count showed that I was actually a few weeks along. The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur. I was grateful that we found out on a Friday because Cody didn't have to be to work the next day. Good thing too, because he spent a large chunk of the weekend curled up on the floor in front of the couch in a near comatose state.

We did a lot of crying and praying during those first few weeks. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time on our one year anniversary. Everything changed at that point and we knew we would be taken care of. No, things went against our plan but it proved to us that the Lord is in control and He knows what is best for us. The second line I saw that day was Ethan and I thank the Lord every day for letting my plans go out the window. I hate to imagine our lives without him and the two babies that followed. So I guess you could say that D-Day actually holds a very sweet spot in our hearts.