On Januray 2, 2009 (one year ago today)...

...we got the shock of our lives! January 2, 2009 started off as a pretty normal day. Cody decided to go to Greenville to do some work on his baseball field. I decided to just stay home and get some things done around the house. I remember going to Wal-Mart a day or two before and picking up a pregnancy test at the pharmacy. The ONLY reason I did this was because I had this "gut" feeling that maybe I was pregnant. And, to make it clear, we were not trying to get pregnant at all...we had been told by doctors that we would most likely never get pregnant on our own. Our plan was for Rylan to be 3 or 4 years old before we tried in vitro again. So, that's why when I got home I just stashed the test away under the bathroom sink and never even mentioned it to Cody. So, on the 2nd when Cody was gone and Rylan was down for a nap that afternoon, I decided to just go ahead and use the pregnancy test. This is where you all have to realize that before we got Rylan through in vitro, for 2+ years I spent a small fortune on pregnancy tests just to see a negative sign or only one line EVERY SINGLE TIME. Well, I went into the bathroom, did my business...and then stood there in COMPLETE shock when I looked down and saw a definite plus sign!!! That instant flood of emotions was, and still is indescribable. Mostly, I think I was in denial, but I kept looking down at the test, and yep, that plus sign was still there. I didn't want to call Cody right away because I wanted to make sure it was true.

So, what was my next logical step? I called one of my best friends Natalie and freaked out on the phone. She immediately cancelled her hair appointment, went to the store to grab 2 more pregnancy tests and came over. So, back in the bathroom I went with 2 more tests as she waited in the kitchen for me. The tests she picked up were a different brand, and I didn't stop and take the time to really look at them. So, when I did my business on those tests I came out telling her that I wasn't pregnant because the tests only had 2 negative lines...no plus signs. That's when Natalie told me that 2 lines IS a positive on those tests!! So it was official...3 tests told me I was pregnant!!

At this point Natalie helped me come up with a plan to tell Cody later that day when he got home. I went to a local maternity store that sold t-shirts for kids that said "Big Bro" and got one for Rylan. I raced home to get Rylan dressed in the shirt and when Cody got home, the look on his face was priceless. He just kept saying, "Are you sure?" After showing him the 3 tests (which I had saved to prove it to him) I think it finally started to sink in for him.

So there you have it...January 2nd will always be a day that I remember very well. That day was a solid reminder for me that God can make anything happen even when doctors say there isn't a chance. I consider myself so blessed to have my two miracle children...Rylan is mine because of the advances in medicine (and God of course) and Hudson is mine just simply because God reminded me that HE is in charge.

THREE tests finally confirmed the news for me.

one year later (to the exact day) we have a precious, perfect 4 month old!