Drum Roll Please....

Today we visited Atlanta Maternal Fetal Medicine for an ultrasound of our baby, and wouldn’t you know, the technician said she couldn’t tell the gender (although she did say it had a beautiful little 4-chambered heart). She gave us a few pics and sent in the doctor.

He was very nice and began explaining to us why I was sent to a perinatologist, being 'advanced maternal age' with gestational diabetes and all that (I don’t suppose he realized that ‘I’ made the choice to have my ultrasound there). He gives us his practiced explanation about genetic disorders and the types of indicators they are looking for with the ultrasound (by this point, Jeff is thinking the doc’s trying to break some bad news to us). According to the doc, everything looks fine (heart, measurements, facial features, etc).

Then, he has me roll on to my side to give the baby more room and hopefully get a good view of the “equipment”. Lo and behold, there it is...we are having a little boy! He says, “That’s definitely boy stuff right there!” He zooms in and actually outlines "the stuff" for us on the picture.

Of course, we are very excited (I’m sure we would be either way). On the way home, Jeff’s making jokes to his dad on the phone about taking on the responsibility of continuing the family name. Dennis, my step-dad jokingly told my mom that he doesn’t understand why all his prayers didn’t work (he was hoping for another girl). I told Mom that I’m sure many more people for praying for us to have a son. In my mind, I’m thinking “this really changes things”, but I look forward to having a little boy to love. The girls are very happy to have a brother.

Now comes the task of deciding a name. We have always been drawn to older, less common names, and I'm sure that will be our preference when it comes to naming our son. I've always liked the name John, but Jeff says that even though it's old, it's also too common. However, when I suggested we pair it with Jeffrey, I got a totally different response: "John Jeffrey... I like that! It's just a good, strong name."

Hmmmm... I thought so!

To the Other Side of the World

Early on this Saturday morning, my sweet hubby left for a 2-week mission trip to the Philippines. This is his third trip in four years to the Southeast Asian islands. He will soon land in Los Angeles where he will make the connection for a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong followed by 3-hour layover and another 2-hour flight to Manila. He will not arrive at his destination until late Sunday night which will be our Sunday morning (a twelve-hour time difference).

This was by far the most difficult departure... lots of tears and heavy hearts, because this time, our eight year-old daughter really understands how long her daddy will be gone and how far away he is from home. As we tucked the girls in bed last night and listened to their prayers for his safety and quick return, I think hubby and I fully realized how close our family has become and how much we will miss being together. Hopefully, the time will go by as fast as it did on previous trips.

The nature of this mission trip is somewhat unique in that the team of four men will be providing computer technical assistance to missionaries and Christian organizations all around Manila. They will blog and post pictures throughout the trip at www.geeksforchrist.org. Our eight-year old daughter 'Sweet Pea' and 3-year old daughter 'Poppy' have saved and collected over $250 to be given to one of the local orphanages where the team will provide support. We will be eager to all the stories of their work at the orphanage and other places. We are especially excited to hear about how God works and moves and orchestrates the tiniest of details during this journey as they serve Him with the gifts and talents and resources He has so graciously given.