It was a Merry Christmas - 9wks 1 day

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and it was all I could have asked for when it came to sharing the news with our family, and now we're going about the business of letting the rest of the world know.

Friday, December 22, we drove into Franklin at about 2am, and woke both my parents. They have a new addition of their own--a dog named Riley. So, after we dealt with the dogs, we had my parents open an early gift. It was so cute! They sat there looking at it, going, "Really? Really?" They were so excited to be grandparents!

Over the next several days, we shared the news via our little announcement frames with my aunts and uncles, my grandparents on my Dad's side, and then my mom's side of the family. As the week progressed, my nausea turned into vomiting on a regular basis--I was late for church because of it, which raised a few eyebrows. Christmas Day was a marathon of surprised people. Dinner was with my mom's family at her sister's house, where one of my cousins passed out the frames anonymously, and everyone opened them at the same time. There were congratulations and hugs and exclamations of "I thought so!"

On the 26th, we headed to see Dan's parents. We went first to his Dad's house in Chatham and did our Christmas exchanging that night. At their house, each person opens one gift at a time, with everyone else as an audience to each gift. So, we just gave Bob and Jordan a frame and everyone watched while they opened. Let's just say, they were excited, too! (My ears are still ringing with Jordan's "OH MY HECK!")

A few more days, and we were off to Matthews to visit his Mom, and another round of gift opening, another round of tears and excitement, and another new set of grandparents. Pat and Meg and Eric managed to keep the secret even though they were there a whole day ahead of us! Thanks you guys! It meant so much to us to be able to tell all of our immediate family in person. With everyone so spread out, there really isn't another time of year when we see everyone that close together.

And yes, it definitely feels more real, now that everyone knows. We're already getting asked about names and the baby's sex, and even when we're having the next one!! Btw, we don't know to all of those questions :)

Merry Christmas everyone, and a Happy New Year!