Hello Friends!
I know...it has taken me a long time to give you this update. Let me explain:
I wanted to wait and give you pictures from Christmas, Chinese New Year and a few other things since then, but my computer has not been working, so I have not been able to upload pictures. Unfortunately, this post will be picture-less. :(
The other reason - I have spent much of the time since the last post being sick. There has been a lot of nausea, throwing up, and tiredness. BUT! It's all for a good cause - due August 24th!!!
Since we are now at the 12 week mark of the pregnancy, I am hoping to feel better soon. Unfortunately, I now have a cold to deal with on top of it, but many women say the nausea and vomiting usually subsides in the next week or two. I hope it's the case for me too!
So....what's the story?
Well, a few days before our trip to GuangZhou for our anniversary, we went to Ikea for dinner. We often do this, and I usually order a dish that comes with 5 Swedish meatballs, about 5 small potatoes, and some lingonberry sauce. Well, that night John Paul stood in awe as I ordered the meatball dish - but the 10 piece instead of the 5 piece, a vegetable plate, a plate of cheese puffs, blueberry cheesecake, a large bowl of cream soup, and then threw a dinner roll on the tray at the checkout! Oh...and I ate it all! He said, "Wow, Honey! Do you think you might be pregnant?" I was like, "No! I'm just really hungry!"
So, off we went to GuangZhou. We had a great time, but I was SO tired. In the mornings, I laid in bed and begged John Paul for just a "little more" sleep. He was eager to get out and explore! Also, I tried to avoid going to the bathroom since the toilets were not what I'm used to, but it seemed as though I had to go to the bathroom every time I turned around.
When we came home, I decided to take a home pregnancy test. As I watched the second line turn pink, I yelled to John Paul to "Come in here!" He came in a hurry, thinking he had to kill a bug! :) We both stood looking at the positive result and then smiled and said, "We're going to be parents! ....Well, should we go to bed?" Ha!
We decided to wait for two weeks and tell our families on Christmas Eve. Well, that lasted all of about 8 hours! We woke up the next morning and talked with Mom and Dad on skype. During the conversation, I said to John Paul, "Can we tell them????!" He laughed and said, "I knew you couldn't wait!" So, I ran and got the pregnancy test and held it up to the camera. Dad said, "What is that?" Mom said, "It's a pregnancy test - we've seen a few of those! Is it for real? WE'RE GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS?!" It was pretty exciting!
I knew that Anders and Benjamin would probably find out since they live in the same house, so we asked Mom and Dad to go get them and told them that morning as well. Benjamin said, "So, I'm going to be 16 years older than the baby like you are 16 years older than me?" (The baby will actually be one month short of 16 years younger than Ben). They were pretty silent, but excited!
Right away, we called Mom Clough. We were talking about a few other things, like passports, and John Paul was reading his passport when he blurted out (on accident), "If one of us takes the baby back to the U.S. without the other, we will have to be sure and get a certified note so we don't have a problem." Mom Clough said, "I heard that." I was so surprised that JP slipped! He never does that! Then we told her straight - on purpose this time! - and she was very excited. This will be her 5th grandchild.
We talked to Annalisa on skype during the time between when we found out and Christmas Eve. She said, "I asked Santa Clause to bring me a niece or nephew. Is he going to grant my wish?" We tossed it back at her and said, "Well, were you specific about which one you wanted? Did you ask for a specific time? That's a big request, you know!" We thought we avoided it very nicely, and she began talking about other things! :)
Finally Christmas Eve came and we called home. (It was Christmas morning for us, and we were on our way to church). We watched the family open our presents and then John Paul said, "There is one verse that has been especially meaningful to us this year. The verse is Isaiah 9:6 - especially the first part - 'For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given' - but we don't know if it will be a son or a daughter yet." Then I stood up with a ribbon around my belly and said, "The last present for you will be opened sometime around August 16th" (the due date at that time - before we had an ultrasound to date it more specifically). They were all silent, and then Ben (Bethany's husband) said, "She's PREGNANT!" and came over to the camera to congratulate us! We teased Annalisa about asking Santa, and told her she will get her wish and be an aunt! Bjorn later said, "I don't like kids, but I guess that will have to change because I'm going to be an uncle!"
We then added my grandparents to the conversation up in Minnesota. After telling them that they were going to be Great-Grandparents SEVERAL times, they finally understood! Grandma's first words were: "Ally, you better get that paper written!"
We had fun telling Joel (John Paul's brother) in Florida, and Jennelle (John Paul's sister), her husband, Luke, and their 4 kids on skype. One night, we talked to Jennelle in South Carolina, me in Hong Kong, John Paul who was in Japan for the night, and Sonia, John Paul's sister in South Africa, all at the same time on skype!
So, that is our news. Hopefully I can get my computer fixed soon so I can have some pictures for you!
