A Big Announcement!

 There has been a lot of activity around the Russell household lately and because of that I haven't blogged. I just couldn't write for fear of slipping a secret that we have been keeping.

Let me share with you the story that the Lord has been writing in our lives. Its a good, good, good one.

I have driven the same car since the summer before my senior year in high school. That car got me through lots of drama, trips to college, trips to see N, and lots more. She was so loyal. Until she quit. She just stopped running one day. And there was no fixing her. N's parents came weekend after weekend to try to fix her but she had found her demise. And I was sad. If you know anything about us, we are a teacher and a youth minister which means that we are rolling in the dough glad to make ends meet. So we decided that we would start saving for a "new to us" car. Thats when the unbelievable happened.

I am not going to go into details due to confidentiality purposes but in the same week that we had realized that we were most certainly going to have to buy a new car, someone donated us one. And not just any car, but a 2009 Nissan Altima. It took us quite a bit to pick ourselves up off our knees and faces accept this more than generous gift. We praised God for His goodness and began to think about how we could bless others. Thats when me and N decided that we would most definitely wait to have babies. We would focus all of our attention on serving others with our time and money. That was all on a Thursday.

The following Friday I got up with a strong will to take a pregnancy test. I knew it wouldn't be positive and I had no emotional attachment to being pregnant since we had just made this commitment to each other. I followed the instructions and then laid the test on the bathroom sink. Then I went to look at my haggard morning self in the mirror. Seconds later I glanced down at the test. I saw 2 grey vertical lines. Negative. It needed to have a horizontal line across the vertical one. So I picked up the instructions just to be sure. I was wrong! The stick in my right hand and the instructions in my left matched perfectly. It said Pregnant. And so I freaked.

Apparently the Lord knew that we needed that car more than we did. And I am so glad He did. After telling N and planning our ways of telling our families, the fun part began. We told my parents first.

I told my mom that I had found a frame that she just had to have and gave her a box. She opened it up with all the family watching. She opened it and above is what she saw. Her face was priceless. The best part was slowly watching everyone catch on to the big announcement. To say that her and my dad are excited to be grandparents is a slight understatement.

Next, we were off to tell N's folks. This one was a little more creative because I wanted to incorporate our niece, their first grandbaby. I whipped up this onesie and let her do all the talking. We announced that she had an announcement to make and then put her down to strut her stuff. Again, the best feeling was listening to everyone catch on to what "Big Cousin" meant. It has to be priceless.

Then we gave then the same frame that we gave our parents (which happens to be chalkboard paint so we can change the message as the years go by). Theirs included the ultrasound picture. 

And below is Baby Russell. We are already smitten! I know its early to be telling people but we have prayed for this child. Not necessarily that we would have a baby right now but that in God's time he would bless us with a baby. And in His time He has. And we couldn't be happier. 

 I am close to seven weeks now and we should be welcoming our tiny blessing October 25. I have a tiny tear in my eye as I close this just looking at the picture. I can't believe that the Lord has favored me to carry this child. What an honor and joy.