Friday, January 29, 2021

We Plan, God Laughs(a.k.a. 2020)

 I haven't linked up with Kelly or done Seven Quick Takes in a while. It's a good way to catch up with some of our bigger news. Although I should probably call it "Not So Quick" Quicktakes!


1. We Plan, God Laughs

That could have been the theme of 2020! Like many people, we had a family wedding that got postponed, rescheduled, and then rearranged to follow the state guidelines of what we could and couldn't do! At the end of June, my son, Jon, married our lovely daughter-in-law Marisa in a beautiful ceremony that didn't happen when it was originally planned, with a fun reception that wasn't held where it was supposed to be originally held, but was perfect just the same. (You can get all the details of their wedding and Covid backup plan  backyard reception here.)

We joked with them that the theme of their marriage was going to be "unexpected" after all the craziness of planning and replanning all of the events surrounding the wedding!

That theme continued quickly when, only a month after being married, they found out Marisa was pregnant!  #honeymoonbaby! They told us the day the pregnancy was confirmed at the Dr's office and they were both pretty shell shocked. After all the ups and downs during the spring with all the wedding issues, finally getting married and just getting started with married life, they had been through a lot of changes! Now they were faced with another happy...but very big life change....to adjust to!

Marisa and Jon told our older crew about the pregnancy a week later but wanted to hold off telling Kate and Luke until Marisa had her first OB appointment a couple weeks later. Their siblings were VERY excited for them. Marisa and Jon were just starting to adjust to the shock and get excited at the idea of being parents when God threw another level of "unexpected" in for fun.....


2. (Hint: Because the Number 2 is Appropriate)

TWINS!!!

(and the shock came back full force!)

TWO sacs, TWO heartbeats, and TWO very surprised (and overwhelmed) parents! 



3. Expect the Unexpected

Once the second shock wave wore off, there was a lot of excitement. Since they have had enough surprises  for one year, Jon and Marisa wanted to find out the baby’s genders. Thankfully, the babies cooperated! We did a tiny reveal party with just the immediate family that Marisa's parents hosted with some pizza and homemade cakes made by Jon and Marisa. 

Marisa’s parents cut the cake for Baby A and Jay and I cut the cake for Baby B. 

And........ Jon and Marisa are having.......





TWO BOYS!!

4. The Name Game

Jon and Marisa had a short list of baby names they both liked. It didn’t take them long to choose!(they are both planners:) 

Baby A’s name is Ambrose Thomas. Thomas is Marisa’s Dad’s name. :) Ambrose is proving to be the calmer of the twins in utero. He is much more of a chill baby. In the 3D ultrasound, they got a really good pic of Ambrose. Marisa thinks he looks like Jon.


Baby Ambrose<3
Sweet little Ambrose<3


Baby B’s name is Leo Jason. After Jay:) Leo is much more active than his brother and is already causing mischief. Leo is always getting under Marisa’s ribs and making her uncomfortable. Leo did not stay still enough to get a good pic during the 3D ultrasound. It looks like a Picasso! You could see Leo’s mouth pretty clearly and it looks just like Marisa’s mouth. So I think that Ambrose is going to look like Jon but act like Marisa and Leo will look like Marisa and act like Jon.(who has always been the tease and mischief maker of the family!)


Wiggly Leo!



In this week's regular ultrasound pic, they finally got a profile of Leo(Baby B on the right) 
Ambrose has his little arm in front of his face.

After several months of tough morning sickness, Marisa feels good but uncomfortable. The babies weigh about 3 1/2 lbs each and are growing well. The goal date is March 25th. We are praying they stay in long enough to avoid any NICU stays. We are getting very excited to meet these two little blessings!

5. And Speaking of Blessings...

What’s better than two grandbabies?? 

Well...three grandbabies of course!

In early November, Andrew and Liz surprised Jay and I and Liz’s parents with a very happy pregnancy announcement! Andrew and Liz invited the four of us for dinner...which they have done before so we weren’t suspecting anything. They made an Asian inspired chicken dish and served fortune cookies for dessert. These were special fortune cookies they had ordered to announce their news! 


 

Photo credit to Liz's sister, Victoria

Andrew and Liz’s bundle of joy is due on July 6th. 


Baby Hamel at 8 weeks<3


In another week or so Liz will have her 18 week ultrasound. I can’t wait to get a clearer peek of this precious blessing! Liz wants to be surprised when the baby is born, so we will be guessing for a while whether we will get a granddaughter or another little grandson. I can guarantee that I will be found in local stores buying clothes in the appropriate colors the day after their baby is born...or the hour after depending on the time this little one arrives!


6. Picking a Name...For Us

It’s a little surreal that we are grandparents! Kate’s only 9 so it wasn’t that long ago that I was pregnant myself and nursing little ones. It’s a big shift...a happy one but still a little hard to get used to. We’ve gone back and forth about what we want the babies to call us. I’ve thought about it occasionally over the last few years when grandbabies were just in my imagination. I had been leaning towards Mimi. Marisa’s sister had a sweet little girl last year and Marisa’s mom, Cathy, chose to be Mimi. (whomp whomp) And both our husbands are boring and just want to be called ‘Grandpa’ so it will be too confusing for the twins to have two sets of grandparents with the same names!

So I think I want to be called Grammie? or Grammy? Idk if the "ie" just makes it seem that I'm trying too hard to stay young!?!  Thoughts? Suggestions?

(P.S. Jon says that Cathy and I are being “extra”. Lol)


7. One More Addition to the Family

I bet you thought I was going to say I’m having a baby too! Nope! I’m too old and tired for that!;)

But our family is growing again...Sarah is engaged! Her fiance, Mike, is serving as a Marine in Japan. (You can find out about how Sarah met him here.) He was finally able to come home on leave after being gone for over two years in October. (thanks Covid) Mike and Sarah spent the almost month he was home together every day. Towards the end of his visit, he proposed.

Photo credit to Ellie...Mike brought her along as official photographer:)








Mike won't be done with his time in the military until August, 2022. They are planning on getting married sometime in September, 2022. (I needed a few months off from wedding planning after this summer, but Sarah and I have started having conversations about what she would like her wedding and reception to look like and we will probably start researching options next week.)

Of course, like I said at the beginning, we plan and God laughs. So we will do our part and just see how it goes. Thankfully, I have lots of experience planning, unplanning, and replanning large events now!

Have a great weekend!

3 comments:

Maria said...

So many great surprises! And so many great moments to antecipate!
I love that engagement ring!
If you don't mind, I suggest sharing the birth announcement, when the time comes, with Kate from the blog Sancta Nomina. I'm sure she would love to publish it on her blog!

Laura M said...

That was a lot to take in :) congratulations!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! Congratulations! My sister has fraternal twins and it is so much fun.