When I found out I was pregnant in January of 2018, I couldn’t wait to tell my husband. I had already taken a few tests at home, but I wanted to be really sure. I had an unsuccessful pregnancy in 2017, and I was really nervous about another pregnancy. So, I did what any reasonable woman would do… I went to CVS and bought a $20 digital test. The test confirmed that I was indeed expecting. Once I told my husband our good news, he and I started thinking about the announcement to our families.
Announcements come with a lot of pressure. I wanted to tell some people in person and I wanted to make sure those people didn’t tell the other people that weren’t first on the list. For all the folks I couldn’t tell in person, I printed announcements to be mailed. Geographically, David’s family is closer. We told them first over dinner at El Mexicano. Then, we headed to Oakdale to tell my mom. My sister, Keri and her kids were at my mom’s house so they were able to share in the announcement. The next morning we Facetimed with Terri and Dan Kohler, my namesakes. My longtime bestie, Devre’ came to my mom’s house to have breakfast with us and we told her the good news.
Next up, we saw my brother and sister-in-law in Bossier City. Lunch with Chris and his family is always fun. We told them we were just passing through and wanted to see them. He picked a BBQ place not far from the interstate and we all met there on his lunch break. Nobody at the table was more excited than Amanda, or “Bun,” as we call her. She squealed when she heard the news and she probably frightened everyone at the restaurant.
We drove on to Texas to continue our announcement tour and I prayed that nobody had told my sisters, Jennifer and Melissa. We got to Jennifer’s house around dinner time and Melissa was already there. Sadly, Jennifer had shingles and she couldn’t touch me or my belly. Next we met up with Shelly and Glen for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. They were equally excited for us and Glen even bought our dinner.
The next morning we were scheduled to fly out to Chicago at 5 a.m. Glen had graciously agreed to drive us to the airport, and, although he overslept, he did get us there on time. I had my announcements with me and I finished addressing them during our travel day. Once we got to Chicago, I mailed them so everyone would know our exciting news.
Our Chicago vacation was one for the ages. Our last true vacation as a family of two. We walked the city. We ate a lot of great food. We saw museums and parks and sights that we’ll never forget. Most importantly, we celebrated our love and our growing family.
tperrynola 