When we found out

Thank you all so incredibly much for your sweet and thoughtful words in my previous post. Your kindness has filled and encouraged our hearts, and we truly appreciate your coming alongside us in this miraculous journey. God continues to overwhelm us with His grace during this season, and I do hope you'll patiently indulge me as I step back in time to the day we found out:

Sunday, February 3, 2013

My period had yet to visit by nearly two weeks now, and I was nervous that I could be, er, with child, but fearful that I could be wrong (we had been praying about having kids, and were open to the possibility). I almost didn't want to check. After taking a shower, I tore open the box of home pregnancy tests, and with shaking hands, prayed that I would rejoice in the Lord's will, no matter if I were pregnant or not. I read the directions twice (just to ensure I wouldn't mess up), awkwardly peed on the stick, clumsily snapped the cap back on, and watched the digital screen blink with an hourglass, as my heart thumped twice as fast as normal. Less than 20 seconds later, the word "PREGNANT" materialized, bold and unmistakable. My heart nearly stopped.

The husband was reading in the bedroom and obliviously waiting for me to finish getting ready so that we could head over to my mama-in-law's house to catch the latest episode of Downton Abbey (We don't have television, and since Downton is the only show we care to catch on real time, we customarily end up at my mama-in-law's for it on Sunday nights). It wasn't the right time to tell him when his mind was occupied with what Lord Grantham's next decisions could be, and I needed to process the news myself. After watching the Crawley family's latest shenanigans, we went home. We got ready for bed, did our devotionals, and talked a bit, before the husband started drifting off to sleep.

He falls asleep so hastily that I knew I had to tell him before he knocked out like a log. "My love?" I said, staring him in the eyes with a faint smile. "Hm?" he replied sleepily. "You're going to be a daddy." I said. His eyes widened. "What?" he gasped after a beat, as if trying to comprehend what I just said. "You're pregnant?" he asked slowly, in absolute wonder. I nodded, tears filling my eyes. "Jean Valjean Hong?" he uttered with amazement. And we burst out laughing (he had been saying that he would name our future son Jean Valjean ever since we watched Les Mis onstage). I started crying, and he said, "We have to pray. Let's pray for this little child and thank the Lord."