IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

NOTICE THE COLORS EVERYONE IS WEARING IN THIS PIC??!?!?

Yup, you guessed it!! We had our parents and best friends guess the sex of our baby by wearing pink or red if they thought girl; and blue if they thought boy! The RED/PINK TEAM was very proud to be announced the WINNERS the day we found out it was a GIRL!!!

We found out the sex of our sweet baby on Saturday, September 11th. A day that has been so difficult for so many since 2001, now has a little bit of happiness once again. Even though on September 11, 2010 we found out we were welcoming a little girl into our family and have been more blessed than we could ever imagine, we want you all to know that we will never, ever forget September 11, 2001. I know that so many families and friends are still grieving the loss of loved ones and I want to always remember to keep them in my prayers, especially on 9/11.

The night we found out the sex, I wanted to shout every single detail of that day to the world! So, I went home and wrote an email to lots of friends and family telling them the long-awaited news. Here is a copy of that email:

Subject: Our sweet gift from God...

We are so blessed by what we saw today. I just can't even begin to describe how amazing it is to see this child you've been dreaming of moving around and showing off like crazy on a big screen! I was mostly relieved because we found out that our sweet baby is "perfect and healthy." And very long and active! :) Just like the proud big brother. And to have our parents and best friends with us... We surprised them by having them come up to Bowling Green today for what they thought was a "gender-revealing party." We had originally scheduled an ultrasound on Thursday, so they all thought we knew what the sex was. When they got here today, we said, "Surprise! We have no clue what the sex is! You all are going with us to find out!" And we all hopped in cars and drove to this really neat place that does ultrasounds with a room big enough to fit about 8 people comfortable. We had 10 people in there, plus Mason & his best friend, Luke! It was such a special day. It was just Marc and me finding out what Mason was, but this time around we wanted these people to be there with us to share the moment... people who have been praying so hard for us and this sweet baby.

We were completely shocked when seconds into the ultrasound, the tech said very calmly... "Okay, you all ready to know what it is?" The first second the baby popped up on screen, we also saw an interesting body part pop up, so Marc said right away, "I think I just saw what it is!" So we all knew right away it was a boy. And the tech asked us right after that if we were ready to know. We said yes, already knowing what her answer would be.

So, when she said, "It's a girl!" we all about had heart attacks. I will never, ever forget that moment. We all had no idea in this world how she could tell that after 2 seconds, especially about the boyish looking body part popped up. :) She said that was actually the umbilical cord. She then pointed out the "hamburger" looking thing that the girl body part looks like. Thank you. We have it all on video camera, thanks to Cory's wonderful videographer skills, so we can always look back at how crazy we all went in that room! We also have a DVD of the baby in 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D. I wanted the DVD of the baby moving so that Mason could watch it several times before the baby gets here, so that he can understand more what is going on. I think he already has a good idea of what's happening. Tonight when we were putting him to bed, we got him to say, I wuv you, baby sister." It was the sweetest thing.

I wasn't really ready to post the sex on Facebook today until we told some more family & friends, so that's why I'm sending you this email with all these pics. I'll put more pics on FB and announce it tomorow. Sorry about all the pics! There are actually 75 of them, but I went through and picked some of our faves. You can see how long the sweet girl is, and she is even smiling in a couple of them! She's a busy little thing and loves waving, sucking her thumb, and maybe doing jumping jacks? I can't believe all that is going on inside my tummy because I have only felt movement once, and that was last week. I know we've been through all this before, but going through it a second time is really like experiencing it for the very first time. Just blown away by God's goodness.

Due date is February 14, 2011, but a c-section will be scheduled before then. And the tech said today that I'm measuring almost a week bigger, so we'll see. Baby girl may end up being here sooner than we thought!

Please keep praying for us these next few months. We're just so excited and over the moon right now. I know there are so many women who are desiring more than anything to be a mother, and I pray for them each and every day. I have been in their shoes and I know that indescribable pain. I also know that God can do anything and He has a wonderful plan for every single one of us. Marc and I are so incredibly humbled that God is entrusting us with these 2 precious children, and we do not take it for granted one second.

Love you all!
Marc, April, and Mason

And of course, here are just a few pics of the Big Gender-Revealing Ultrasound Day...

Our crew in front of Precious View... minus my momma cuz she was taking the picture!

Goin' in... Our little family of 3 just minutes before finding out...

We wonder what is in there?!?!?
Okay, now these next few pics may be kinda strange to you, so just bear with me! I wanted someone to take pics of the actual ultrasound so that I could always have those memories of our reactions the second we found out the sex of our precious baby! I just love this one taken the second the tech said it was a girl! I started hyperventilating or something, and Mason was looking at me like, "What in the world is wrong with momma?!?!" Shock all over that room!
The tech showing us that it truly, honestly was a girl!!

There is absolutely nothing in this world like having your best friends right there beside you during a moment like this!

You can still see the tears and shock on my face!! They were pretty much there the whole rest of the ultrasound!

Oh, all the serious onlookers, including Mason's best friend, Luke!

Love how happy Mason is looking at his baby sister! And the look on Cory's face!!

I was squeezing the life out of Marc's poor arm the entire time after finding out about our baby girl! I didn't want him to leave my side.

The losers; The Blue Team! Ha! They were supposed to be making sad faces since they guessed wrong, but Andrea just couldn't bring herself to do it! I think cuz she was truly guessing/hoping for a girl, but said she didn't have any pink to wear! :) My dad's face is PRICELESS!!

Feeling so happy and blessed!!

We celebrated right after by going to Steak & Shake for some dessert, and then later at Balloons, Tunes, and BBQ with the Brostos'! We were worn out, but kept wanting to party!

Mason deserved a pony ride for being such a wonderful big brother already!

Marc & I walked round & round with Mason and that pony... I thought I was gonna pass out my little feet were moving so fast!

2 sweet boys taking a little car ride... Mason, the Driver, with his passenger, Lukie, who was just chillin'

And my favorite picture of the day...

Love this one! Mason has a big, important new shoes to fill as the Big Bro!! I have been waiting so long to make him a shirt with those words written on it! I wanted to cry when I first saw him in it. Oh, there will be many more to come! :)

What a loooong, exhausting day we had on Saturday, September, 11, 2010, but one we will NEVER FORGET! Who would have ever thought that we would be celebrating a LITTLE GIRL!??!?! Thank you, Mom, Dad, Terry, Connie, Andrea, Cory, Lukie, Johnathan, and Brooke for standing by us through all of the wonderful and challenging times! We would not be where we are now without all of your prayers, love and support! Sooooo thankful y'all could be there with us on this special day! Love you all!