100% happy!

My sweet boys spent hours making a "bedroom" for their favorite stuffed animals (King the lion and Stripes the tiger)!

I'm so glad that God plans families. And, I'm so glad that we were open to His plans. When Cecilia was four months old, I started feeling strange. I was exclusively breastfeeding (no bottles, no pacifiers, etc.), she was not sleeping through the night, and my cycle had not returned. For these reasons, conceiving a child was not on my radar yet. Yes, our other kids were closely spaced, but I had a few cycles so I was not shocked when I was pregnant!

Anyway, I was at the mall one day in January of 2010 with Gianna, Joseph, and Cecilia. It's not a great mall, but it has an indoor playground which is key during Pennsylvania winters. I suddenly felt kind of lightheaded, and then I had a huge craving for McDonald's. I don't hate McDonald's food, but I certainly don't eat it often or "crave" it, either!

As I was navigating my preschooler, toddler, and infant through the mall, I passed by a dollar store. Hmmm...feeling faint and having cravings sounded familiar. I decided to get a $1 pregnancy test to put my mind at ease. Most moms can probably relate to the mental anguish you feel if you, "could be pregnant!?!?!"

I took the test right there at the mall...yes, with three little ones in the stall with me :). Fun times! As the line showed up within the three minutes, I couldn't wait to get home and call my husband (it didn't seem like an appropriate cell phone conversation for the indoor playground!). When he answered the phone, I said, "Are you sitting down?" His reaction was great, and I'll never forget it. He laughed out loud! It put my mind at ease. Most moms can probably also relate to the millions of emotions that rush through your mind when you get the result of the (positive or negative) pregnancy test!

Love my clean-haired ladies :).

Anyway, Joseph and Justin are the best of friends these days. Sure, they have their moments; and at times, it is obvious that Joseph is almost 7 and Justin is just 4. But, I'm so grateful that they have each other. Watching them play together is one of the greatest joys of my life right now! Thank you, God. St. Joseph and St. Justin, please watch over my boys!

The OB/GYN told me that there was a only 2% chance of conceiving Justin (because I was exclusively nursing a young infant with no bottles/pacifiers, no extended sleep, no cycle return). Hmm...sounds like God really wanted him to a part of our family...

Like I said, I'm glad God's in charge :).