Twice Blessed

That's right-the Nevels are expecting not one, but TWO sweet little ones this November! I'm fairly certain those of you reading this already know this wonderful news, but I have been delaying putting it on the blog because there is something so daunting about putting this out into the internet world.

For those of you who have followed our journey through trying to become pregnant, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe my thoughts on becoming pregnant. I am AMAZED, in awe, and astounded by God's blessings in all of this. Although I always hoped and, in many ways, knew that I would be blessed enough to become a mommy someday, somehow, NOTHING prepares you for when you see that plus sign for the first time. Because I want to always be able to look back at this, here are the events that led up to that amazing day:

Not too long ago, I posted something and jokingly put my face on Kate Goslin's sextuplet pregnant body. I did that because at our last fertility appointment, my Dr. informed me that it would not be wise to proceed with trying in the month of March because we had a total of SIX follicles that could release eggs. At the time, I was thrilled that the medicine had worked so well, but disheartened that we couldn't "try" that month. Something in the back of my mind kept nagging at me, telling me that I should not waste this great opportunity; in spite of the fact that we could end up with potentially SIX babies! It nagged at me all week. Kyle and I avoided everything that week, and I thought we were in the clear (s0rry if this is TMI for some of you-it has become 2nd nature for me to share this information with people). So we went on with life, and I had a fairly certain day in mind for when we could start our next round of fertility drugs. I had been anxiously anticipating our fun spring break trip to Austin with friends for a much-needed vacation. I started feeling very bloated and PMS-y right before we left. I figured the inevitable was coming (which I was irritated about since we were on vacation). As the week went on, nothing happened and I just continued to feel bloated, gross, and slightly nauseous at some points. Of course I never chalked it up to pregnancy because I was fairly certain there was no way I was. The last few days, everyone on our trip had become convinced that I was and kept pushing me to take a test. Given our history, I explained how upsetting it was to see negative pregnancy tests, even though this month I had NO reason to believe it should be positive. Looking back, it makes me laugh to think about Kyle crawling into bed one of our last nights and whispering in my ear that he was certain I was pregnant. So we arrived back in Edmond Sunday, March 21st. The whole evening I went back and forth on whether or not to take a test. Even though I was most definitely late. I finally decided "What the heck?" and pulled my last one out. Needless to say, it turned positive before I could put it on the counter. I will never forget the incredible moments that followed. I remember saying, "Oh my gosh" and then Kyle walked into the bathroom. I asked him if he saw what I saw, and we both burst into tears, and started jumping up and down. I can't even describe to you the emotions that I felt during those first few minutes of knowing. It was the highlight of my life next to the day I married Kyle.

If you had told me when we began our fertility journey that the day I found out I was pregnant, I would be 'surprised' and it would be 'unexpected', I wouldn't have believed you. But I was both of those. The first month Kyle and I had NOT tried to get pregnant, we ended up with TWO. If that doesn't show you that God has quite a sense of humor, I don't know what does. As you can imagine, the days leading up to our first ultra sound were "tense" to say the least. We were hoping we would not be making news headlines the next day or signing a contract for a reality show. Even though I'm fairly certain God gave me a 'sign' before we officially knew. As I was laying in bed awake in the wee hours of the morning one of the first few nights after we found out, I started watching Joyce Meyer (one of my fave TV preachers). I didn't watch her for long, but one verse she mentioned said something like "you will be blessed two-fold for your struggles" and I wondered to myself if that was God giving me some reassurance. Sure enough, at our first ultra sound, we saw 2 little hears beating. And we were smitten.

Each ultra sound becomes more and more exciting. At our last one (10 1/2 weeks), we got to see them moving and bouncing around. I wanted to lay there all day and watch. It was incredible to see them thriving and growing!

I could go on and on about how unbelievable these last few months have been (minus the nausea and tiredness). But I will end it by saying how we are not only overwhelmed by these miracles inside of me, but also by the incredible amount of prayers and support Kyle and I received from so many of you. It has made sharing this news so much sweeter.

I also hope this goes to show that just when you think God has forgotten you, He is always working behind the scenes, and His plans are WAY more amazing than you could ever imagine.