So the big day was here! The house was almost ready, the food was being prepared, and I was finishing the setup for the big revelation. We had discussed back and forth whether we should tell Mom, Dad, and Roy first and then tell the extended family or do it all together--and we finally decided to do it all together so that they could share the joy with everyone else. Iwas hoping this was the right decision.
So, the idea was to have everyone gather for a group picture. When they were altogether, I would tell everyone to say "cheese" first, and then I would say now "everyone now say....Susan's pregnant!" Meanwhile, I would have the camera taking continuous shots so that we could capture everyone's facial expression. Sounds simple enough right? Well, the creativity of the situation was trying to find place to position the camera and the family members so that we could see the facial reactions of all 40 people! Well, after enlisting some help from Jim and his awesome tripod, we decided to have everyone on dad and mom's beautiful front stairs and have the camera in the living room. We had to angle the camera exactly correct so that it would not cut off people at the top of the stairs and also so the living room door frame would not be captured.
As you can imagine, it took some time to get everyone settled on the stairs. Chris initially wanted me to be in the picture, but I told him that it would be important for me to be in front of everyone so that they could read my face and expressions. So there I was with two cameras on tripods looking at 40 of my loving family members. Of course, my heart was racing at this point. I just hoped everything went ok. I finally had everyone's attention and then had them say "cheese." While I was adjusting the frame a little, dad, as usual, was making all sort of jokes and then made everyone say "cheeseburger." After that, I realized it was time. I set the timer, which is 10 seconds, and then waited for the timer to get down to about 4 seconds and then yelled out "Now, everyone say...Susan's pregnant!" Then, the camera just clicked away for 10 shots. Dad let out a dad-like-yell, and then he just stood there staring at me with a-mouth-open smile that seemed to last forever. In my mind, I really did not hear anyone celebrate like I imagined they would. However, afterwards when I watched the video (it was in the corner), there was so much yelling and excitement ! I think I was just so fixated on Dad's reaction (being a daddy's girl) that I could not process much more information! Roy was staring dumbfounded at Chris the whole time, waiting for someone to tell him what was going on (it was cute). After the initial shock, mom was telling everyone that I was just kidding, and that I was just trying to get everyone to smile! If there was any confusion before, everyone was confused now! So, I stepped up closer to them and said "I am not joking, we really are pregnant!" Then, the celebration really started! Benoy Uncle was the first to me and could not stop giving me hugs. Then came the flow of hugs, tears, and kisses as people were getting down from the stairs. It was so awesome. I looked over at my husband and could see red, wet eyes and a sense of happiness on his face--this just filled my heart.
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| So far, the consensus is that Dad (center in purple) gets the best actor award :) |
The night went along with much excitement and happiness. So much excitement that most of us did not get to bed until 5 o’clock in the morning! My little cousin Hariel asked me what I was going to call the baby. I told her that I did not know. She said "You can call the baby- your little Munchkin!” I told her that I could not do that since that what I called her, and then she said the cutest thing with the biggest smile- "I can share." That was so precious.
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| The start of all my hugs-- dad still in shock :) |
Dad was being harassed that he needed to dye his hair white to look like a grandfather, and Roy was still in shock while everyone was calling him Roy Uncle! So many stories from that night, but there is one that will live in infamy that has to be shared! After the big announcement, we were all standing at the bottom of the stairs talking and smiling when Benoy Uncle said the funniest thing. To his defense, Benoy Uncle does have an excuse--he was "extra happy" (hint, hint) :) So Benoy Uncle turns to Chris, holds up three fingers, and says, "Chris, I have three words for you...” As you can imagine, we were expecting something profound from this man. But then he said it (while still holding up his three fingers), "God be with you" and then he burst out laughing! We all lost control, we were laughing so hard. I went over to Benoy Uncle and said, "Really, three words??" He laughed and said his phrase again. So, then I took his fingers and helped him count his "three words!" He laughed so hard when he finally realized what he said....this was so funny and just icing on the cake! Thanks to Benoy Uncle for the wonderful laughter and for allowing me to share this with you all... I promised him that we would all be laughing with him and not at him :)
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