And the gender is...

Since the moment I told BJ I was pregnant, he has been hoping for a boy. Because I love giving him things he wants, I also was sort of hoping for a boy.

It's a girl.

It's a girl, and I feel so deeply grateful and excited about her. When I asked BJ after the ultrasound if he was okay, he excitedly said, "Yeah. I got over that in about 2 seconds."

I've heard a lot of stories about people being disappointed by the gender. This is my first time going into the ultrasound room hoping for one thing and getting another, but I can honestly say that 'disappointed' doesn't come close to describing how I feel. As the ultrasound tech measured each body part (the brain, the heart, the legs, the spine) and declared each one just right, all the images I'd built in my head melted away and were replaced by the real, actual person currently taking residence in me. We've set a place at our table. This is the amazing little person God is sending to fill it.

I can't wait to one day tell are youngest daughter that she was the oops who was supposed to be a boy, and that we couldn't be happier with how it all turned out. I hope that she sees in this the folly of human plans and the infinite wisdom of God's.