**Big News**SFYTT

Yes...it is *HUGE*news! I have left a few bread crumbs over the last two days, but this is the official announcement!!! I am beyond excited. It has been a long, hard journey to get to this point. I already have two beautiful children that bring me such joy, but I have been wanting a baby for about 3 years. I thought that it would be easy; just like the other two, but things didn't work out that way. I was overjoyed to take a pregnancy test in March to find out that I was pregnant. I really didn't believe the two pink lines...if you only knew how long I had waited to see those two pink lines. I went to the Doctor in April to find out that the pregnancy was most likely not viable and indeed it wasn't. I was broken hearted. I felt cheated and discouraged. Not only had I suffered two months of morning sickness and fatigue, but now I had to untell everyone that I had already told. That was so hard for me. We had been so excited. Well...you can only imagine how I have been feeling since then. I really haven't been myself, I have been nauseated, the thoughts of sitting down and stamping have been more than I could stand. I kept falling asleep in the afternoons and feeling altogether rotten. I finally decided two Fridays ago that I needed to get back to my normal routine and snap out of the *funk* I had been in. Before I returned to my exercise routine, I thought it best to take a pregnancy test because my *monthly bill* ,for lack of a better term, hadn't returned since the miscarriage. I took yet another pregnancy test which shockingly came up positive. I really thought that maybe it was a fluke and I had some HCG left over from the previous pregnancy. I called the nurse and she told me that it had been too long and that I needed to come in for a blood test. I went in last Wednesday and had some blood drawn. Of course I had to wait 48 long hours to get the results back. I called back on Friday the 3rd to get the unbelievable news that I was 2-3 months pregnant. I told her it was impossible; that I had a miscarriage in April. She consulted with the Dr. and I was told to come in that afternoon. I had an ultrasound which showed a 11 1/2 week fetus with a strong heartbeat. I am thrilled that I am already 3 months in and I didn't even know. Yes...all of the signs were there, but I really thought it was my hormones playing tricks on me from before.

We are all still scratching our heads as to how this is possible. People keep asking me if maybe I had twins or if it really was the same baby. The answer is No, because this baby is due in Januray and my other baby had a November due date. I had to include some photos of the *fortunes* we got in our fortune cookies a couple of days after we took the pregnancy test, but before I had my blood drawn. The top one is my husbands and the bottom one is from my cookie. Crazy, huh?

Well, that is more information than I thought I would share. I have kept the miscarriage in, even though I wanted to tell everyone so that you might know where I have been coming from and for my lack of posting and creativity in general. I am hoping that I am on the tail end of my morning sickness and fatigue. I usually have great pregnancies with tons of energy after the morning sickness ends, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I can't believe I am sending my youngest to first grade on the 20th and bringing a newborn into the world. Some may say I am crazy and maybe I am, but I am beyond excited and can't wait to have this little one to myself all day long while the other kids are at school. It will feel like my first...that is until 3:30 rolls around and the kids walk through the door! LOL!

I guess I should get around to the card, huh? This is another fabulous sketch by Jen Del Muro, who announced yesterday of her impending birth! I think we are due at the same time! Do you know how long I have kept this crazy stamp set and pregnant girl stamp around just so I could make this card? Amy R and Taylor made a card years and years ago using this combo and I just loved it. The pregnant gal and the big work together perfectly. I started out by picking out some fun, *kindof* gender neutral papers from My Mind's Eye. I created the base by layering paper and doing some crazy sewing. I stamped the b and the g using Berry Sorbet ink by Papertrey Ink.

The girl was stamped using brown StazOn ink and then colored using prismacolor markers and copics. I decided to change the shape into a tag so that I would have a nice place to add some ribbon since last week I didn't use any at all! I made the circle smaller than the sketch indicated, but it would have covered up my focal image. I stamped the star image from Nursery Necessities and punched it out using the star punch. All of the edges have been distressed using Vintage Photo distress ink. I stamped the news sentiment onto a strip of chocolate chip cardstock and then lined it up in the circle punch so that it would align perfectly. I added a few buttons to the side for detail.

I guess I will save this card until I find out that one of my friends are expecting.

You won't want to miss the other SFYTT designers.
Jen Del Muro and Guest Designer
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage
Susan Liles and Amy Sheffer

I hope you all get a chance to play along this week!