I had a feeling, last year to be exact. I somehow knew, really by the Spirit of God, that I wouldn't turn up pregnant then. Curtis and I needed to spend time together, uninterrupted by the delightfully consuming subject of a new baby, plus the time it takes to get adequate rest and deal with the slight nausea that would threaten to change travel plans.
But this year was different. I pretty much expected it from January on. I was actually mildly disappointed when, from one month to the next, there was no baby. I am keenly aware that I am older. Curtis is older. Our time for this should be well behind us, according to public opinion. But, thank God I do not live my life by public opinion! Whether you're done at 35 or 45, when you've had your last child, you will never, in all of eternity, have one again. This opportunity to bring forth a life that will last throughout all eternity is but a window in this lifetime that is already like the grass, here today and gone tomorrow. To think it might be over, to think we were completely done, was saddening to me. I even started a board on Pinterest earlier this year titled "Baby Boy Dreams," thinking God might even out the boy/girl ratio for the Parnells. And, I've always teased about having a dozen kids. So, when that gleaming little line showed up on that test, I could barely contain myself!
Of all the days for Curtis to have to go into the Dallas office, this day he had business to tend to on sight. He would be the first to know. I sat down that morning and made him this card. With the test in hand, knowing he'd want to see the proof, I headed to the office early that afternoon to surprise him. As I've given him a hard time about being so organized, driven by a type A personality, with everything in it's place and in perfect order, and that he might want to get on with one more boy if he's gonna maintain that reputation, especially considering our ages, he's reassured me, with that ever endearing grin, "Well, I'm taking my vitamins." I just laugh.
So, when I walked through the office door and rounded the corner for him to see it was me, he hesitated on his call, raising his eyebrows. I sat patiently until his call was done. He says, "Hey, what are you doing here? This is a pleasant surprise." I couldn't wipe the giddy grin from my face if I had tried, and with the card in hand, placed an organic 65% dark chocolate bar (his favorite) on his desk and set the card on top. He opened it, looked up, and said wide-eyed, "So you're pregnant?" I just kept grinning. He said, "Really? You're pregnant?" I handed him the test, the proof he needed. Grabbing his hair and pulling it back slick and tight, he joked, "I need to stop taking those vitamins!"
The children corrected me later that evening telling me that a hen is broody when laying, not roosting. To roost is to sit on the bar at night, to brood is to sit on eggs with the intent of hatching them. I blanked on proper chicken terms in all of my excitement. I think Curtis got the picture, though.
I kept our secret another 5 hours until dinner time. On the way home, I picked up a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, and hid them. I asked Mercy to set the table as I was finishing up the beef stroganoff. I told her that it would be kinda special, so bring out the candles. She asked if someone was coming, and I said, "Actually, yes." She said, "Oh, then the boys need to put their clothes on! They're in their pj's." I said, "No, pj's are fine." She then asked if it was Papa....nope. Well, did we know this person? We will soon. What? Man or woman? I couldn't say, yet. A stranger? Not for long. Would we like him? We're gonna LOVE him. She was crazy trying to figure out my riddle. She engaged the boys in the quest, and everyone came to dinner wondering what in the world was going on.
I set a carton of eggs on the table, a picture of the twelve disciples, and the box of donuts. After the blessing, and everyone calmed down over the thrill of Krispy Kremes for dessert, I asked what these things had in common. Maggie and Milly immediately proclaimed, "Twelve, twelve, twelve! You're pregnant again!!" I said, "Yes." The table erupted in little voices squealing with delight, and a thousand comments I couldn't decipher through the cacophony of chatter. All except one, Cyrus (our 7 year old) sat with the blankest look on his face in utter silence. I shook Curtis' knee under the table for him to look. He sat perfectly still staring right at me. When the noise calmed down, I asked Cyrus if he was okay. Was he excited? A grin crept across his face, as he said, "So there's a baby in your tummy, Mom?" Yes. He said, "Well, can I hold this one like Charles held Meredith?" Of course. The next few days, he hugged me over and over again, saying he couldn't wait to see this new baby. Wow.
The absolute best response, though, was our big strapping 19 year old man, Curtis Wade. He wasn't there for dinner that night, but made it home as we were clearing the table. He saw the Krispy Kreme and was excited, like his siblings (we should own stock), so I asked him the same question. He was so hung up on Krispy Kreme, he thought we were celebrating donuts! I said, "No. But have a donut, and celebrate your brand new baby brother or sister!" He covered his mouth gasping, and said, "You're pregnant?" Yes. He grabbed my shoulders and said again, "Mom, are you serious? You're pregnant?" Yes, again. He shouted and danced around the kitchen, literally. I was so blessed and pleasantly surprised, I pulled him into the den and said, "Now, Daddy, here's a proper response..."
I love this life. I love that I'm not obsessed with planning our family, either trying to get pregnant, or trying not to get pregnant, and all of the stress that comes with such a feat. How in the world can anyone know what the state of our being is going to be like in 20 years? How can we know the future and what God has planned for each and every person? How can we possibly discern the timing of any one particular life when the "born for such a time as this" might be 50 years in the making? We just live our lives doing what is in front of us to do with all our heart, soul, and strength before the Lord. It leaves me free to enjoy this news. I don't fret over if my body can handle another baby. I'm actually amazed that this culture fosters the notion that having children is so bad for our bodies. If you were to study the science of a woman's body, without the political propaganda attached to it, you'd discover that God created us to do just this very thing. We are remarkably equipped to bring forth and nourish life until it's natural end. Our bodies will stop this process once and for all. I am fully aware of those ladies that have had traumatic pregnancies, or are unable to have children, though they desire to do so. Some are dear friends of mine. And for those, I pray they receive their heart's desires, and I agree with them for God's supernatural healing so freely offered to us by the finished work of Jesus on the cross and through the power of His resurrection.
Though I am not insensitive to their plights, nor am I willing to accept anything from the medical community that disagrees with what God's Word says about me. I was told at 20 years old that I had Endometriosis, and would need to either go on birth control, or take a male hormone that would literally grow hair on my chest, and add 15 to 20 pounds. I checked out a book from the local library called Coping with Endometriosis and wept as I read. What an awful disease! If I didn't halt the growth through these treatments, I might never be able to have children. Even then, I only had the hope of one or two should I meet and marry someone very soon. I couldn't process this, and refused the treatments in hope that God would come through. I knew I wanted a large family, and I had already committed in my heart to never use birth control. I had read the dire things that does to your body, and I refused to compromise my reproductive health in any way. Was it any surprise that Satan would come against me in such a way as to provoke me to go against the very things I had committed to God?
I had scheduled an appointment with a locally adored OB/GYN to begin the process of a laparoscopy to remove as much of the sticky substance as was possible in order to gain some relief from the pain. But, a couple of weeks before the appointment, my mother, siblings, and I attended a small home group from our church. They asked if there were any requests for prayer, and subsequently laid hands on me praying in the Spirit, calling for the total healing of this Endometriosis. I didn't fall out in the floor, shake uncontrollably, or feel anything, but those praying for me had several sensations saying they knew God had done it. I thanked everybody for praying, and we all went home. I wondered if I should keep my appointment, but thought that if I truly believed I was healed, would I be going to see a doctor? I canceled it, and waited. The next month, for the first time in my life, I had a normal cycle that came on time. The rest is history. Hallelujah!
Expecting baby number 12.
Photos compliments of Sarah Worley.
Spring brings lots of celebratory events around here. One is prom. Not just any prom, but the renowned Texas Christian Home School Prom, boasting 1,900 guests at the downtown Dallas Sheraton Hotel. Tickets sold out within 10 hours. This year's theme: Chronicles of Narnia. That drew from the public school crowds who also adore Narnia, including our beloved Hannah. If coming as a guest of a home schooler, a public schooled student is welcomed. So, the kids set out to purchase their own tickets, attend 6 area wide dance lessons, and set the day aside for preparations to attend the massive gala. The girls and I took a day to dress shop. I love all of the pomp and splendor of such an occasion. Grapevine Mills Mall, Dillard's, a stop for coffee (for the extra energy needed to stay the course), and David's Bridal.
Not all of the girls were into dresses, frills, and fixed hair. There are still those around here content with frogs, and turtle sightings at the neighbor's pond.
While still others at the house are content to tend gardens.
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More babies. We are quite the prolific farm, in every way.
Lush and green.
And the prom court...
Maggie, Hannah, Christian, and Milly.
Meeting such pleasant acquaintances and new friends, some that may become closer friends than others. We've had one young man call Curtis to request getting to know Maggie a little better. Yes, the dance partner above. Curtis was impressed, as they enjoyed an hour and half conversation just to gain permission to contact Maggie. We have yet to meet him, but will very soon. We'll see. As for now, the kids are meeting him at Six Flags tomorrow for the annual home school day. There will be lots of great friends in attendance, and the social scene will be a blast with our new acquaintance along for the rides. Will there be more to this story? I don't know. I am wondering these things myself :) As for now, Maggie is completely level headed about it, and has spent quite a bit of time in prayer, asking the Lord to guard her heart and patiently find out who he is. He just about swept her off her feet that night, as they ended prom dancing the last two hours together. They had only briefly met at the dance classes, and happened to see each other again at prom. They clicked, and the other kids said he was a really great guy. He was there with a group that included his younger brother, as well. Maggie was content to leave the night just the way it was, "absolutely magical," not knowing if he'd ever contact her once she gave him her number (which she has never done before). But, he did, and asked to talk to her daddy. If nothing else, I sure like the beginning.
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