At the end of Sharing the news Part 2, I only managed to get through the Monday before Christmas. Sorry this story is so long winded but when I think about that week and sharing the news with the people we love most and the reactions we got out of everybody it just makes me smile. I want to remember every detail so that someday the twins can look back and see that their father and I were actually excited to bring them into this world.

Tuesday morning my dad was flying in from the Marshall Islands and I was set to pick him up from the airport. I would be flying solo since Jenna was staying with us and Luke was taking her down to Chandler to hang out with family for the day. As much as I wanted Luke there to tell my dad I was secretly happy that it would be just me and him. I live 10 minutes from the airport but of course I was 20 minutes late. Thankfully, my dad’s flight was a little behind schedule and he was flying into terminal 2 ( the one story terminal straight outta the 70s) at sky harbor. I got to the waiting area right before the gates and positioned myself in front of everyone else. I looked over and noticed a girl and her mother animatedly talking about how they were going to greet whomever they were waiting for. I could tell the girl was nervous as she was bouncing off the walls like a 4 year old. Soon enough people started appearing and one of the guys was dressed in full military fatigues. Once he spotted the girl I had been staring at he dropped his pack, ran to her, swept her off her feet, twirled her around and kissed her. I started balling. I couldn’t keep it together. I was all by myself in the middle of the waiting area crying like a loser loner wannabe whatever – thanks pregnancy hormones! My dad appeared and I ran up to him still crying. He panicked, he didn’t know what was wrong because I rarely cry. He kept asking and I couldn’t talk. Finally, I mumbled “I’m pregnant…with twins.” He became the one who couldn’t talk. As we walked toward the baggage claim I handed him the Christmas card with the ultrasound and he started to comprehend and got really excited. He asked me if my mom knew and I told him yes. I could tell he was surprised that she was able to keep a secret from him which meant she kept her promise to me (you go girl)! I sent my dad on his way to Tucson with fresh baked Christmas cookies and the news of the twins, he was a happy camper.

Spending the morning with my dad meant I left Luke unsupervised with his brother and brother in law for the day. When I went to meet up with them, Luke had lost four corn hole games in a row to Logan and he also had the genius idea to bet a shot of vodka for every game. He was a hot mess, especially in the eyes of super sober pregnant lady. We were set to go to his Aunt Sandi’s house that night to see everyone that was in town for Christmas. The entire ride over Luke alternated between singing Taylor Swift “Shake it Off” and begging me to let him tell everyone the news. I stuck to my guns and said that I would rather wait until after the appointment. He was persistent and I promised I would withhold things he loves dearly if he didn’t comply. When we walked in we were greeted by his Aunt Glenda (who had a set of twins) and peppermint martinis. I wasn’t expecting to see Glenda at all during the holidays so I immediately wanted to tell her. When we made our way to the back patio almost all of the sisters were there and so was Grandma Millie. I knew we had to tell them – I didn’t think we would have a chance to tell almost everyone in person much less at the same time. I pulled Luke aside and told him he could tell everyone and that made him giddy with drunk excitement. When Luke raised his glass for the announcement the looks on everyone’s face told me they thought they knew what was coming. Their reaction was textbook – they all went crazy at the pregnancy announcement. The hootin’ and hollerin’ (thanks to the martinis) was so loud and long Luke had to yell over everyone to finish. The “with twins” part momentarily silenced them which is quite the feat with the sisters. Drunk Luke got his way, but the moment was perfect so I too was a happy camper.

Christmas Eve morning I was able to sneak breakfast in with two of my best friends, Tess & Rachel. No matter the chaos over the holidays the three of us always manage to get together and catch up. Tess had us over for breakfast and greeted me with the offer of a mimosa. I suggested that we wait for Rachel and drink water because I “drank too much wine the night before.” I wish. Initially, Rachel and Tess were upset that I had got them “a little something” for Christmas since we don’t usually exchange gifts. Rachel tossed aside the card to love on Charlotte (Tess’s daughter)  but trusty Tess can never wait to open anything! She read the card in silence mouth agape and looked at me to confirm that I wasn’t kidding. I said, “yes, it’s true, I’m not joking.” Rachel suddenly got interested in the conversation and I had to reassure them over and over that I wasn’t lying. Then they got excited and drank a bunch of champagne to celebrate. It’s never long enough when we get together but I am grateful for the moments we do get especially when I”m holding the trump card.

You would think by all the people we had already told at this point the novelty would have worn off, but telling my extended family Christmas morning had me more excited than any present under the tree. Every Christmas my entire life, I have always had Christmas day at my grandparents house (dad’s side) after we did our own family thing in the morning. My aunts, uncles and other cousins on my dad’s side would also be there because it was mandatory (you try telling the colonel no!). My grandpa fixes bloody marys & sangria plus shrimp dip and Christmas cookies to get the party started and then my Grandma makes the best prime rib dinner on the face of the planet. Everything is  homemade with love and butter from the mashed potatoes to the gravy and whipped horseradish sauce. For dessert, we top it off with cheese pie and a round of Uno. But most importantly, we open a lot of presents. Opening presents is the one time of the year we are allowed to sit in the fancy living room! My plan was to hand out the cards last so as to not interrupt the normal course of business. My brother was delegated as santa this year so he was responsible for handing out the presents to open. I gave him strict instructions and he knew better than to mess with me. This was the llllllllllooooonnnnnnnnggggggeeeeessssssssttttttttt present handing out session like ever. I was so anxious to get to the big announcement that I can’t even recollect what presents we received. Kiel executed cleanly, but when he handed the card to my grandma she set it aside because she had bigger presents to attend to, priorities am I right? The excitement started slowly but by the time someone had finally read the entire card (thanks Dani!)  and everyone learned we were having twins the room erupted with cheer. Since my grandma didn’t open the card, my grandparents were confused by the excitement but were quickly filled in and joined in on celebration. My grandma told me that she dreamed that I was pregnant so she wasn’t surprised. I said, “but grandma it’s twins – was that in your dream?” and she said “what? nobody told me about twins, you’re having twins?” All she could hear was the commotion about being pregnant – her nor my grandpa got the details about the twins. That really knocked their socks off! They were shocked because no where on either side of their families is there a history of twins. I think Luke and his golden sperm moved up a couple ranks in my grandpa’s eyes that day – a feat even the colonel hadn’t accomplished!

These little nuggets gave us the best Christmas of our lives, I can’t wait to see what the future holds!