Telling the family

November 9, 2007: Wichita Kansas

10 days had passed since we found out the great news. However, we wanted to wait and tell people. We wanted to tell our families in person (although Alison found out on the phone). We made up some excuse about coming to Wichita to sell our truck. Before making the drive home, Dan and I made shirts. My shirt said "Baby" on the belly and "Hot Mama" on the back. Dan's shirt had "Daddy" on it.
We went to the McElroy's house first. We covered our shirts with jackets and walked in. Cathy was out for a walk so we had to make small talk with Tom. Dan and I were busting at the seams to tell them! When Cathy came home, Dan made the announcement. We took off our sweatshirts to show them our shirts. There were tears, smiles, laughter, and excitement all around. We popped a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the good news- of course I had water. I don't think anything could have wiped the smile off of Tom's face.
Next, we went to go tell the Brooks. Alison offered to have us all over to her house for dinner. We had it all planned out- I couldn't have done it without Alison! We again made the normal small talk. Then I told them our news! We showed them our shirts. The hugs, smiles, and excitement in the room was just contagious. Again- they opened champagne to celebrate. So Dan was feeling good at this point! Soon, Tom and Cathy came to join us for a yummy chili dinner. We made sure to call Joy and Ian to tell them our good news. Joy said that Georgia had called asking if we were pregnant because she had a dream about it-crazy!
The next morning, we woke up early to try and reach Katie and Cory in China. We were able to get them on Skype. Dan and I stood there with our shirts on so that they could see them on the webcam. Katie quickly noticed and said "Why are you wearing those shirts?" All the girls started crying and the boys were back to their grinning. We had a blast talking and celebrating from half a world away!
The hardest part now though... is mum is the word. No telling friends and other family yet....