Surprise!

We were making the early morning flight out of Milwaukee, heading to our hometown in Washington state for a long overdue visit with our family.

The next time we fly, we'll be going to get our baby, I thought to myself. 

The thought made me smile and feel all warm inside.

The next time we fly, we'll be parents.

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We only get home about once a year. And my family is really, really big. The Man and I went to high school together, married in 1992, and moved out of the state in 1994. Pretty much all of our family is there, and most live within 50 miles of our home town.

In years past, my parents would have an open house while we were home, with family members dropping by to visit at that time. We thought that was the plan for this trip too.

The organizers...my sister T and my mom

We had a lovely breakfast with The Man's family, and then headed out to my parents' house for the open house. But when we walked in, we found my sister and mom, a whole mess of food, and....a baby shower!

Those rascals had planned a big surprise baby shower for us! We aren't planning on returning home this year until after the baby comes, so they decided to hold a shower now. So cool!

We loved the thoughtful touches they did to acknowledge our baby's heritage--Mom found the Korean words for 'family' and 'love' and printed them on cards. My sister actually found kimchi and the more adventurous eaters in the family gave it a try. She also created some totally yummy dip out of it!

They spared us the baby games so the shower was filled with the fun stuff we love, like eating, visiting, and lots of laughing. And then there was lots of oohing and aahing over the sweet baby outfits, and we received lots of gift cards and cash which will be put to good use.

The Man wonders how he's going to squeeze into these little pants. Ha!

To be honest, it was sort of surreal. Were we actually opening baby gifts?? Was it really a shower for our future child?? This sounds kind of strange, but sometimes the baby feels like a fantasy world that exists solely in my head. The shower brought the fantasy baby out into the real world and everyone was so excited about it!

I looked around and saw the faces of those we love. The Man's parents, brother & wife, new nephew, and aunts. My parents, grandmothers, sisters, aunts & uncles, cousins, nieces, and closest friend.

I couldn't believe that all these people were there to celebrate with us. That was the biggest gift of the entire day. When you live so far away, those kind of memories and love carry you through the tough times. Waiting is certainly tough, but knowing our baby will be welcomed into such a wonderful family, with joy and open hearts has made it much easier.

Thanks so much everyone. We love you very much!

(P.S... I'll post the pix of the cute baby stuff later.)

Uh...yeah, that's us. The cake reads Heart and Seoul.

Kimchi and kimchi dip!

Aunt C, Mom, R, our great-niece M, and second-cousin A.

 

Cousins.

Niece skypes in, with her new baby!

Check out the super cool mod-baby t-shirts!