Announcing... a baby.

This is a picture of triumph..

First of all, we hiked start to finish which is something worth noting for these two rusty hikers. And to our credit that last bit was not "easy" as the author in the hiking book informed us. It was moderate, maybe. My husband and I left the kiddos with his parents. It was us and the trees and our Maker who we always meet in all His created greenery. As I pushed my body on that hike I could sense the strength returning physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, otherwise said holistically. And that's a good thing when ones aim is to move forward with purpose.

This was our second attempt to go hiking before returning to India. Our first attempt, three weeks prior was canceled the morning of. I'd been the one planning the hike and salivating over it for months. We were going to go all day; hike in, find a lake, swim all afternoon and return at dusk. It was going to be glorious.

Which natural leads me to an official announcement. We're pregnant with number four! But the morning of our first planned hike, the bleeding began which led to a canceled hike because there was spotting, then nothing, then more bleeding and more spotting. Obviously there was a bit of anxiety. But I had no cramping and the bleeding eventually stopped, so I was hopeful. Fearful and anxious but with a ray of hope. An appointment was already planned with my OB, so naturally she took an ultrasound as soon as we arrived. And what we heard was a heartbeat. Sweet, sweet heartbeat like the galloping of a horse deep within my womb.

So, the picture above is the hike after the bleeding stopped and the pregnancy was confirmed. We made it to the top of the mountain. .

And being on top of the mountain gives you a good viewpoint of the valley below that was walked through but which is now (becoming) a distant memory.