Jared is excited to become an uncle

Here is Uncle-to-be Jared's response to the news:

Thank you for the best gift EVER...I found a DVD at the bookstore that brain washes baby's brains to love PSU (it's commentated by Lee Corso from ESPN's College Gameday)...I might have to buy the for J (that's what I call him/her...it eliminates the him/her aspect while not going straight to 'it').

For those of you who are also interested in purchasing "Baby Nittany Lion" or any of the other "Team Baby" DVDs, check out this review on Barnes and Noble:

Parents seeking to indoctrinate their children into the world of college sports as early as humanly possible can now do so with ease thanks to this release hosted by NCAA football analyst Lee Corso. The sights and sounds of Penn State athletics are introduced to impressionable youngsters as such simple concepts as colors, numbers, and letters prepare them for the one day they will enroll in the prestigious university and cheer the team on with mom and dad.

The News is Out

Being Jon and Janine, we don't like to waste any time. Less than 12 hours after getting my positive home-test, I was sitting in the doctor's office getting my blood drawn. Confirmed! I called Jon, who was working that night, to let him know. At the time, I was unaware that Jon's co-workers sometimes listen in to his phone calls in case the dialogue pertains to "official business." It did not take long for this particular person to determine that this phone call was fairly "unofficial." Too late. And so the first to hear of our exciting news was none other than Jon's fellow Coasties.
When Jon works the night shift for the whole weekend we see very little of each other. So without adequate time to discuss our "news release" we had decided to hold off for a few days until we could think of a fun and creative way to share.
The ladies I work with have pretty keen baby-dars (I'm something like the 8th person to get pregnant in our building this year) and so the secret was out within the first half hour of that Monday morning. Of coure, everyone was compelled to silence until we could figure out the best way to tell everyone.
As much as we wanted to drop the bomb in person, we knew we wouldn't be able to wait that long. So we finally developed a scheme. That Tuesday immediately after getting home from work, Jon and I ran out to the beach (the cold, wet beach) and snapped some shots of our footprints in the sand. A few computer clicks later and we had our announcement. Then we just had to wait until we knew our families were home, and off went the email. Our phones were ringing the rest of the night.
By the time we had finished updating our family and close friends it was time for bed. When we awoke the next morning, the news was OUT! (credit goes to Facebook) So much for trying to tell everyone personally. I succombed to sending out a mass email to everyone we know and following up with as many phone calls as possible. If there is anyone out there that is still unaware of the newest Tillman family development, you have my apologies. (But obviously you never email me or I'd have your current address and would have sent you an announcement.)
I think the best thing about babies is that they make people so happy! :)

Breakfast in Bed

Fast forward 10 hours and one fitful night of sleep and I was waking up extra early ready to take care of business with a very full bladder. (That should've been my first sign.) I could go into a detailed description of the next five minutes but you know the drill, and if you don't, someday you will. I also won't follow through with a description of my feelings at this time of shock because a.) there are some moments that the English language is just not able to do justice and b.) there are some moments that had best remain in my memory only.

Jon was working nights that month and so was sleeping in until late afternoon. I had about 4 hours to kill between one positive pregnancy test and sharing the news with my husband and baby-father. And so the next few hours were spent picking out maternity clothes and crib bedding online.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, I had to share the news with Jon, awake or not. I cooked up a delicious breakfast of coffee, juice and pancakes cut out to spell D-A-D, and took it up to the bedroom. I'd like to insert here that I have never before made Jon breakfast in bed, and probably will never do so again. Sleepy-Jon was not impressed with my love offering. He rolled over and proceeded to fall back asleep. I shook him again, "No, really honey, I made you breakfast. You have to eat it now" and I whisked off the napkin so that Dad-pancake was staring him in the face. He blinked, he blinked again, trying to force the image through his groggy brain. Then he looked at me and said, "Are you serious?" More blinks. "Yup ... we're having a baby!" And so began our transformational journey into parenthood.

The Power of a Prayer

Tonight we met with some of our pastor friends. As has become increasingly usual with each additional month of marriage, they asked us when we were planning to start a family. Our typical response is "sometime next year" leaving the receiver free to interpret his/her own timeline. This instance was no exception. Our friends offered to pray with us before we left. The beginning of the prayer seemed unremarkable, and then he mentioned my womb. Call it a hunch, a word, call it whatever but suddenly I realized the great possibility that maybe God knew something we didn't. Jon and I compared notes on the way home. "Did you hear him pray that?" "Yeah," "Do you think you should ..." "Yeah I'll do it tomorrow."