Two blue lines...

You know that feeling right before you start a roller coaster, that tingling in your stomach as the lap bar descends into place and you stare at the track rising ominously ahead of you. The ride operator gives the thumbs up, instructions blare over the loudspeaker, and you hear the "clink, clink, clink" of the chain pulling the car up the steep rise, each sound ticking away the seconds until the inevitable drop. Your body rushes with emotion and energy, adrenaline mixed with fear, excitement, nervousness, and a little bit of nausea. You've waited months to get on this ride, heard the ravings and warning of others, seen pictures, read reviews, and even noticed a few Facebook comments praising the awesome thrill of the ride. Day by day you count the minutes, wondering what it will be like, looking forward to rush as you race over the track, worrying if your body can handle the thrill of this awesome beast, wavering between courage and cowardice. All of this rushes through your brain as the car climbs the track, the clinking stops, and the car pauses momentarily, as your heart beats uncontrollably, before it rushes over the edge, plummeting down the course of this thrill ride...

Welcome to the world of the Thin Blue Lines. 

Just an ordinary Saturday afternoon. Nothing really all that exciting. We had been in a children's discipleship conference for 18 days and quite frankly were exhausted, or as I prefer to put it in Spanish "matados," emotionally and physically dead. We're missionaries and live overseas. We've adapted to living in a different culture, gotten used to the change in diet and climate, and have developed a certain mastery of Spanish. We've survived 3 hurricanes, several strong tremors, mudslides, language school, and 10 changes of home through 3 different countries in our 2.5 short years of marriage, but none of that really prepares you for the thrill of the Thin Blue Lines. 

Like I said, an ordinary Saturday afternoon. I'm standing in the kitchen, cleaning dishes after lunch. Lisa and I have been trying for close to a year and a half now to get pregnant, which is a ride all in itself. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lisa walks into the living room, a look of bewilderment and unbelief plastered across her face, "I'm pregnant!" In shock I drop the suds-filled sponge, soap bubbles dripping from my finger tips, and my heart starts pounding. "What??!!?" Now, remember that feeling as the car lurches from a dead stop and begins its climb up the track, all the coursing emotions, the rush, the worries, the doubts, the excitement...well, all that comes before this moment. You wonder if you can do it, if you'll be a good parent, if your budget can take the hit, etc. But nothing really prepares you for the sudden drop as you peer over the edge of the first big drop. As the car plummets down, your stomach shoots into your throat, heart races, and your breath is taken away. You want to scream but can't quite find your voice. Now back to our future daddy with soap soaked hands. 

I race down the hall to where Lisa had taken her test and there on the counter is our little clear plastic friend, sporting a blueish grin.  

Two...Thin...Blue...Lines...pregnant! My heart races, my stomach jumps to my throat, I want to scream but don't have the voice...I can't quite believe that it's finally true. I would have thrown my hands up, but let's be honest, that would have been a little silly. I grab Lisa, gingerly because pregnancy comes with other painful symptoms, and lift her up in the air in a big hug. The rush is better than I had ever imagined. Nothing could have prepared me for this moment and the baby isn't even born yet!

I must admit, I'm not quite sure what this all means and how it will all play out, but I'm ecstatic. I'm ready to tell the world, scream at the top of my lungs, "I'M GONNA BE A DAD," but let's be honest, no one really cares until you actually are a dad. Anyway, I promised Lisa I would start a blog, giving expression to the thoughts, feelings, doubts, hopes, etc. of future parenthood and the whole pregnancy experience. So, here we go, the ride begins and I'm not really quite sure what twists and turns lie ahead, but I know when it's finished that it'll be more than I ever thought possible.