Blue or Pink?

Yesterday did not go as I had planned. I'm a planner at heart, much to my detriment most of the time. I find strange delight when events go exactly as I had imagined they would and when they do not I feel uneasy and tense. The Lord is working on me in this area, giving me plenty of opportunities to be reminded that His timing is always best. His ways are always good.
Last night we had a wonderful party planned with our small group to reveal the gender of the baby we're having this summer. The ultrasound was Monday and the plan was to have the ultrasound tech write down the gender and seal it up in an envelope. We would take the envelope to a cake baker and ask for the cake to have either a blue or pink center, depending on the gender of the babe. And finally, at said party, we would slice the cake to find out what we're having and enjoy the surprise surrounded by dear friends. But things didn't go as planned.
All seemed ideal on Monday during the ultrasound. She told us right away that she knew the gender and would keep it a secret from us. She said the baby was looking healthy and was measuring 11 ounces. Then my planning train slowly began to derail. Joel made a joke about how the baby was probably going be born on his birthday (my due date is one day after his special day). The tech switched to a new screen to show us that the baby's due date was now looking earlier than my actual due date. On the computer screen, right below the due date box was the "gender" box. In plain sight. As soon as I saw it, my eyes started to well up and I knew the tears would come quick.  I was so sad to find out that way. The tech finished up and left and I burst into tears...and told Joel.
The good news was that we had our own little secret for one whole day. The bad news was that we decided to make the cake ourselves (I'm not an accomplished baker at all). My husband went out and bought the baby a new outfit and tried his best to console a very emotional, pregnant wife. It was a day, let me tell you.
Last night we went to our small group party. Our leaders had put up pink & blue decorations and had a girl & boy gift waiting for us as soon as the cake was sliced. Our friends gathered around the cake and waited for the big reveal. Watching so many of our closest friends crowd around a very poorly made cake just to support our family was such a special moment for me. We truly have community here in Elgin. Joel sliced the cake as slowly as he could to draw out the suspense. Inside the cake was...PINK! We are having another girl. Everyone cheered and enjoyed the snacks and a slice of strawberry cake. Even Ainsley joined in the fun and had a few bites in between playing with our leader's dog, Jackson.
Another girl. Can't wait to meet her.