The Disney Channel alum, 32, announced she is expecting her first child with husband, youth pastor Josiah Capaci, whom she wed in October 2017. Thornton is already mom to two sons from a previous relationship: Kenneth James, 5, and Bentley Cash, 4.
The soon-to-be mother of three shared the baby news on Instagram Wednesday with an adorable photo of her two kids holding up a sign that read, “New best friend coming Nov. 2018,” on top of a patterned DockATot baby lounger.
Thornton’s pregnancy comes over two years since the father of her two sons and first husband Christopher Carney died in a tragic car crash in Arkansas in December 2015. He was 35.
“For this child I have prayed, and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart,” the former Sonny with a Chance star captioned her baby news, quoting 1 Samuel 1:27.
Thornton previously faced criticism for her decision to remarry less than two years after Carney’s death.
“There is no timeline for grief or for when God moves in your life in undeniable ways,” she said after her wedding, adding that Capaci “came along EXACTLY when God knew I needed him.”
“It wasn’t my choice to fall in love so quickly after Chris passed but I was growing so comfortable with being alone that it was becoming unhealthy,” Thornton continued. “When I say ‘Jo is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me’ that in no way indicates that I didn’t love my first husband with all that I had. How dare any one of you judge me and say that on a social platform. It doesn’t make you any better of a person to cast judgment on others and sit in the seat of mockers. I will always love Chris and Jo knows that. And I will always love Jo. The beautiful thing about love is that it multiplies as new blessings come into your life.”
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.