Baby Shower / Dinner Party

I believe that God gives us different friends at different seasons in life for different reasons.  Some friends help you to laugh at yourself, others walk a few steps ahead of you in marriage or parenting, and still others are great shopping buddies.  In my experience, it is rare to find a friend who knows you intimately, cares deeply about your feelings, your family, and your dreams, and is there for you to celebrate victories, grieve losses, and bring meals when you're sick.  These friends anticipate your needs, work hard to make you smile, and call to check up on you when they sense something is off.  Usually they share your world view and values and help to encourage you to seek God daily.  These friends are priceless treasures.

This past Saturday night, some of my treasured friends helped to throw me a baby shower / celebration.  It was a night I won't ever forget.  It was an intimate dinner party for about ten people (mostly my church community group), and the point was not to shower the baby with gifts as much as to celebrate our new little blessing and pray for him and our family.  It was one of those events that could have been just be dinner and gifts, but it was so much more.

My dear friends Hope and Kylie worked really hard to make the night special, meaningful, and memorable for me.  Hope used photocopies of my nursery fabrics and some of my childhood photos to make an awesome decoration for the kitchen island (the nursery is yellow, gray, black and white).  She also planned a craft that was really fun.  We used photocopied fabrics from my nursery to make scrabble tile necklaces with scripture references on the back.  Later, the scripture on the back of each necklace was prayed over the baby by the person who had chosen it.

When I told Hope, "You didn't have to do all of this!  I'm just honored that people would gather to celebrate our baby!" her response was, "I know, but this seems to be your love language and how you love others best, so we wanted to make you feel loved, too."  So, so thoughtful.

My favorite part of the night besides praying for the baby was when Hope showed this video, which was a surprise to me:

What a keepsake!  The video so perfectly captures my kids at this stage in their lives as they prepare for their baby brother, and I am so thankful that I will always have this to show to our youngest and to remind me of how excited Brennan and Cora were to love on him.

The food on Saturday was amazingly good, and my friend Emily made a divine strawberry cake (one of my favorites!) that was possibly the most delicious cake I've ever had in my life.  I could have eaten half of it by myself.  (For real.)

I got lots of great diapers, wipes, pacifiers, and pajamas for the baby, and I am so thankful for how much money this will save us in the upcoming months!  My most meaningful gift was from Hope.  It was three of the scripture verses we prayed for the baby, written out on vellum and framed with some of my nursery fabric behind it.  It is beautiful on many levels, and it will look perfect in the baby's room.

I am incredibly grateful for the friends God has given me at each stage in my life.  It is good to know that our kids will have other adults to look up to and learn from, and Jim and I will have lots of emotional support and extra hands when we need them.  I am so blessed.  Each day we are a step closer to being ready to meet this little guy!