Showering Lilly with Love:)

 

It's Friday at 9:04 P.M....week 2 of the school year has now gone by. It's been a great two weeks getting to know all of the kiddos in my class this year. So polite, respectful, and eager to learn!!

After the first week of school it was fun to look forward to my first baby shower last Saturday at my Aunt Jan's house! Mom and I went shopping the night before the shower so I could find something to wear. We both lucked up at Belk...they were having a big sale and we both found a dress to wear. Trying on clothes these days is NOT fun, but it was fun getting to spend time with my mom...so despite the  'whale' looking back at me in the mirror in some dresses (dresses that I had NO business trying on anyway) ....needless to say mom and I had a few laughs and enjoyed our time together.:) After our little shopping frenzy we met Nick and Donnie at Olive Garden. We hadn't had a chance to celebrate my mom's birthday yet so it was her birthday dinner.:)

 I spent Saturday morning cleaning the house...I wanted it to be clean for when we brought the shower gifts home. I got ready and then was on my way around 1:30...I was so excited about the shower in general because she has been planning it for MONTHS now and I knew it was going to be beautiful beyond words!! I was also looking forward to it so I could spend time with my family and friends for a few hours. Life gets so busy and there just seems like days, weeks, and months go by before I even realize I haven't seen or talked to one of them in forever.

I guess I was overwhelmed with emotions and I'm sure my hormones had something to do with it, too...when I pulled into my Aunt Jan's neighborhood I saw a sign taped to the stop sign that said Lilly and had an arrow letting people know which way to go. I started tearing up right then. Several things just hit me at once...first...that my Aunt Jan loves me so much to give me a shower and take her time making every piece of it so meaningful...then I thought about the baby that Nick and I lost last year, and how thankful I was that God was blessing us with another baby and yes, that this was really happening for us and I was going to be a mommy...and last I thought about my daddy and how much I missed him. I would normally talk to him everyday after school and I missed being able to call him and tell him about my day or any funny stories that had happened. I knew I would have wanted to call him after the shower and tell him about all of the wonderful things that everyone got for Lilly. It's hard having this new chapter in my life take place knowing that he's not here to experience it with me. I miss him.

So, I drove into the neighborhood...passed another stop sign that had "Lilly" with an arrow on it and the tears were definitely welling up in my eyes at this point. All of those thoughts just kept swirling around in my mind and tugging on my heart strings. By the time I pulled up at my Aunt Jan's I couldn't hold the tears back any more. I prayed "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil. 4:13 because I knew I needed His help for me to pull it together. I saw my Aunt Rhetta's car and it made me think about how our family hadn't been all together since my daddy's memorial service and that this baby that I was carrying inside of me had brought us all back together again. I was overwhelmed with happiness and thankfulness. I just kept thinking about how good God is! I walked inside and didn't even get to see any of the decorations before the tears started falling and I had to rush to the bathroom to try to hold myself together. The few family members and friends that were already there had no idea why I would be crying on such a happy day. Of course when I was able to tell them what happened they understood. God has just filled my life with so much love and I have been blessed beyond words! I cannot thank Him enough!!

Aunt Jan had her house decorated beyond anything that I could have ever imagined! I got to see the mobile that she made and the chandelier that she painted and decorated for Lilly's nursery, too and they look amazing!! She had an area set outside for people to take pictures with props that she made. I am telling you everything was so well thought out and planned that I was just blown away! I felt so loved! Not to mention the food that my mom and my sister prepared for the shower...cucumber sandwiches, ham sliders, fruit and yogurt parfaits, pasta salad....soo yummy!! Aunt Rhetta got the "Baby Cake" for the shower and it was so yummy!! Just about everyone who was invited came! All of my friends were there and that meant the world to me!!!

Here are some pictures from Lilly's first shower...

BEAUTIFUL!! I love the decorations and the food display.:)

Brittany stirring the punch and the "Baby Cake" with a "Lilly" Banner:)

Sweet tea anyone?!?:) The straws have a tag on them that say "Roots and Wings"

My Aunt Jan has a booth at an antique shop and she got the antique baby scale there! LOVE!

Sooo pretty!!:)

Again...I LOVE the "Lilly" banner...it is going somewhere in her nursery for sure!!:)

Mom, Aunt Debu, and Cheryl in the kitchen doing something?!?:)

Presents for Lilly!:)

This is the wish tree...everyone wrote a wish for Lilly on a card:)

My Aunt Jan:)

Chatting before we started opening gifts and eating...you can see my Aunt Mary, my cousin Amanda, her daughter Taelyn and a little bit of Brittany in this pic and Tonya...oh and me and Lilly:)

A close up of the food table...

Again... look at all of the details:)

YUM!

Sooo pretty!

The mobile is hanging from the chandelier...my Aunt Jan made it for Lilly's nursery:)

Friends chatting:)

Close up of "Baby Cake":)

Lilly and I with the hostess:)

Again:)

 

Showing off Lilly:)

Again...

Yogurt Parfaits:) YUUM!

Sooo pretty! And yummy!!

The food and me fixing my plate:)

The mobile:)

A close up pic of the straws with their "Roots and Wings" tags:)

Sweet friends!:)

Sweet friends!:)

Pretty Lacey!:)

Sweet friends:)

Amanda and Carrie drove down from Charlotte! Adri and sweet Kennedie were there, too!:)

Feeding Lilly:)

Diaper Cake that my mom's friend, Carrie made:)

CAKE!:)

Lilly liked it:)

So did I:)

Party peeps:)

A few more:)

"Roots and Wings"

Bookmarks for everyone with an L":)

Each guest wrote a message on a diaper for Nick and I to read and smile/laugh at when we are changing her diaper in the middle of the night:)

Jodi and I playing around!:)

Tonya and I:)

Kimberly, Jodi, and I:)

Brooke, me, and Samantha:)

With some props and a frame:)

Kayla, Sauvé and I trying to get situated:) That's what happens when you put 3 teachers together...gotta get it exactly right!;-)

Here we are:)

Emily and I:)

No props:)

Kayla and Sauvé:)

Me, Kennedie, and Adri:)

Again:)

Britt looking cute with her bow:)

Erica and I with our sweet girls in our tummies:)

Posing without a frame or props:)

Lilly and I:)

Me, Jodi, and Amy:)

Having some fun:) Do you see a PRINCESS in this picture?!?")

Lacey and I:)

With some props:)

Again:)

Silly :)

Kissy face:)

Present time...look at that face!

Her first Christmas ornament:)

LOVE!:)

Another book to read to Lilly Bug:)

I think Jodi liked the book, too:)

Cute, cute, cute!!:)

Precious:)

Necessities!:)

 

Her first pair of cowboy boots! My daddy would love them!!:)

Love!:)

Another book for her library:)

Jodi helping me figure things out:)

Reading to see what we got:)

For tummy time:)

Another sweet book:)

Children's Bible:)

DIAPERS!!!!

Sweet picture frame:)

NECESSITY! DREFT!:)

Brag book:)

Sweet stuff!:)

Blanket with her monogram:)

 

Little onesie:)

The grandmas loving on Lilly:)

 

When we got home...WHOA!!!:)

 

 

Jonah came into the nursery and kept bringing us his toy to play with. Then he laid at the doorway like this.:) So sweet! I think he knows something is going on, but he's just not quite sure what!!

 

Thank you so much to each of my family members and friends for everything! Nick, Lilly, and I appreciate everything so very, very much!!!

We love you!!:)