Showers of blessings

I've been meaning to write about our baby showers for awhile now, and I finally have the time to sit down and do it. Thanks for your patience--I know some of you have been asking for these!

My first shower was on April 12 in Gainesville. It was planned by my good friend Melissa Teten, along with the help of many of our Nav students and friends from our family group at church. After years of attending baby showers, it was a little hard to believe that this was actually for me and our son! I got to spend some time sharing our adoption journey story and a few pictures from our first trip to Russia. Then several women spent time praying for our family (pictured below). It was a treasured memory.
They used a clothesline to hang up the adorable clothes Sam received at the shower. Some of them are pictured behind me. He is a blessed kid already!


The next weekend, I flew to Fort Collins for two more showers. Ben's dad had an extra plane ticket for me to use, which made the trip possible. On Saturday morning, there was a shower hosted by my amazing girlfriends from our small group at church. They are all moms of two or three, and I have much to learn from their wisdom about godly parenting. I am so thankful for their friendship. They are pictured below. Back row: Jenn, Nicole, Shelley. Front row: Becca, Kelly, me. Love you girls!


These are the amazing table decorations, from the creative mind of my friend Jenn. (Don't you think she should start a party planning business?!) She used the colors from the Russian flag, but did a great job of making it feel like a little boy shower, and not like the Fourth of July. :-) The favor bags had cute S's (for Sam!) on them, and were filled with candy bars that had prayer requests regarding our adoption on them. We could never have made it through this journey without so many prayers surrounding us. The food was delicious, and Sam got many more wonderful gifts.
The next afternoon, I had a shower with women who were (or still are) connected with the CSU Navs while we were there. It was so fun to celebrate with our former students and staff friends! One of them commented that this group of women never really gets together anymore, so I was glad we had an excuse to come together and catch up. There were moms and expectant moms in the room, and it's fun to be sharing this journey to motherhood with them. We also did a clothesline of Sam's outfits at this shower, which is pictured below. This kid is going to be so well dressed!

I'm grateful to each friend that took the time to come celebrate Sam's arrival into our family with me, and for all of the women that spent time planning, preparing, and pulling together these amazing events. Ben and I are blessed by your love, encouragement, generosity, and faithful prayers for our family. Thank you for already loving our son so much!