Andrea's Baby Shower

Some friends and I hosted a shower for Andrea and Baby Luke on January 10th, just a few weeks before he was born. It was the cutest thang ever! We decorated using a circus theme to go along with Andrea's bedding. The dress-me-up-plate said "Welcome to Luke's Circus!" It actually still says that as it sits in my kitchen. :) With all of the excitement with Luke getting here, I realize I never did this post. Thanks Carrie Portis, Brooke Akin, Stacy Shotwell, Jennifer Campbell, and Tara Manis for all your help with the hosting! :) Andrea was blessed with so many extra special gifts that night. We have so many friends who are super talented and made Luke the sweetest little things! She also received sooo many practical, very-much needed items that she really appreciated. She went home with just about everything she needed for Baby Luke's arrival. We're so blessed to have the most wonderful friends in the entire world! What a wonderful night that was just being together and catching up!

My cousin Steph and me showing off the super cute party favors

Check out the super cute frames Carrie made for Andrea! They look so cute now in Luke's nursery. Check out Carrie's frame blog, listed with all my friends' blog businesses!

I loved the food table! It was so bright and full of fun colors! Carrie ordered these cupcakes and the cookies on a stick from her "cupcake lady" in Memhis. They turned out the cutest!

Sweet outfit made by Melia & her mom

Smocked outfit from Carrie

I got her this cute outfit that makes me want to be on the beach right now watching Mason and Luke build sandcastles!

The most serious discussions going on with our high school friends and their moms about all of Paula's creations! She busted out and made Andrea & Luke all these cute new items that we didn't even know Paula could do! Check out her blog in my list of blogs - Pauliwog's!

Me, Andrea, and Melissa Logue.. she's expecting Madilee in May! :)

Our high school friends, along with Christy's little girl, Ana, and my Mason... wait, it looks like Mason's cheek is being poked! Thank you. Aww, he looks kinda sad about it.

Some girls in this group have been friends since they were 4 years old or something, but they've been my best friends since 7th grade. Love them to pieces!!!

Jennifer Bess and me

Andrea with us hostesses! We're missing Stacy, though!

Me, Andrea, and Melia

Paula & Melia... these girls were best friends in middle school and they were inseparable from Andrea and me! We have lots of very interesting, fun memories! : )

Jennifer Griffin Miller, Andrea, and me

Andrea's dad, Kenneth, showed up to put an end to all the craziness! Hee hee! Mason was so relieved to see another boy in the room! Mason was mesmerized by Mr. Kenneth... Maybe he thought he was his Poppa Jack??

Andrea with Kenneth, Carolyn, and Heather, Andrea's sis-in-law! I just love her and am so glad she married our Tim!!

Before we took our first bites of the cookies on the sticks... We had been waiting the whole night! Oh and they were SO yummy!! We didn't want to eat them though cuz they were so pretty!

The favors... I would have to say, I'm pretty proud of the idea I came up with!! We put together little baggies on animal crackers and our friend, Lisha, (also see her blog - SWAK Notes - on my list of blogs!), came up with these cute little notecards we attached! They had a cute little saying about circus animals that went along with our theme perfectly! AND they made a kinda healthy little snack!

Paula and Mason checking out the diaper cake that the women of my family (Aunt Linny, Steph, Erica, and my mom) and I had specially made for Andrea & Baby Luke. It was the cutest thang ever! Andrea still can't take it apart cuz it matches the nursery so perfectly but I hope she does soon cuz it has the cutest burp cloths ever attached to it!

Thank you, Stacy, for putting together the lovely clothes line of sweet little gifts for Luke!

Brooke, Andrea, and me

After our party, the boys came back with Colt... Mason was the only one of all the boys who was "allowed" to stay with us. :) Here is Colt and Mason doin' some serious smoochin'... Hmm... is this even right? Their dads were kinda concerned!

Andrea giving us some hostess gifts... The hostesses kept mysteriously dissappearing as the night went on, so we were just left with 3 at the end. :)

Can't Sleep!

My dear friends, I am up at 5:27 am Friday and have been since 2:30 am because I was laying in bed just thinking about anything and everything. Something just led me to get on the computer to get on Angie's blog, a blog I have been following for a while since the loss of her sweet baby girl, Audrey Caroline. Angie just has amazing faith and I pray my faith can be half as strong as hers. Her story is heart-breaking, yet a beautiful story of Jesus' love for us. Click on it below in my list of blogs of "Amazing Mothers of Precious Angels..." If you have never known a love for a child, I pray you can experience that someday and also that you would never take it for granted. Each and every child I see today is an indescribable miracle, something I never even fathomed the extent of until I knew how challenging it could be to bring a baby into this world.

I can lay my head down and sleep peacefully now that I have been reminded of God's beautiful blessings.

As Marc and I sing to our precious baby boy every single day, I love you with the love of the Lord!

A Visit from My Favorite Girls!!

We had a very fun-filled few days last week! One of my best friends from my Louisville years, Danyelle, came to visit for a few days with her 5-month old baby girl, Audrey Kate. We had been planning this visit for weeks but it kept getting put off with different things happening, so Mason and I were so excited when they finally got to come!

Danyelle, the babies, and I went all over Nashville while they were here. I introduced Danyelle to the Sweet Tea Diner in the little shopping center area of the new Lowe's/old Wal-Mart at the Nolensville Rd. & Old Hickory Blvd. intersection. We also got to go see Andrea, Cory, & Baby Luke so the babies could "play." That was actually the first time that Mason got to meet Luke since we had been keeping him away due to his fever. The next day we went to Franklin to go to Once Upon A Child and the big Goody's close-out sale. I have been telling Danyelle about Once Upon A Child for forever now and how I absolutely love going there and being lucky with finding cute things for Mason. And as you all know, Goody's is my favorite post-pregnancy store now that the Ashley Judd collection is for some reason the only clothes that my new body can fit into. I LOVE her stuff and it fits my new "shapely" body just great. Hmm... But, of course it's my luck that they're going out of business. I wonder what will happen to the Ashley Judd collection?...

Okay, back to the post... We were starving after all that shopping so we looked up in the little shopping center area and found this little random Mexican restaurant called "Panchos." We were worn out after dragging the babies all around so when we went in and sat down with our yummy chips & salsa and Mello Yellos, it was the most relaxing! That is one of my new fave Mexican places! Y'all have to check it out!

We ended our little adventures together treating ourselves to Starbuck's and relaxing at home in our p.j's while my mom cooked us a huge yummy spaghetti meal (my dad's recipe, my favorite!) Mason also presented a special gift to Audrey that he has had forever to give her... a sweet little Valentine's t-shirt that we got in the dollar aisle at Target! I got him one, too, so we perched the babies up in their new little t-shirts and did a photoshoot of them in their Bumbos. We realized that the t-shirts were a little too little so they both had this cute pudgey tummies hanging out! Even Mason was chunky for once in his life! :)

Mason's Poppa Jack came over to see the girls off Friday morning and then he went with Mason and me to Mason's dr. appointment. My dad just had to come see Baby Audrey and Danyelle! He loves them. :) I love it how my parents are always as close to my friends as I am!

We miss our Danyella Apriela (long story about this random name Danyelle and I have given ourselves over the years) and Audrey already! Please come back soon! We love you!