“In the same way, teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good. Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.” Titus 2:3-5
(Sorry it took me a while to share about this sweet shower.
I was waiting on the pictures that came today!)
I was waiting on the pictures that came today!)
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| How cute are these handmade invitations?? |
I'm just going to preface this post by saying that I will not be able to accurately describe how adorable, how thoughtful, & what a blessing my baby shower was. My sisters worked together to come up with such wonderful little details & put together a sweet time for many of our family & friends to celebrate our baby boy. I cannot tell you what it means to me. What I can tell you is that the tears are already coming. In the first paragraph of this post! Not even the first paragraph-- the preface for goodness sakes! (I could blame this on hormones, but you who know me well know that would be a lie. I'm a sucker for sentiment & don't have a single ounce of shame about it.)
{ Photo Credit for all photos-- except the invitation pic above and the photo booth pics at the end-- goes to the incomparable Katie Mosley Photography. She is a master at capturing those sweet, sentimental moments between loved ones that really make every life event special. And she's a complete joy to have around. If we lived in Nashville, she would be on speed dial for all things baby. }
It was so exciting walking with my sister up to the clubhouse. They had left almost every detail a surprise. Taking in all the precious pieces & all the familiar faces that I hadn't seen in such a long time took me a little while to digest.
I'm so glad I have pictures to look back on & remember every bit!
My mom made this wreath in about 3 minutes. So perfect!
The front hall had pictures hung & a calendar set-up for the ladies to guess our Joey's arrival date.
The hall opened to the front room on the right, where all the delicious desserts & punch was placed. There was popcorn and fruits and veggies. Lea Anne's oreo cheesecakes, Maw Maw's cinnamon rolls from scratch, Momma's chicken salad & coconut creme pies. My great aunts pitched in: Pattie made red velvet cupcakes, & Carol made the punch.
Agh, good grief! I would give anything for some of that right now. Well, probably not my firstborn.
It's a "shower"! Get it?! Adorable.
My uncle had a large picture of Hubs, me, the baby bump, and Jessie printed. It was awesome, & I was a little bummed I couldn't sneak it by as a carry-on. I would've had to buy two extra seats to get the almost-actual-size photo home.
The rest of the clubhouse was one large room that my sisters had cleared out & set-up. This mantle decor was so precious. My sister & her boyfriend made the coolest banner to hang above the cute clothesline of baby apparel worn by Hubs & me when we were teensy!
They had organized several different stations of things to do. The first was a onesie with fabric pens so that guests could sign it as a keepsake! Another was a table I had asked to be put up so that the ladies could take a card to write an encouraging note to another military wife or a mailing label to send a care package to a deployed soldier. (If anyone would like more info or an address to join the fun, please email me!) Another station was for each lady to write a blessing, prayer, or advice for me and baby boy. All other tables were decorated with baby pictures of me and Hubs & some of our tiny baby items that our moms had gathered for the party.
I was so shocked to see the amount of gifts the ladies brought! I was overwhelmed by their generosity. My sisters really helped me out on this one too. Kari handed me gifts and wrote down who brought what for thank you cards, while Kelcee took care of all the present paraphernalia once they were unwrapped.
My mom's cousin, Valerie, had passed around small cards with Scriptures on them. With each gift I grabbed, I called out the name of the precious lady that gave it. She read the bible verse on the card & spoke words of blessings & advice over me & our sweet baby. It was so touching. What beautiful moments with these women who have been apart of Andrew's & my life for so many years- if not all 30 of them! They also sent me home with all the Scripture cards & blessings wrote out for us in a little shadowbox. I cannot say enough about the selfless courage these women showed. Thank you to each one of you, opening yourselves up to the emotion & sentiment of showering us with wisdom & with the perfect power of God's Living Truth. It was, by far, my favorite part of this whole pregnancy experience.
We are truly loved.
Andrew's mom made this beautiful quilt!
My oldest BFF Mary Coul gave the best advice: Don't let being a mommy make you neglect being a wifey.
Cherish your husband, don't take him for granted, and let him know he is loved!
You're welcome.
Don't forget the party favors! These loofahs- Haha!
"From Lauren's Shower to Yours."
I loved getting these professional photos with the sweet ladies in our family.
I have a few frames ready to go for these to be printed!
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| Please excuse my chins. |
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| Thank you so much, Sisters! Love you. |
One of the most fun stations was the photo booth! Not everyone jumped in, but I'm so glad for the pictures that Kelcee got on her camera of those that did! Hilarious. And how great are all the blue accessories and custom signs??
"I'M AN AUNT!"
The Hostesses with the Mostest. Joey's amazing aunts: Carrie, Kelcee, & Kari!
Joey's Grandmas: MILEE and MIMI!
Hubs' Mom & Sister: Lea Anne & Kari.
Boys Not Invited! These guys dropped in before and after the festivities.
L: Kelcee's boyfriend, Ethan, and my bro, Anthony. R: Mark, MeLisa, and Andrew Teague drove from Huntsville!
Kelc with her long time pal, Mary Leigh on the left, and our cute cousin Andrea on the right!
L: Love you Aunt Tami! Your pic might be my fave haha! Roll Tide! R: Momma with long time friends, Melinda and MeLisa.
One of Joey's Three Great Grandmother's! Maw Maw with my Momma, Kelcee, and Carrie.
L: Kelcee's boyfriend, Ethan, and my bro, Anthony. R: Mark, MeLisa, and Andrew Teague drove from Huntsville!
L: Love these two!! My aunt, Shannon, and cousin, Sophie. R: Momma with long time friend, Nancy.
L: The Anderson Ladies: Mattie, Paylin, Angela, and Chloe R: The Sweet Anderson/Foriest Girls!
I think these girls had a blast in the photo booth!
L: The Big Gals- Mattie, Sophie, Bryson, and Aidan L: The Middle Gals- Taylor Anne, Harper, Chloe, and Emerson.
Stop being so cute, girls! L to R: Taylor Anne, Paylin, Chloe, and Emerson.
L: "Can We Take A Picture with HER ??!!" R: Mary Coul, Rebecca, Aunt Anna Banana, and Emelia Jane
'Muerica. Nice lanterns, Mom.
My Seester and me on the left. With one of my besties, Mary Coul, on the right. Oh, and there's a Reba under that hat lol!
Oh my! It is beautiful! I have to save this post because my best friend is going to have a baby soon and I have booked her favorite event space for the baby shower. I simply loved the idea. I am glad I came across this post. I must share it with the rest of my friends.
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