ex(PR)essed

…a creative Jamie, cute mom, sweet Karen, and fun Aunt Wendy in their lives. Let me tell you, that awesome foursome knows how to throw a baby shower! Baby Lorow and I felt so loved and celebrated on Saturday as we enjoyed an afternoon with our very favorite ladies. There are not words to properly express how thoughtfully and beautifully the room was decorated. So many special, heartfelt touches reflected how well Jamie knows me and were a wonderful testament to our deep, abiding friendship. I love that girl.

The theme? Vintage nursery rhymes. Perfect.

The guests? Women from church, high school, college, current and previous jobs, and some who have known me my whole life. Mothers and daughters. Good friends. Sisters. What a gift to be surrounded by so many special women, some of whom have already stuck their toes in the waters of motherhood, others who are taking the plunge with me and Jeff, and still others who are crying out to the Lord for the blessing of a child in their lives. It was a gift to be celebrating with each of them.

The food? Delicious! And abundant! Because these ladies know me very well, they elected to have an ice cream bar so everyone could make their own sundaes! Perfect!

The decorations? So thoughtful. Books and blocks. Wildflowers. Vintage stuffed animals, including a few from my childhood. Vintage buttons. Nursery rhymes aplenty. Beautiful dishes and teacups. Hand-stamped napkin rings. So much care and time must have went into each and every detail.

The gifts? Generous beyond belief! The invitations asked people to bring a favorite book so that we might start a library for Baby Lorow. Books are important to me and Jeff — we have quite a collection ourselves and both love to read, so having a library for the littlest Lorow was important to me. And, we got such a variety of fun books that I can hardly wait to start reading to the baby. We also got oodles of other adorable, fun, practical baby gifts. People were so amazingly kind.

It’s been hard for me to be the center of attention during this pregnancy, so I was feeling a little apprehensive about all eyes being on me and my growing stomach. But, how can a girl not feel totally blessed to have so many lovely, godly, caring women in her life? It just makes me giddy to think about all the people Baby/Kid/Teenager/Adult Lorow will have in their life to love and prayerfully support them. What a blessing.

Me and Jamie

Me and Mom

We were all pretty tired by day’s end, including Mr. Silas who charmed the socks off everyone he encountered. This boy is seriously cute and was, once again, a wonderful house guest! What a treat to celebrate the impending arrival of Baby Lorow with a little one that we were just celebrating and anticipating a few months ago! (Um…I totally love the little glimpse of belly in this picture. He was one relaxed guy!)