Baby Levi's Shower

In September,  W will have a new little friend to play with in Hattiesburg! Mitch & Amy Jaegar (a couple on our staff team) are due with a little man named Levi Harvey. We really can't wait to meet him and I have high hopes that he and Wilson will love each other. We already love him and had the joy of throwing a party in his honor (and in Mitch & Amy's honor, too!) 

What started out as a taco bar in my head ended up being a full blown Mexican fiesta in our backyard. Minus the mariachi band... and the sombreros.... but it was still pretty close. The weather was PERFECT.

We thought we'd be nice and let Amy take the first swing on the pinata. She took a second to feel around and then WHAM. She decapitated it in one swing.

Andrew has started a hashtag called #thingsamyhasdecapitated. We are a little concerned for their dogs.

Levi, I think your athletic genes are good to go!

After dinner we played a fun game and then opened gifts. Baby gifts are my favorite!

The hostesses and Amy...

Amy and Mitch... what a joy to have you two in Hattiesburg with us! We have loved having another married couple on our team, and now how fun it will be to share parenting joys and pains as well! We love you guys and can't wait to meet that little man!! 

Currie Girls' Shower

The celebration of new beginnings continued this month when we helped to host a shower for Nathan and Kim Currie who will be welcoming their TWIN GIRLS home from China very, very soon.

Brace yourself for the cutest picture you've ever seen....



If I can't stand not being able to kiss those cheeks right now, I really don't know how Kim does it. I think I fought back tears through the entire shower. Watching Nathan and Kim go through this adoption process has been a defining milestone in my life that I can look back upon and say, "Yes! God is good." It has been such an honor to be in the audience of His goodness to them. We love these girls so much already. Hurry, hurry paperwork!!

(Kim & Foster) It was so fun to briefly see Chris & Anne Marie and meet baby Foster... he has the sweetest eyes!

 

Kim and Nathan, I wonder if you'll ever know how much you mean to Andrew and me. We treasure your friendship and there are few people who are as dear to us as you are. I know it's true that those sweet girls will probably be more of a blessing to you than you are to them, but OH how that's hard to believe.... because I can't imagine any two people being more incredible parents. Andrew and I are better people because of the two of you. We love you!

Abbie and Evie... oh girls, we can't wait to love on you. I can't wait to come to your birthdays and graduations and weddings (most especially if I am the mother of the groom... because that's something we are praying for!). You are a treasure to not just your parents but to their friends who want to be your family, too.

An added bonus to the weekend was getting to see Hank and Anna!!! Anna and I Skype every now and then, so it was hard to wrap my head around the fact that we hadn't seen each other in person in almost two years. Anna is always such an encouragement to me, and what I wouldn't give to rewind time and be back at the beach with her and Katherine.

I wish we got a video of Henry's reaction when he saw Wilson walking up. He was screaming and covering his mouth and jumping up and down.... but Wilson also had a toy helicopter, so I'm not sure which his excitement was really directed at. :) Either way they were super cute playing together and it made me even more nostalgic for that time when we lived in the same town...

I'm pretty sure Andrew was telling them, "Boys don't hold hands."

What a sweet weekend!! One that I will treasure in my heart forever.

Peyton's Bridal Shower

We are in a season of showering. Lots of marriages and lots of babies and both of those things make me really happy for the people that I love!

In March we (me and some sweet friends) hosted a bridal shower for Peyton. Peyton and Andrew (Wenz) are two of our most favorite people in the world. Wenz is an intern with us, but he and Andrew go way back to our first year at Auburn on staff (he was a student involved with Crusade there). I knew Peyton when she was a student at Auburn, though not well, and she came to Hattiesburg last year to go to grad school (Thank you Jesus! What a blessing!)

Me, Peyton, Amy & Claire

She moved in to be roomies with Claire, almost immediately started dating Wenz... and even more quickly became one of my favorite friends. The exciting news is that she and Wenz will be here through December and are planning to join staff with Cru in January.

That makes me and my Andrew happy (I always have to say my Andrew when I talk to Peyton and I kind of love that), but it also makes Wilson happy because you can't even imagine how much he loves "Wenz" and "Moose." When their Save the Date arrived in the mail he begged to sleep with it. And I let him. You can't make these things up.

The shower was so much fun, and I hope Peyton felt really loved. Because she is.

A fun game that Claire orchestrated!

Peyton with her mom and sister

It was her birthday the day before, so we had to celebrate that, too!

Peyton, you are an answer to prayer. A sweet friend who loves others so well. Your excitement for life and for the goodness of God spurs me on to treasure the gospel. I already can see how my marriage with my Andrew is going to benefit from watching your marriage with your Andrew. You two are a blessing to us. We love you! Can't wait to celebrate BIG in 23 days!