Well, the BIG DOINS have definitely commenced. Kari's baby showers were this weekend, and Bethany's wedding is next Saturday. The hugs are flying around here right now. FLYING, I tell ya.
This weekend, over the course of about 25 hours, I watched as nearly 60 different women showered my girl with love and gifts and hugs.
There was also cake.
I sat across from Lauren and her little cutie-patootie of a little girl eating said cake, and reminisced about the time when I had to retrieve her from the top of a tree. A large tree. An evergreen growing straight up into the sky. Suffice it to say I was thisclose to calling the proverbial fireman to rescue us both.
Lauren's little cutie-patootie of a little girl is now four years old. The same age Lauren was when she had her very first play date with my little girl. If anyone is counting...that's about 21 years ago.
As I sat in that charming bakery, chowing down on pizza & cake, I did what I always do when we all get together. I marvel at how all our girls have grown up, and I whisper a quick prayer of thanksgiving for the delightful women they all have become.
Not all mamas have loved on some of the same little friends of their babies from preschool to full-blown womanhood, but if you have the chance, there is perhaps nothing more delightful.
...Although finding yourself sitting around chatting with the very same mamas of those little girls all these many years later, and knowing you love them about a million times more than way back when, is also an experience full to the brim of delight.
Blessed is what I am.
A Thousand Gifts #802-824)
watching them grow...grow in kindness, grow in focus, grow in patience... grow their families, grow their ministries, grow their hearts
cozying up on her couch in my sweats with my tea & blanket
standing at the counter eating leftovers and trying to imagine how many times we've stood at the counter eating the leftovers
gathering to review the pictures taken earlier in the day and thinking about how many times we've gathered to review the pictures taken earlier in the day
watching the fashion show as wardrobe choices are discussed, and remembering all the other times we've tried on the dresses and tested out the shoes
looking through her "baby book" and remembering when she was so tiny and how very excited we were when she arrived...and feeling shocked that there have been seven birthdays since
that sweet, sweet smile as she came down the stairs to model her flower girl ensemble as we all tell her how beautiful she looked. and she did.
loving how she believes us when we tell her.
all my sweet, sweet girls and the way they fill my heart every time I look at them
sitting in the half dark going over the to-do list for the wedding fast approaching and discussing the game plan
just knowing she's in the same town
kari's delight at the unexpected
homemade gifts in frames, and homemade gifts straight from the oven, and homemade gifts covered with multi-colored frosting, and homemade gifts created by 90-year-old grandmothers....all love offerings of the loveliest kind
promised lunch dates, and random phone calls just to vent, and knowing she'll laugh with me instead of at me
all nearly 60 of them and the unique ways they have brought color and joy to my daughter's life
fresh reminders of answered prayer and God's faithfulness to those who prayed them
Happy Monday!
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