Graduation Party!

A close friend of mine gave a lovely shower for a friend's daughter.  She asked me to come and take pictures and I happily obliged.

I have friends who really know how to throw a party.  I'm more of a "come over and make yourself at home" kind of a party thrower.  But I always wished I had the creative juices to make these kinds of events happen.  Lots of attention were given to details that this high school graduate would appreciate.  And it was such sweet party, I wanted to share the details with you :)

It was such a pretty table.

Notice the cute little photo bomber :)

Yummy food.

Books were incorporated in the theme.

Refreshing drinks.

And an overall great place to have a party.

The graduate with her mom and sisters... they are all gorgeous.  It's hard to pick out the mother in this picture, they all look like sisters :)

Sweet girls taking pictures of each other.

Moms' friends.  As a side note.  I totally remember my gradation party and that my parents' friends came.  Are those days just around the corner for me?  Yikes!  And blue was the color choice of the day.

There was video playing in the pool house.  One of the things I loved about this shower was that there were many generations present to encourage her.

This board was my favorite part of the party.  The hostess had asked everyone to email her a word or phrase that describe Brooke.

I would be in a pile of tears if people said these things about my kids when they were 18.

There were some powerful words.

People were given the opportunity to share with her their word and why they picked it.  In a group of women this size, of course there were tears.  

Oh to be 18 again with the whole wide world in front of you.

I hardly know you, Brooke, but you have a strong foundation in the Lord.  It was a pleasure to witness you being celebrated :)  Congratulations.

Ode to Justin and Rebecca

We met Rebecca during our first year at Kamp.  Joseph took a special liking to her, saying things like this to break my heart, "I love Becca more than you, Mommy."  She attended Baylor at the time, and we saw her every so often when we would go to a game, or she would come home for the weekend, and drop by Fort Worth to say hi.  So sweet.

 Pics from the Kanakuk days.

He LOVES her!

Dropping by one of his baseball games.

This particular day we got to meet Justin.  We were unsure at first whether anyone would be good enough for Rebecca, but Justin quickly won us over, like in 5 minutes.  Over the next couple years, she and Justin would always call when they came home from college for the weekend.

Or we would see them at Baylor events, like at this football game.

Go Bears!  (And where did that toothless grin go?  I miss it).

Rebecca is a servant.  Like one day she called and asked what I was doing that day.  We were in the middle of house building and I didn't have a free moment that day.  So she offered to take all 5 of the boys to the museum while I was getting my stuff done.  Who does that?  

She later kept the boys over night at her apartment so I could get some packing done and then helped me pack another day.

And THEN... have you heard enough yet?  When our moving weekend was going south, I made a SOS call to Justin and Rebecca, and they came over and helped me move the final stuff over (a lot of stuff) in 100 degree heat.

This was our first meal at the house.

Loved that they were there with us.

Thank you, sweet friends, for serving us, for being our friends, and for loving on our boys.  You are a blessing and I can't wait to see the rest of your lives together unfold.

And in another post, coming soon, their wedding day, and Joseph, the adorable ring bearer :)

Community Group

Our church recently formed Community Groups for the women to connect and learn truths from God's Word.  Before now, it wasn't much of a need.  Our church was small enough that you could have womens' events and catch up with everyone without a problem.  Our church has grown a bit, so now we meet monthly in homes in addition to larger gatherings.  This last month in our sweet group, we got to celebrate Kassey.  Even though I'm the leader of our particular group, I did nothing this night except show up and take a few pictures.  These girls went all out to show Kassey how much she is loved.  

The table was a reflection of what Kassey loves.

 When we were all given the chance to tell Kassey things we like about her, a resounding theme was this:  Kassey has the God-given gift to show up, do what's needed, and to just be with you in whatever you are doing.  I shared how earlier that week Kassey had stopped me at church and asked me what she could do for me that week.  I was floored.  No one has asked me that in a long time.

Kassey is also good at loving on other peoples' kids.

 Let's pause for a second and focus on this one's lovely head of hair.

And the sweetest baby ever.  She made exactly two peeps during our group.  Both were happy noises.

This is one of the fun thing about our group.  There's always a baby to hold.  In the next month, someone is having twins, and another just found out she's preggo with her fifth. 

 Evelia with her momma.

 Just couldn't resist adding this one in.

 Our group.. most of us anyway.

Happy Birthday, Kassey!

Thanks for letting us celebrate you.

I Have Cool Friends {A Bridal Luncheon}

A good friend asked me to take pictures at a bridal luncheon she was hosting.

Leslie is one of those people who knows how to make things beautiful and elegant.

And, once again, she outdid herself with this one.

Lots of pretty flowers on the table.

 Glasses ready for pouring. 

Beautiful place settings. 

 Dessert laid out.

 Gifts with pretty paper and bows.

A box full of fun. 

A lovely table.  Leslie doesn't miss a detail. 

Guests arrived.  I loved seeing all the generations at this shower.

So many sweet women who love Katie. 

She looked beautiful. 

Prayers lifted up for the bride and groom. 

Yummy, girly food. 

Tables full of sweet girls. 

Fun shoes. 

Lifelong friends. 

The groom showed up near the end.

The costume box got some good use. 

What a good sport :)

Leslie, you did a wonderful job of making Katie feel loved. 

Thanks for letting me in on the fun!