"Showered"

Katelyn Grace

My brother's latest gift from our Father in Heaven

We "showered" my beautiful sister in law Rachael and her new baby Katelyn with our gifts, our love, and our prayers. It was a wonderful shower and I am so thankful Allison and I made the trip. My niece is beautiful and healthy and perfect! As I held this tiny baby my eyes were filled with tears and my heart was filled with gratitude as I thanked the Creator for His plan and for His design. I thought about the differences and similarities of my sweet Ashley Kate and this brand new princess I was holding. He made them both so lovely and so sweet, but yet they are so very different. I have to be honest because I refuse to be anything other than that and share with you that there is a sting of hurt that comes to me as I hold perfect, healthy babies. It also comes to me when I see other babies rolling over, walking, talking, and thriving. Its not to say that there is ANY jealousy because I assure you there is not. Its kind of hard to explain. I would not trade one moment of my Ashley's life, her journey, or her story because it is exactly as He has allowed it to be and it is a treasure that I hide in my heart, but if only there was a way that I could spare her the struggle and the hurts that she endures. Early on in my Ashley's life my brother shared with me that I live no differently with my Ashley's unsure future than I do with my Blake or my Allison's. He reminded me that God's word tells us that our lives are like a "vapor". We have no idea how many days they will hold so we must make each one count. This advice and reminder changed the way I wake up each day. I no longer wake up and become overwhelmed with the "what ifs" of my Ashley's situation. I wake up and concentrate on loving and living each minute of Blake, Allison, and Ashley's life. I refuse to allow myself to waste the time He has given me with my children. It is too precious!

So here is a picture of the shower cake made by one of my amazingly, talented sisters. I am really into party planning and details. I described to her over the phone what I had in mind. I had pictured something elegant, something with a scripture on it, and something perfectly pink for princess Katelyn's baby shower. This is the creation she came up with for us. I love it! My sister in law loved it! The guests loved it! I would have to say it was one of the best baby showers we have planned so far. We laughed. We fellowshipped. We celebrated. What a blessing it is to have such an amazing group of ladies in my family. They are my closet friends in the world and I love them dearly. I am looking forward to bringing my Ashley to visit them all just as soon as she is able. Ashley is so loved by these precious women

and they pray for her daily.

This next picture I wanted to share with you is of my sister in law Rachael. I think she is just beautiful! She looks amazing. Can you believe she just gave birth, all natural, to her third child less than a week ago? She looks so good! I am so thankful God brought her and my brother together. They are such an incredible couple who loves the Lord and who serves Him so faithfully. Katelyn is a lucky girl to have these two as her parents. I can't wait to watch them parent this princess after having to boys who are "all boy". It is going to be fun.

This last photo is one of my Allison with her Aunt Rae and two of her cousins Baby Katelyn and Mackenzie. Allie had such a great time this weekend and I am so thankful we came. She really enjoyed seeing all of our family and she skipped around with a smile on her face the whole time. It has been wonderful watching her act so grown up as she got ready for the shower. She did her own hair for the first time and I think she looked really beautiful. All of the girls wore pink in honor of baby Katelyn. My sisters and I laughed as we announced that this would officially be the last baby shower we hosted until one of our girls(we have 6 between us) was married and expecting. We have retired our talents, our table cloths and our notebooks. Since my girls won't be allowed to date until they are 30 I can assure it won't be one of mine and Dave's.

We will be leaving around 2 today to go back to our home and our sweet Ashley Kate. I hope to arrive in time for evening meds. I listened to her laugh and giggle over the phone last night as she entertained her daddy. She is such a funny girl. I can't wait to get home to hold her and to kiss on those puffy cheeks. I have missed her!

Apparently the guys have managed to take good care of her in my absences and she is still in one piece. I'm not even sure if she realizes Al and I are gone. None the less I am anxious to be the one to rock our pickle to sleep tonight. Can't wait to get there. I hope you all enjoy your day and I pray that your life is "showered" in blessings as well. Have a great day. Trish