Baby Shower!

This cake is darling! It matches the very first dress that Tolar bought for baby girl!

I am on such a high! My sister and mom threw me a baby shower over the weekend and let me just say that I am completely overwhelmed by the love that everyone poured onto Tolar, myself and our sweet little baby girl! Some of my family, some old family friends, some co-workers from when I lived in Roanoke and my college girlfriends (we missed you Jennifer!) were able to make it. I love being in a room filled with so many people that I love. I'm still smiling so brightly remembering the fun times we had, I CANNOT wait to introduce baby girl to everyone. (There are TONS of pictures at the bottom of this post, I apologize in advance for the amount of pictures, I just couldn't stop selecting photos to use)

Let's start with the games. Mom and my sister filled up a container with diapers and everyone had to guess how many there were. I simply would have just looked at the tub quickly and taken a guess, but there were some pro moms in the room. They asked what size diapers were used. Genius on their part! I never would have thought of that, even though I do know that diapers come in more than one size. Next, they had everyone take some yarn and cut a piece that they thought would fit around my waist and belly. As my cousin Hillery pointed out, they were guessing "how small Lindsay is," not how large I am. Love her!  Thanks Hil! I appreciate that!  And the final game involved having everyone think of celebrity mothers and daughters and write down as many as they could in five minutes. I thought for sure I would know tons because I do watch a lot of E! News and faithfully catch up on everything pop culture, but it’s amazing how pressure can make your mind go blank. :) Special thanks for my friend Suzanne for pointing out that Kris Jenner and each of the Kardashian sisters counted. There were some solid points there!!!

We ate a super yummy brunch - I love breakfast food - and after that I had some time to visit with everyone.  It’s so special to me to be able to reconnect with everyone and just feel their excitement. I wish that life didn't separate us from the people we love most, but it sure makes it special when you see them again.

Finally, I opened the MOUNTAIN of gifts that were brought for baby girl. I cannot believe how blessed we are! Baby girl got TONS of clothes and lots of super precious shoes. My sister also had everyone bring a book to fill the nursery bookshelf; our little lady bug is going to be quite the reader and I'm so excited.  We also got plenty of other items that are necessary for baby; we are stocked and so ready for our angel to arrive. I have to say that the gift that touched me the most brought tears to my eyes as soon as I saw it, in fact, I'm tearing up as I type. My mom gave me an old book that actually belonged to her mother as a child. My Grandma meant so much to me and I was so sad to lose her in January 2011, just two short months before Tolar and I got married. I am so thankful to my mom for bringing a part of my Grandma into my baby shower and into baby girl's life. During the gift portion of the shower, Tolar made his appearance. It was so awesome to hear a huge round of applause and to look up and see that my handsome husband had walked in the room. I love that everyone who loves me also loves my husband. He definitely deserves applause whenever he walks into a room.

As I was opening the gifts, it felt like the packages were multiplying, there were seriously so many goodies for baby girl. I am so incredibly thankful to EVERYONE for being so supportive and caring. I'm thankful to them all just for showing up, I was so happy to see them even without presents. Family and friends are the greatest treasures in life. I definitely believe it takes a village to raise a child and I am blessed to know that God has surrounded us with amazing people who will care for and love our lady bug. I don't type this to make anyone upset because they don't have a close family, I type it to say that God's greatest gifts come in the form of caring hearts. I pray that everyone reading this will feel His love because of the close relationships you have in life, whatever the relationship may be.

Thank you to my awesome sister and mom for throwing me a terrific baby shower. These two ladies are seriously the most important women in my life. They both are teaching me so much about what it means to be a mother, especially by modeling God's love for their children. And an extra special gift that came from the weekend, I got to spend Mother's Day with the two of them! I just can't say thank you enough, I'm so blessed to be surrounded by terrific friends and family! God is so good.