More Blessings, And A New Monkey In The Barrel

We had a very fun, very full weekend! You all know that Sunday was Fathers' Day (more on that in a post to come later this week... probably tomorrow), but Saturday was my sister's baby shower! I am so thrilled for Amy and Scott, and I can't wait to meet NJ (his womb-name, as they still have not picked his real name. I've been given permission by Scott, however, to continue to call him NJ after he's born, no matter what they decide to name him.) Upon finding out that Amy was pregnant this past Christmas Eve, I, as the sister of the mom-to-be and the future auntie of NJ, offered to throw the baby shower!

Oh, and have I ever mentioned before how blessed I am? I have? Good. I'm so blessed. If you've ever been to Casa de Chaos then you know how small it is. It's not really a good place for a massive baby shower (Amy decided that she wanted it to be more of a party than a shower, and so we invited boys too, which more than doubled the number of invitees and attendees), but with all the unexpected events that have occured over the last several weeks, Casa de Chaos has become considerably smaller. But that's not what I meant by being blessed. I am blessed because I have such a wonderful family, that is composed of the mosts wonderful, supportive, and giving people I know.

First, my Uncle Greg and Aunt Sandra were so generous to allow me to use their house for the shower, which not only allowed more space for the party (can you imagine how cramped it would have been had it been held at Casa de Chaos???), but also allowed me to spend my time preparing for the shower without worrying about cleaning and reorganizing and rushing through last minute fix-it projects that are constantly needed here. Second, my mom, grammy, aunts, and even a cousin were willing to help me out even more by bringing a sidedish or two to the party, which greatly relieved my day-of prep work, our pocketbook (which has been unexpectedly shrinking right along with Casa de Chaos' unexpected shrinkage), and my stress level! Third, my mom watched Jack all Saturday morning, despite having him all Thursday afternoon, so that Dave and I could prepare for the party without neglecting our son! Okay okay, I know this wasn't really a sacrifice on her part as she assures us that she'd drop anything to watch Jack on any given day, no matter what she had planned (and I really don't think she's exaggerating at all!), but it was a HUGE blessing to us!

The blessing of having these particular weights lifted from my hostess duties was further amplified when Dave was unexpectedly called away for a time (that we didn't have to spare!) on the DAY OF the party, in the middle of our major preparation- cooking the main course (ribs, yum! Dave makes them AMAZINGLY!). Our fourth blessing? My dad came over to take the first carload of stuff over to Greg and Sandra's house, since I was unable to leave the house during Dave's absence (I couldn't leave the oven/stove unattended!).

It's been 6 crazy weeks since Casa de Chaos got turned upside-down, and while most times we feel like we just can't get ahead of this situation (every time we feel like we might be getting a handle on it, something else happens to that takes us back a step), we are still just taking it one day at a time, and concentrating on our many, many blessings. As hard as things get, it could always be worse, right? And no, I'm not asking how they could be worse, because I don't want to find out!

Anyway, back to the shower... Amy and Scott decided that the theme of their nursery would be Mod Pod Pop Monkeys! Freaking. Adorable! So, with that as my inspiration, here is the invitation I came up with (in your brain, punch out holes where the two little brown dots are, and tie a brown ribbon through it to add some nice texture!):

The Cake I made!


The Party Favors

As I was performing my Hostess duties, I wasn't able to take many nice pictures, but here are a few snapshots from the party

Scott and Amy have discovered an easy way to eat cake when you don't have a TV tray handy


Little Avah


My mom and Savannah, one of my goddaughters


Aunt Sandra and her granddaughter, Melanie

Congratulations, Scott and Amy! I know you're going to love being parents and I can't wait to meet NJ!