Soiree

I love my ladies lifegroup. We spend every Wednesday morning swimming through endless chatter in order to dive deep into the life changing biblically based studies we choose each semester. The spiritual growth of the individuals is reflected in the group as a whole not only in our meetings each week, but everyday as we serve our families, our church, our community and ultimately our God. We are so very privileged to be able to do this "life" together and God designed it that way! He not only created us for fellowship, but provided it for us according to our individual needs. THAT astounds me! Well, enough preaching, I am really here to tell you about a beautiful, fun girl's night we had last week.

I teamed up with my friend Tammie to put on a Mid Summer's Night Soriee. I am not sure what defines a soriee, but it sure does sound girlie, so we ran with it. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. But, I will let you know, it was classy, a bit whimsical, elegant and altogether lovely. I enjoyed every moment of the planning, the crafting (thanks to a late night with Tammie making messy yarn balls), the shopping, the cooking and finally the evening itself. The sunsetting on our cream and gold themed party was breathtaking. While the glowing candles kept us calm, the stories and laughter recharged our hearts. I love these ladies!

Annalee is 7

7 years ago I entered the world of motherhood. Technically, one could say it started 10 months prior to that, but I actually gave birth to my first baby girl, May 27th, at 8pm. I remember the excitement of that day as I realized at 6:30 in the morning that I really was in labor. I waited to call Shane home from work until 7:30am. He was out helping a friend build a house. He came home with a bit of haste, running around packing the car. I had to remind him that there was no rush and I had no intention of going to hospital anytime soon. I wanted to wait as long as possible in order to avoid the temptaion of an epidural, since I was bound and determined to have her without drugs. After a movie, some walking with my friend Natalie, a pedicure by my mom and a little rest, I called the midwife and told her I was on my way to the hospital. The contractions were two minutes apart, and I had a thirty minute car ride ahead of me. We endured that nasty ride (not at all recommended!) and finally settled into a delivery room. Upon being "checked" they staff went into speed mode because I was 8 cm and she was very low. But, it was all in vain as she took another five hours, including an hour and a half of pushing before she made her appearance. It was a beautiful experience, and as my good friend Sara calls it, "La-La-Laoborland" is one of my favorite places to be. It really is amazing what our bodies can do, and how they cope. It was truly a "high" you can't replicate and a memory I will cherish forever.

Annalee was, and still is a perfect angel. He first-born compliant nature is such a blessing in our semi-large family. Her nurturing spirit is appreciated by all and her selfless, giving heart is seen throughout or days. I stand in awe at her love of Jesus and her passion to know Him more. She loves to lead worship at church, read her Bible at night (she has been reading Philippians since she received her first Bible it last year;) and ask all kinds of questions about faith. Annalee is a socialite like her parents, and can hold her own in a crowd of children or adults. She is quite the talented athlete, balancing the grace of a ballerina and the speed of a sprinter. She loves to work hard and get dirty. But, she can be found playing dress-up and sipping tea an hour later.

I smile just thinking about my sweet girl, and I pray for her heart often. Thank you God for allowing us to have the privilege of loving, teaching, training and raising this beautiful daughter you gave us.