Saturday

Elspeth and I had a very special Satuday this past week. It started with a photography session with Julie Pinedo. We found Julie through Alexandra's House founder Patti. Julie's path to us started when she volunteered taking photos for children with cancer. Her work with these children lead her to Alexandra's House which is a peri-natal hospice house. Julie was so much fun to work with and bent over backwards to meet our crazy schedule. She really helped us to relax while we were getting our photos done and we actually had fun. We don't have the finished product yet, but we are hoping to get them this week. You can check out Julie's work at juliepinedo.com . I'm thrilled to have our first family photos to cherish forever.

Saturday afternoon my dear friend Celeste threw me a "shower of love". I felt extremely showered with love from family and my friends from church. It's terrible to admit, but I was really hesitant about having a baby shower because I felt self-concious about recieving gifts for myself. Ryan saved the day however when he suggested that we collect items to donate. He pitched the idea to Celeste and I, of course we loved it. After careful deliberation, we picked The Rose Brooks Center. The Rose Brooks Center is a shelter for battered women here in Kansas City. I was first introduced to this organization back in February at a women's conference held by our church. All of the ladies brought items to donate and then the founder spoke to us. She was inspiring and I knew that they would be the perfect choice. A battered women can be anyone, it's possible they could be pregnant or have small children. Now that I have a mother's perspective there have been so many times I have wished that I could give Elsepth anything she needs or do anything I could for her but in so many ways I cannot. These women feel the same way about their babies, they want to give their babies everything but can't because they are starting their lives over again. I wanted to make it a little easier for them and this project was a tiny dent in the list of needs for the shelter. We collected far more than I had expected. I am so grateful for the generosity of good friends.

The photo is of us preparing to unload the truck. From left to right Rose, Joan, Me, and Celeste's children Scout, Olivia and Asher. The best moment of the day was Joan's embrace. She transferred so much love into my heart through a simple hug, I couldn't help but to become a little bit emotional. These women's work is inspirational and amazing. I hope I can get involved in the shelter again soon.

Photos from the baby shower:

No baby shower is complete without tasty treats. Celeste, Shirley and Michelle did a great job keeping our sweet teeth satisfied. Thank you everyone who helped and participated.