countdown to the baby shower

I'm so excited--only four more sleeps until my big baby shower!!

Since everyone obviously has their invitations now, here it is! I cropped out all the personal info. We loved the umbrella theme for an April shower!! And I adore the brown and blue combo.



Then I found umbrella address labels on Etsy and had her customize them to match! This is a sample, from
Little Art Studio



My mom has gifts from her plus my Florida aunt and grandmother, so she asked me to make tags! These go with the umbrella and blue and brown theme--so cute!! A similar tag will go on the favors, too. Yes, I'm making stuff for my own shower--we gotta keep it "in house," when possible!!



As a side note, I love to talk--so when there's any party in my honor, I give a little speech. I put myself to sleep at night occasionally, practicing what I'll say at the shower. The main idea is that we have been so blessed with this baby, after suffering a miscarriage with my last pregnancy. In fact, when I first learned I was pregnant, I calculated my due date as May 13, the very day in '08 that I miscarried. I felt like that was God's way of saying, "I'm making it up to you." Not that He owed me that, or I deserve it--it's just another reminder of how God redeems!

SO! I wanted a sort of "theme verse" for the shower, to write on the back of the goody bag tags--and I think I found it last night, reading my devotion. I read the verse and explained it to my hubby and he said, "Yeah, that's perfect. The Holy Spirit just confirmed that for you," and I thought he was kidding (he likes to challenge me sometimes, to explain myself)--but he wasn't! He totally "got it" and said he thinks the ladies will "get it," too...and even though it may be a little unconventional for a shower verse, here it is...

Jeremiah 31:13 "For I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow." KJV

The shower is, above all, a time to rejoice! Not just in me, or in Ethan--but in God's goodness and grace!!

So things are really coming together!

Of course I'll be sharing more details after the big event--I can hardly wait!