During one of our adoption training seminars we learned that there is loss on all sides of the adoption spectrum. Often we think of the loss for the birth mom & the losses for the child, but rarely had I thought about the loss for the adoptive parent until here am I, now one of those ones experiencing losses in a very real way. I desperately wish I could be celebrating our son-to-be's first birthday with him. To miss out on that leaves a void... when I have these recognition times, or awareness times, of a loss of not having birthed this child-to-be, of not having delivered him, of not being the one who got up in the night with him to nurse him back to sleep, of not having bonded with him from infancy.... those are the times that I just fervently pray. "God, keep him safe... God, keep him healthy... God, be with his dear mother....God, give him love in his little life - your LOVE & others love... God, call Him by name... God, help him to grow in grace & wisdom even as an infant & toddler..." You see, the thing is, I don't know what else to do... I am utterly dependent on Him to orchestrate the events of our son's life in such a way that he is ultimately brought into our forever family. It's a very humbling place to be in....
And now, in an abrupt switch of subjects...
So yesterday was my darling little girl's first birthday. Her full name means "God's Instruction, God's Grace"... It was particularly chosen for her out of the months of difficulty I had in my pregnancy at the end & the couple months after that were so hard... I learned that I can't have one without the other & she is a daily reminder of that in my life.
Saturday was her birthday party & we had so, so much fun!! I used the party as a way to not only celebrate her first year of life, but also as a way to say "Thank You" for those who selflessly gave of their time & resources to help us during those hard months. This meant the room was FILLED to the brim with those we dearly love. Little One was so happy to see all of those people in one room - numerous times I saw her just looking at all their faces & beaming! She devoured her cake - It was a small 2-tier smash cake, & I literally had to pry it away from her after she had consumed half in record time! (Perfect photo/video op right there!)
The theme of the party was "Cute as a Button". Ryan & I always say she is our "best work". (Don't tell my other kiddos though!) :o) She has just been the most beautiful little thing since her true birth-day! So this theme fit her to a "T" (literally) & it was so much fun to get ready for!! I want to share pics with you so you can see all the fun things I was able to create to help reinforce her theme!
First, the main food table - My mother-in-law helped me a lot with getting everything ready! We had hot ham & cheddar/swiss rolls, carrots & celery with the famous "Nana's Dip", grapes & strawberries (2 of Little Ones favorite fruit!), Holland's Carmelcorn in the theme colors (Pink & Teal - Strawberry & Raspberry-flavored), Candy Buttons, & Cupcakes....
The cupcakes were a first-time for me in a way... I am a buttercream girl at heart - always have been, always will be! I love to decorate my cakes by piping. I like the 3D effect & it tastes better of course!! But I wanted to go with finger-foods for this party so I decided on cupcakes & thought it would be cute to actually "make" buttons out of fondant. At first, this took longer than I expected & was a bit of a trial & error, but by the end I had it down & could get it done pretty fast....
A couple other pics of decor items that I made &/or borrowed (thanks Meghan for letting me use your big burlap board & lace curtains for a tablecloth - they worked perfectly!!)
It truly was a great "Last" way to end our "First" Birthdays!!
Oh, I love it, Janelle! You could be party planner : ) Happy Birthday, baby girl!! What is it about the 3rd baby?!?! I feel the same way about Sarah.
ReplyDelete