SURPRISE!!

I walked into youth sunday school yesterday morning anticipating a parent-youth breakfast and heard the word "SURPRISE!!"  I was very shocked to realize the breakfast I had been excited to take part in was actually a baby shower for Baby Houston (Zack was at work so he missed all the fun!:( ).  We had such a great time in sunday school eating a delicious breakfast (I ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut, cinnamon roll, quiche, bagel with cream cheese and other yummy casseroles!)  Then, I opened up all the amazing gifts from the youth and their parents.  It is such a blessing to celebrate in this time with them.  We have been helping out with the youth for six years now so we have seen a lot of them grow up right in front of us.  I pray that our child will be as sweet and compassionate as the young adults in this picture.  We have an amazing group of kids to work with and their parents are so supportive!  We love our church family!

 Notice that even the guys participated in the opening of presents.  They were good to "oooh" and "awww" after each gift.

Olivia, one of our seniors, helped me keep track of all the presents so I would remember who gave Baby Houston each of the special gifts.

Check out this lion cake/tower!  It has washcloths, hooded towels, a blanket, and wipes were underneath it all!

Also, I am including a few pictures from Liz's baby shower for Baby Baden.  We had a great time in Morganton on Saturday celebrating the upcoming arrival of a precious baby boy!

                                             

My mom, sister, and mother in law helped throw the shower for Liz.  Barbara brought delicious cupcakes and mom helped with the sandwiches and the punch.  Lindsey was a huge help with getting things organized and figuring out where everything should go in the parlor.  Also, in this picture are Baby Baden's grandma and two great grandmothers.

Yesterday, I started to pack a bag for the hospital.  I know I still have plenty of time before Baby Houston's arrival but it was something on the "to-do" list that I wanted to check off.  When I started packing, I realized I added more items to the list than actual items in the bag.  This is a work in progress.  Zack is going to put the car seat in the car by the end of the week (just in case).  Since last week, I have been able to purchase the baby monitor and breast pump thanks to gift cards from the showers we have had.  Things are really coming together, and we are eagerly anticipating Thunderbolt's arrival.