Showered

I'm going to put this out there: I love surprises. Love them. So much that I will never find out a baby's gender, because it's the greatest surprise there is.

But also, I am REALLY bad at surprises. So bad. As a kid, I was always the one who handed someone a wrapped present, then blurted out what it was. As an adult, I frequently want to give Shane his birthday or Christmas gifts well before the date because I just cannot wait. This past
June, when we threw Crooked Eyebrow a surprise shower, I nearly gave it all away with only a few hours to go.

So to say that I've spent the past week and a half holding my breath while planning Beth's surprise shower would be an understatement. Every time I sent an email about it, I checked and rechecked to make sure I didn't accidentally type in her address. Then after I hit sent, I went to my sent mail folder and checked AGAIN, each time fearing that her email address had somehow magically appeared. It didn't.

Somehow the stars aligned, and it went off without a hitch. We had friends and family traveling from afar, people Beth never dreamed would show up at what was to be a simple coffee date.

We anxiously refreshed emails and paced slightly, waiting for Beth to show up--in a complicated scheme that involved her picking up Steph, meaning that Steph showed up to decorate, then drove home to wait for Beth to pick her up. So anxious that I didn't have Tommy in the sling right, but I was afraid to adjust him and miss the email from Steph letting us know that they were on their way. How did people plan surprise parties before technology?

And then, WE DID IT.

(Plus Crooked Eyebrow, who was behind the camera!)
It was more than I ever could have imagined. There was laughter, lots of belly touching, some tears, disgusting amounts of food, and love. So much love.

All I could think was how lucky I am to know such people who would all come together out of pure, beautiful selflessness. Who would spend hours in a car and tell little white lies to keep the surprise unspoiled. Who would think of no other way to spend a Saturday afternoon than to celebrate a baby boy who will be joining us so soon, before we know it. At the end of the day, everyone showered Beth with presents (oh, seriously, the cute owl themed baby things? TOO MUCH CUTE), but what was so overwhelming to me--and still is--was the sheer amount of love in one room. It was indescribable and so, so beautiful.

Gorgeous photos courtesy of Crooked Eyebrow, more can be found here.