Tea for Two

*Warning*

Long post with way to many pictures:)

We had a tea party themed birthday party for Ramsey. I had the idea a while back when we went to the farm and Michael found an old tea set for the girls to play with. I thought it was cute since they were turning two and there was two of them :) After Evie passed away, the thought of their birthday made me ache but then i was looking at the pictures of them at the farm and Jonathan found several pictures of just Evie sitting enjoying her "tea party". I thought it would be a great way to honor her and have her pictures at the party, so we decided to still do it.

The Inivitation

Front Door

The Front Entry

Teapot cookie favors

Food Table

All of the food was Alice in Wonderland themed.

My favorite were the Chesire Cat tails, you can see in the pic above.

We covered the pretzels in caramel then we dipped them in pink chocolate and then put purple srinkles on top like stripes! Yummy!

Small table centerpieces

Drink Table

I put Butterflies in different places for Evie

There was one on top of the cake also.

The weather was yucky and rainy during the party so we couldn't do a lot of things that were planned but we were able to put the bouncer in the garage and that is always a favorite!

We were blessed to have several friends come in town from all over to support us this wkd and celebrate Evie and Ramsey.

"Peppy" was a huge help while she was here, we love having her in town!!

She's my moms sister if you cant't tell :)

Birthday hugs from her "boyfriend"...haha

Happy Birthday to you!

We love you Ramsey!

We asked everyone to bring a flower for Evie and then we were going to take them to her garden after the party.

Happy 2nd Birthday Evie!!

We love you so much and miss you more and more everyday.

The Invitations, eat me and drink me stickers, the banner, food labels and cupcake toppers which i stuck in the teacups were all from The TomKat Studio

The cake was made by Ambers friend Shannon, i was so excited about it! I sent her the email with the stuff from TomKat and she matched everything perfectly!

Several people asked about the whicker teapot and I found that at Pottery Barn Outlet

The teacups and picture frames were from Hobbly Lobby

The Teapot cookies were from Whimsey Cookie Co.

All Dogs go to Heaven..

...at least i think they do:)

We had to put sweet Maddie to sleep this morning. She was getting worse and worse by the day. For those that don't know she went into kidney failure the week after Evie passed away. We did fluid therapy and she perked back up some but this past week she stopped eating and got sick throughout the day and night. She was probably 40 pounds max. We struggled with the decision to put her to sleep, but to see her suffering was worse. Jonathan and i buried her this morning with a lot of tears involved but we know it was for the best.

Some of my favorite pictures

She kept me company while i was on bedrest and always wanted to lay on my belly :)

Missing my girls today

tip me over...

...and pour me out!

A little glimpse into Ramsey's birthday party!

Donuts, Balloons and Elmo...

...What else would you do for a 2nd birthday?!

Ramsey asked for donuts for breakfast so we took her to Oh Susanna's!

Then we celebrated Evie at her garden.

We had a picnic, a prayer, sang her Happy Birthday and released balloons.

It was a very special time with our close friends and family.

Sweet friends

We love all of you and are so blessed to have friends and family to support us, love Evie and want to honor her and keep her memory alive. Having all of these people with us on their birthday and during Ramseys party is what helped get us through the day.

Jonathan got Ramsey tickets to Sesame Street Live for her birthday and she LOVED it!

It was very entertaining and Ramsey danced and sang and even participated when they would tell her what to do. It made me real excited about starting to do these things with her, but then it also made me sad wishing Evie was there also.
Ramsey is doing so much more these days, talking and repeating everything and developing the sweetest, silliest personality. I cant help but think what would Evie be doing now. I think this is what i am struggling with the most, the what might have beens. I missed her so much this weekend. Wishing i could sing Happy Birthday to her when i woke her up like i did last year, seeing her face while watching Elmo and watching her open her birthday presents. I have to remind myself what i read Thursday night..learn to rest is Gods presence. This is easier said than done for sure. My sweet friend Erica talked about being delightful and i think that is a great way to be and a great way to think about this weekend.

Prized Possesion

I just read my Jesus Calling book and how wonderful it was to hear this as the Lord prepares my heart for tomorrow.

This is a time in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions,of control. In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in My Presence, where you are complete. Take time to bask in the Light of My Love. As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession into My care.

One of my most prized possessions is spending her birthday with the person who could love and care for her more than i ever could, how humbling.

Life Choices

We had our MOPS meeting today and Sue from Life Choices came to speak to us about who they are and what they do. Their purpose is to help women who are facing an unplanned pregnancy, the decisions they face in making a plan for their life and the life of their unborn child and they have medical care. I did not know everything about them until our group said they would be starting a Celebration of Life Fund in honor of Evie and will be donating money to them each year on Evie's birthday. They presented the money to her today and it was a very sweet moment.

They have several ways you can support them and volunteer, so check them out!

They will be having their fundraising banquet at Germantown Baptist on Friday night, click here to learn more about it and buy tickets if you are interested.

Hearing their story really touched me. I am a firm believer that a baby is a baby at conception and that God has a purpose for each and every child. For someone like me who has lost babies and has friends who have as well and are trying to adopt, A place like this is very special.

"Before i formed you in the womb i knew you, before you were born i set you apart". Jeremiah 1 :5

Sold!

We are so thankful God answered our prayers! We close next Wednesday and moved out this past weekend. I had a harder time accepting the offer than i thought i would. We have been praying for our house to sell and then we got an offer and i was just sad. For me, not only was it our first home but that house is Evie. I think about bringing her home, seeing her learn to crawl, her first words, walking, laughing, playing in the backyard and then spending our last moments with her there. That house has a whole new meaning to me now and moving out was hard.

I know God has a plan for us, i know our next house will be filled with joy and Evie will live forever in my heart and in my memories.

I pray that the sweet couple who bought our house will enjoy and love it as much as we did.

I pray they enjoy their neighbors as much as we did. I loved the view from our front porch, sitting on the steps talking to friends. I will certainly miss all these sweet people..

My favorite room in our house and the thing i will miss the most..

I remember being on bed rest and my mom and Amber would come paint and make the girls bedding. I remember sitting in the girls rocker wondering what they would look like, what their personalities would be like. I remember walking each girl around their room when we brought them home for the first time. I remember reading books to them, playing with them, getting them ready for bed, changing their diapers, everything, i will remember it all and i will never forget kissing Evie goodnight for the last time.

The girls birthday is Friday and i have been getting Ramseys party together. I pray that we will make it so special for her. I know the day will be bittersweet but i don't ever want Ramsey to think of her birthday as sad. I want to celebrate her and her life and celebrate Evie's as well.

I know God will walk us through the day and i know we will get through it with our family and friends by our side.

"I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song". Isaiah 12:2

Piggies..

...our new favorite way to wear our hair :)

I have to give Jonathan credit for this. I have been wanting to put her hair in pig tails or a pony tail for a while now but she was never a fan. The other night, she let Jonathan put them up and now every morning she asks for "piggies". I think she looks adorable :)

Country Strong

A weekend away was calling our name. We went with Hayley and Keith to Mississippi to her parents house last weekend. We fished, rode four wheelers, shopped and listened to the rain on the tin roof! Charlie and Ramsey are officially girlfriend/boyfriend, they sealed the deal with a hug and a kiss on the lips when we left Sunday!

Her face cracks me up

Thank you Reeds for a wonderful weekend!

On another note for those of you wondering why I disappeared from facebook. I have been struggling with some personal issues, jealousies and things like that. Every time i would get on I would be encouraged by peoples messages and comments then the next minute crying because I was jealous of everyone else who still has their beautiful children and lives are "perfect" because everyones life is perfect on facebook right...i am guilty as charged...I started getting angry with God asking why me and also upset towards friends and that is just silly, it's not their fault. So i took Maddie for a walk and after arguing with God about Evie the entire way, he clearly told me get off facebook. I think he actually yelled it at me. So when i got home i deleted my account.
I think this is the first time i could clearly hear Gods voice. Like a true statement. Obviously he speaks to me in different ways but i truly could tell he was the one telling me what to do. I know that might sound strange, but people have said God told me this and God told me that and i have always wondered what that was like. I don't think i have ever truly heard him say something so clear to me. I am sure it is my fault, because i am probably not listening when i should be :)

So, if you want to get a hold of me you can email me or message me here!

Also, one of my favorite stores Bella Vita opened a baby store...heaven, right?! Well for me it is. It's called Itty Bitty Bella. I went there today to check it out and the sweet girls there gave me a necklace. Its called a God Tag. Evie is in the center, then there is a His Reward tag with tiny foot prints,which is Psalm 127:3 "Children are a gift from him". The other tag is Always With Me with a wing to represent the loved one that has received the full inheritance of His Kingdom, while they sit at the right hand of his throne. John 5:24 "He has crossed over from death to life".