A SURPRISING Saturday Evening...

Well, 'tis the season for surprises I am beginning to think! Yesterday Adam & I bundled up and headed across the Bay Bridge to spend an evening hanging out with our delightful Bible Study group. We had an elaborate email chain going for a few weeks anticipating the event and even planned to have a bonfire & roast marshmallows. You can imagine my disappointment when it rained all day and I could see our bonfire dreams getting drowned out! Little did I know I had nothing to be disappointed about!! We showed up at 6:30, were welcomed at the door by Genevieve, walked to the kitchen and SURPRISE! Surrounded by balloons, hand decorated baby themed cookies, presents and a gourmet dinner our friends stood ready to celebrate our babe! I was quite surprised and didn't catch on too quickly, but instead said, "Surprise for what?!" (yeah, I'm a sharp one) It still is overwhelming to be on the receiving end of such generosity and love, I seem to have a hard time believing our friends and family go to such lengths to celebrate with us!! But, they do and we are extremely blessed and are realizing it more and more each day.

We can't say enough good things about the friends that make up this little group. Though we are the "youngins" in the mix, they have always made us feel valued & appreciated as peers. Adam & I both know that the Lord brought us into that specific group at that specific time in our lives for a reason. In little and big ways, they have really encouraged us through their friendships, prayers, authenticity and willingness to share their lives as well as listen to our story and love us. I have the greatest respect for each of them and though our visits are brief, I've been shown that the Lord can do amazing things in a short amount of time! We may never be able to give back what we've received from these friends, but I guess that's not the point, is it? Friendships are priceless, and good friends who are there for you when you really need them are forever a part of your heart & journey. So thank you Duke, Gina, Jon, Gen, Phil, Anne & Stacy, you have blessed us!

(Meet the carrot cake topper... she's "Super Mom-to-Be!")


(The ladies got together last weekend and baked & decorated these fun cookies... I won't lie, I had one for breakfast this morning and they are as yummy as they are cute!)


(Phil, entertaining Adam the photographer. It's a hard job, but someone's got to do it!)

(We're still working out lighting issues with our new camera, so forgive the pic quality... however, these next two pics show the group, so I had to include them! L to R -- Jon, Phil, Gen, Gina, Victoria & Duke)

(L to R - Gina, Victoria, Duke, Paul, Stacy & Anne)

(Have we mentioned that our Bible Study group has a great sense of humor?? Indeed, an evening with them inevitably includes laughter. Duke did not disappoint when he showed up wearing this T-Shirt hoping that my belly has yet to surpass his! I have to say, I think I'm givin' him a run for his money!)

(And here is the "loot" we were so generously given. It's starting to feel quite baby friendly in our house with all this official gear around! And may I say, Adam is already breaking into her things -- his new favorite is the Soothing Sounds (aka, white noise) CD which we now fall asleep to. As for me, I just like folding and refolding her clothes, familiarizing myself with her books (though I'm sure I'll get a lot of practice reading them in the coming years!) and just sitting in her room thinking that in 8 short weeks - or sooner! - we'll have a little girl here to make all this stuff useful!)

PS. It must be said that to top the night off, we did end up having our bonfire & marshmallows thanks to an indoor fireplace and some coat hangers... That party gets an A+ in our book! :-)