Hanky-Boy

My brother/best friend turned twelve years old on saturday.

He is so original, creative, super smart, amazing, fun, brave, good-hearted, Christ-loving... all around great kid.

He is five years younger than me, so I get the best of both worlds--I get to be the 'big' sister and we're also really close. He's my pal.

Meet Henry.

A few weeks ago, he and I went to the park to shoot some photos...we had so much fun. He was very obliging and even wore this snappy vintage outfit, because  he's just cool like that. ( =
Notice the hat? He effortlessly wears hats and has a growing collection. This boy is the man.

Henry boy, just know that I love you so much and you are the best brother we three girls could hope for...you are a gem!
I pray the Lord would continue to grow you into a young man after His Heart!

Love always,
Em

beautiful, amazing things-part one-the baby shower

So much has happened lately. I hardly know where or how to begin. I haven't been blogging for a number of reasons, mostly because we've been so busy, but when I'd have a free moment to actually blog about what life has been like, I would just get completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of writing about it all. Honestly, since the start of September, life has been a whirlwind. Beautiful, amazing things have happened...so I suppose I shall just start at the beginning. I'm going to split-up all the recent goings-on into a few parts, because there is just way too much to squeeze it all into one post!

I'll start with the baby shower.

My last post (ahem, written almost a month ago...eeep!)  was about the baby shower we were throwing for my auntie. My mama was the party planning mastermind, my grandma was the talented go-to, and my sister Hannah and I were the 'assistants'. Wow, I had so much fun. It was delightful to spend time with my dear mama, gramma, and sisters. We held the party at our coffee shop, and we had a wonderful time transforming it with the whimsical decorations. My mama is a creative genius. ( =

The theme was 'A Child's Garden of Verses' and I think it came across really beautifully. My mama worked so hard. It was truly a labor of love, and it showed. 

I would love to post pictures I'd taken, but alas, in the hectic last minute party prep crunch time ( whew!), my camera was left behind. Yes. Hard to believe, but sad and true. However, there is good news. Our lovely friend Cassie took some GORGEOUS photos, so I'll share them with you. 

Here are a few pictures.

The spread! We had too much fun making all of that food! 

My little brother Henry helping to serve tea. He was such a cheerful helper!

I love this boy!

This my friends, is my baby sister. She is a constant source of delight and I love her with all my heart.  She was loving the tea.

We made Lemon Verbena Lemonade, and Pink Sonoma iced tea. They were so good.  The pink sonoma is a new white tea our tea supplier came up with. It is delicious. ( For any of you new to the blog, my family owns a coffee/tea shop.)

Darling, yes? This was one of my favorite decorations. ( =

The table decorations. Definitely one of the most fun parts was making the centerpieces. photo credit: Cassie.

Sisters! My lovely sister Hannah and me. That's me on the left. Photo: Cassie

 Elizabeth + me. I am so in love with this little  baby.  Isn't she the most cutie beauty little girl? God has blessed me more than I can even express with this one. photo: Cassie.

I just love this photo. For the tea, we served Lemon Chiffon Rooibos. My favorite. I think.  ( =

                                                   My dear auntie and her first baby.

            It was a delightful day, spent praising God and enjoying sweet fellowship. 

Much love in Christ always,

Emily