In June, Isa and I flew together to Illinois for a visit with Phil’s family and a baby sprinkle! My sweet sister-in-love, Danielle had reached out a bit ago saying that she wanted to a host a little shower for us to celebrate the long awaited (and prayed for) coming of baby boy. She lives in Kansas and also pregnant and due before me, so it wouldn’t have worked for her to come the whole way to Pennsylvania.

Instead, she decided to host at Phil’s parents’ house which is quite a bit closer for her (and where we lived for two years). We hadn’t been able to visit since last summer for a wedding so both Isa and I were so excited to go spend time at Baba and PopPop’s house and see friends and family.  What a special weekend it was! Isa was thrilled to ride another airplane and she did fairly well on both flights considering that they were late evening flights, and we didn’t land til after 11 pm both times. We enjoyed special time with family, lots of outdoor time (Phil’s parents have a 9 acre property), celebrated father’s day with my Father-in-law, Oberweis ice cream (a must try if you visit the Midwest; mostly Illinois, but they also have a few locations in Missouri and Michigan), and of course our baby sprinkle!

Even though most of the weekend called for a lot of heat, the weather on Saturday morning was perfect for the garden themed party that  Danielle planned (with the help of my mother-in-love and other girls at the house). They planned a brunch complete with scones, fresh fruit, cheeses, quiche, sausage balls, and drinks. They decorated with fresh flowers and sage green and we ate out under the trees at pretty wooden tables with a picnic blanket for the kiddos.

I am so thankful to the sweet friends and family (some who drove a few hours) who came to celebrate and love on us. It had been a few years since I had seen some of our guests and it was wonderful to spend time with them. We enjoyed our delicious brunch, catching up, played a fun game together (matching children book quotes to the story-which if you know me, is right up my alley!), opened a few gifts, had a special time of prayer, and Danielle even had a station set up for people to plant their own flower as a favor to take home.

Danielle also shared a special letter with us that she had written to me, about our answered prayers and the faithfulness of God in the waiting. It had me in tears and really did sum up the celebration and joy that we are finding in this season of pregnancy. In 1 Samuel (1:27) Hannah shares, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.” The story of Hannah has been one that really stuck out to both Phil and I as we prayed to the Lord to expand our family. How meaningful it was to gather with some of the people who have prayed alongside of us and encouraged us the most during this journey!