Celebrating Buckaroos!

Last weekend we celebrated the upcoming arrival of our little cowboys & it was just plain wonderful! It was western themed in & out starting with the adorable invite.....

There were more details included like "at the Lent Corral" & "RSVP Ya'll"...just what this Texas girl needed! 

I was actually still a little in shock to look at a shower invitation that said "2 Lil Buckaroos!" Boy colors & two of everything? Is this really happening? 

The food & decor were all themed & of course, likely to be pinned on Pinterest : ) 

We had a nacho bar, a milk bar, the cutest cowboy cake I had ever seen & red bandannas with white flowers in mason jars all over.  

It was a little sad to have just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes & then be faced with so many delicious things to eat. Self control is difficult during pregnancy! A bit more on the cake... Amanda Sands, a friend from CCC is the most fabulous cake baker & decorator! She took on the challenge of a western themed cake.  She asked Jenny what kind of cake I liked & Jenny was right on when she said chocolate! Amanda was SO thoughtful & got on my "yummy in my tummy" board on Pinterest.  She said it was pretty darn obvious that my favorite combination was chocolate & peanut butter...that makes me laugh. It's my late night pinning sprees while I lay on the couch with my big belly ; ) Anyway, the red icing was a regular flavor but the brown icing on the boots was PEANUT BUTTER flavored! It was incredible! In fact, I have thought about it multiple times a day since the shower & am thinking I may pay whatever she asks to make another & deliver it to me at the hospital once I can eat a regular diet again. Not more boots, just a square COVERED in icing.  I was just blown away that she would search to find out what I love in order to surprise me. What a sweet woman....with a sweet talent!

My mom & dad's gift for the shower were an assortment of western books for Owen & Anson. They figured the boys could only tolerate "Pinkalicious" for so long & might need a more masculine book selection in their room. These books also served as decor spread out around the main areas. My mom & I looked through all of them when we got home that night & decided that "Cowboy Small" was by far our favorite. We are going to order a second copy to cut out & frame some of the pages for the boys room. 

We had one very special guest straight from West Texas! The glowing new Grandmother, Toni Lent who is pictured below with precious Audrey Elizabeth sporting her cowgirl shirt & pants with fringe. My parents knew the Lent's way back in the day when Chris & I were both under the age of 8. It was special to have her there to celebrate with.  Little Audrey got fussy early on, took a little snooze then snuggled with her Grandma in the bedroom throughout the gift opening. I have a feeling that Toni didn't mind missing out on the party at all ; ) 

Amanda (the hostess), Amanda (the cake connoisseur), Me, Owen & Anson, Jenny girl & Sadee
Notice the super cute onesies with Sheriff stars hanging in the background which had a matching
clothesline full of socks across the bathroom mirror..we got to take those home too!

Once everyone had a full tummy, we played a little game.  It was a good combo of challenge & humor...

It was a game where you match the pregnancy/birth related word with a candy bar such as
one of my personal favorites: Breastfeeding matched with "Milky Way" :  )

I was thankful that Audrey let me borrow the ottoman from her room.  I also had a lumbar pillow that                   supported me just right so I could relax through the evening. 

Everyone worked hard as they giggled through the assignment...

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Once all the giggles were out, we heard the correct answers.  One that had everyone laughing is how the candy "Whoppers" could be matched with multiple words such as Contractions, Baby Poop & the funniest one, Breastfeeding!  Amanda said "Since I used to be a kindergarten teacher, everyone is a winner!" Twins matched with "Twix" & the prize was the mini twix bars guests got to take home. Yummy!

The next portion was by far my favorite of the entire evening.  Amanda (the crafty hostess) made this to hang in the boys room.

If you look closely just above the word "blessings" you will notice 5 scripture references.  These precious women took time to read these scriptures aloud & pray over me, Owen & Anson.  Isaiah 43:1-7 was the last one read which made my eyes fill up with tears as it took me back to early on in this pregnancy when those words were what I was holding tight to as I fought to trust the Lord.  I am thankful for the prayers of MANY over the past 5-6 months & look forward to having these blessings displayed on their wall so I am reminded often of God's faithfulness. 

It touched my heart deeply as people saw fit to pray not only for me & the boys but also for Rob as he supports me & leads our family & for Charlotte & Eloise as they experience some major changes in our home becoming big sisters to twin brothers. Jenny closed us with the prayer below....

We all enjoyed some cake & then the gift opening began & boy, was that fun!

My friend & neighbor Alex made these cards that had the meaning of each of the boys names  inside.
She just got a Silhouette Cameo & may have surpassed me with one of her first projects ; ) 

Owen & Anson received MANY clothes which were greatly appreciated since all we have around here is either all pink or have pink on them somewhere ; ) They did receive a nice balance of matching outfits & coordinating outfits. I can hardly wait to see how they will look in the ones pictured above! I have had my eye on those sets for quite sometime! 

I got a gift that completely caught me off guard. I opened a card & saw my friend Jocelyn's (from Texas) handwriting & thought "what?"  Jenny reminded me how they were friends on Facebook & that Jocelyn had mailed a package to her. So very thoughtful! Then I opened up to find these little white onesies with snaps at the neck & a whole slew of matching bowties sewn by My sweet friend! Also in the box were two Texas Tech hats & a Curious George goes to the hospital book for the girls. All items will be greatly enjoyed around here! 

So, over all, lots of clothes, diapers, wipes, a set of these ridiculously cute Cowboy Trumpette socks , a new monitor since ours was knocked onto the tile floor & broke, a cover for a twin nursing pillow, newborn camo pjs & a set of camo swaddle blankets. Can you really be a cowboy without a set of Wranglers? I think not! They each got their own with a zip up jacket that has a horsey in it. We will have to praotect that one from Eloise ; ) Another unexpected gift combo from Jenny & Amanda (the hostess) was a few things from the Fresh Squeezed line of products by Infantino.  I came across it within the last month online & got SO excited. I immediately emailed those two ladies with a link. These products are for those who make their own pureed baby food & want to fill squeeze pouches to freeze versus buying them at the grocery store for $1.50 each. I can hardly wait to do some cookin' squeezin' & freezin'!  Lots of thank yous to write & I anticipate many months of caring for the boys while being reminded of all the love lavished on our little nest via this baby shower : )

The picture below has 6 people in it if you count those in utero.  My friend Freddi called me back in the fall & said "you are never going to believe this...I am pregnant again & it is TWINS!" We are less than 4 weeks apart, both have identical & the only difference is that hers are girls & mine are boys! Freddi & Rob have 3 other children & were very surprised to find out they were expecting & then totally shocked to see two little heartbeats! I couldn't think of a neater family to walk through this with as they are a bit ahead of us in marriage & parenting while both walking closely with the Lord. Oh, and of course, we have already talked about how to save money with a double arranged marriage in about 25 years ; ) 

There was another undeniably pregnant belly at the party too & it belonged to my friend Beth.  Rob & I had her daughter Hannah in our class last summer & fall. We LOVED her & enjoyed getting to know her mom & dad. They are welcoming a baby boy in February & couldn't be more thrilled!

I had to include a couple other pictures of guests...

This mother-daughter pair win the award for having the least amount of self control while shopping for baby clothes haha!  They alone outfitted the boys for the first 3 months of life ; )  Their gifts included "little brother" shirts & then a special bag for the girls that contains "big sister" shirts & a new necklace & bracelet for each one.  The girls will be waiting until it is time to wear the shirts & bling to open the bag because I can assure you that they will be stained & broken (or lost) by the time the boys are here! 

Alex wins the award for dressing "western" with her  gingham pearl snap top & navy bandanna! Alex lives in my neighborhood & has two kids that are each a couple months older than mine.  The kiddos enjoy playtime with each other & we always enjoy visiting! 

Another gift was one that won't be received until after the boys are here but may be more important than clothing & possibly even diapers ; ) Anyone who desired could fill out a "service with a smile" card that they filled in the blanks with their name, phone number & a way they would like to serve our family once the boys are here.  There was a wide array of offers such as bringing a meal, helping with cleaning the house, taking the girls to the park, coming over so a tired mama can nap & one friend even volunteered she & her husband to babysit all four little Valentines while we go out on a date! Disclaimer for those who offered to come over while I snooze.....at about 7:30 the other morning, my mom insisted that I go lay down in my bed instead of napping on the couch.  She woke me up out of a dead sleep at 11:30! Just a quick little 4 hour nap ; ) For those of you who want to help in that way, I vow to set my alarm or give you permission to send the girls in to wake me up in a reasonable amount of time ; ) 

And we will end with a picture of those in boots. My mom & I ordered matching ones that were a different color from the ones Amanda ordered. We were happy with our purchase & felt very cowgirlish. 

I am so thankful for these women who have loved us well & have prayed for our family over the course of this pregnancy & some since we moved to Florida. What a blessing it was to spend an evening with them It was extra special to have my mom there to celebrate with as well.  Thanks to Amanda & Jenny for planning such a boot scootin' good time. What a special night....just wondering when these buckaroos will be making their debut!