First Birthday and Community

What really made William's party special was the community we felt from people that came from all different places to love on and celebrate with us.  My mother and stepfather came in on Thursday, Matthew's mom and dad came in the next day, and my dad and stepmother the next day and stayed through until Tuesday.  And our close friends here in Clarksville arrived at 3pm on party day.  There is so much joy to be found in the community the God gives if we open ourselves up to receive it.  We felt that sense community that weekend.

...In family members stringing up balloons over breakfast casserole, sharing morning coffee and scripture reading with a mom and daughter, big family dinners with wine and jazz music in the background (that just makes it fancy), scooting around town to explore Clarksville and Ft. Campbell, watching movies together with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies over ice cream, trips to Lowes for fix-it projects around the house...
 ...In having friends mixed with family over cake and ice cream, kids chasing bubbles on the deck, parents lounging in the living room chit-chatting with the windows open feeling the cool breeze after the rain, and feeding hungry kids again from our pantry when it was 7:00pm.

Moments like these make me stop and think...this is how we should live.  In community.  With open doors.  Working hard but being rewarded with a day filled with restful celebration and fellowship.  Sharing life-on-life.  Sharing pantries.  Sharing a cup of coffee or dessert along with your heart.  Giving and not expecting in return.  People coming together of all ages, different backgrounds and walks of life.  Having people piled in on top of each other, going into your pantry or covering up in a blanket.  We were never meant to walk this life alone, but sharpening and encouraging one another, even as messy and flawed as we are.  And being intentional when in these settings to move beyond the exterior and get at the heart.  It's hard sometimes because we'll feel like "Oh my house isn't clean" or "I don't have enough food" or wanting to be the 'perfect' host.  That's when, in the words of hubs, perfect becomes enemy of the good.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. ~Hebrews 10:23-25

So pray for us that we will open ourselves up to intentionally seeking out more opportunities for community and not let silly things hold us back.  And not for community's sake alone, but for Christ's sake that together we would see Him more clearly.  And please share your own experiences with this.  Can you tell a lot has been on my mind spiritually lately with this post and previous post on Eternity?

Now for some birthday weekend pics :)

Gettin lots of snuggles with Pop Pop before his big day

And had lots of fun being tossed into pillows with Ya Ya

Loved watching his new Baby Einstein videos with Grandaddy and Grandmama

And floor time and trips to see daddy at Ft. Campbell with Mimi and Pop Pop who stayed post-party for more time with us

My friend Trish and her son Lucas. Trish's husband works with Matthew as an army dentist.

My mom and stepfather enjoying relaxing at the party after all that prep work

Church friends Stephen, Megan and lil' adorable one Alice

Nicki and Cassie and cute lil' Isaiah.  Nicki and I go to church together and our hubs work together.  And Cassie was my first friend to make in Clarksville

Liz is my friend from church and her little cute guy is Nolan

Reyes family

Nicki's husband Brian aka best videographer and comedian

Cassie with Nadia and Isaiah

Ellie and Emma opening their goodies

Grandmama Carla and William before his clothes were destroyed by cake!

Singing Happy Birthday (tear)

His expression when he saw the candle

He liked the cake and really loved the ice cream. 

Opening presents.  Getting sleepy so cuddling with daddy.

 

William making sure Grandaddy saw the ceiling fan.  You don't wanna miss it.

Matthew's parents

Bubbles on the deck

Playtime

Guy time. My guess is they're either talking about dentistry or hogs.

My fam with dad and Mary Alice

My fam with mom and Paul

Rhonda and Emma.  Rhonda took amazing pictures for us.

Hanging out afterwards

Ellie likes Pop Pop Paul's handmade wagon

William's ABC Block Party Gear

Sometimes when I'm really excited about an upcoming event, the primary way I can express it is to make things...and sometimes those things turn into lots of things.

I'm sure this is an only-one-kid-right-now-luxury kinda deal.  I enjoyed seeing the house transformed for a day that's was much more than a birthday but celebrating that God would give us an entire year with this little life.  We are humbled and grateful.

Sidenote: I feel the need to mention that if you're looking at this and thinking oh man I didn't do that much for my son/daughter's bday, it probably means you have more sanity, less struggle with perfectionist tendencies, and still an enormous heart for your kids.  Different moms express joy over their children in different ways, and sometimes mine is through color and brown paper lunch sacks.  A long walk and some balloons would make any kid happy.  As would a trip to Burger King and a trip home wearing a paper crown hat.  So don't fall prey to the pinterest-envy..at least with this blogger like ever, ok? :)  Just love to share these things with you and just be me.

invites

 

Burlap bday wreath that can be personalized for any future kids' bdays, and maybe our own too :)

 

Found some 99 cent flashcards and used those for the banners

Lots and lot of balloons with some help from mom and Carla

Found a fun game idea from The Dollar Store Mom blog.  It was nice to have an indoor game when it was wet outside.  The older kids really enjoyed it.

The food spread.  Had a good tip to keep it easy peasy. Got a couple of yards of cute fabric from Hawthorne Threads and used that on top of the cheaper dollar store cloths :)

Black foamcore and metallic markers = faux chalkboard!  Thank you Etsy artists for the concept.

Goodie bags for the kiddos

Each kid got some alphabet magnets that either spelled out their name or something like 'boats' or 'puppy' along with matchbox cars for the boys and bubbles for the girls.  Oh and fruit snacks... of course.

Was planning on kids flying these but ended up as prizes for bean bag toss.

Thank you Target and Dollar Store!  The chair was Matthew's when he was little.

Juiceboxes, water and lemonade (country time, not the delicious homemade stuff... #aintnobodygottimefordat)

A bakery in town called George the Cake Guy made some delicious cupcakes and a smash cake for W

Month by month pics

fun bib.  I can't believe he's one.

Photo Shoots

The last photo shoot is in the bag.

Yeah right... I'm just gettin' started!

We have completed, however, our last photo shoot with William in his first year of life.  We will not be continuing the trend of the monthly growth photos throughout his second year, although I bet we will still take plenty of pictures of this cute lil' guy.

In the past year, some photo shoots have been better than others.  Babies are a great subject for photography, but they are... unpredictable?  They also reach their limits of what they can put up with.  Don't we all?

Here are some to make you laugh.

Notorious for his stink-eye and 'I will punch you in the face' look in his first month

This entire photo shoot did not go as planned!

 It took me an entire year of motherhood to discover that if you give your child a cookie the size of their head, however... you can squeeze a lot more patience from them!

Again, doesn't this apply to us all?

I love his silly side.  He is impersonating my laugh.

Happy first birthday to our dear William.  You are a gift from God above, and we praise Him for every moment spent with you.  You bring us joy beyond words and that pictures could never fully convey.  We are so grateful that you have started us on our journey in parenthood, and we pray your patience as we all figure it out together and lean on heaps of God's grace.

We love you to the moon and back and always.

Love, Mommy and Daddy