Baby Ezra's Shower

I'm not sure my head and heart believe what's about to happen; my friend of almost ten years and I will no longer live in the same state. Dwayne, Kelsey, and little Ezra will move to Indiana on June 29th to begin planting a new church.

I won't get to hold baby Ezra when he's born, cook them a meal, bake them any more goodies, bring Jude and Laurie Kate over to meet him, go on any more power walks with her, babysit, or simply just see them soon. In fact, I'm not sure when we'll see each other again. I'm definitely going to miss being a part of your life but we rejoice as you follow God's lead.

I remember meeting Kelsey through our college ministry in Murfreesboro, TN. Kelsey also worked at the church as a childcare worker, which I hired. We always found ourselves chatting after childcare over Goldfish and animal crackers. We had so much in common; baking, singing, friends, school, creativity, but mostly, a desire to know more of Jesus. We traveled to China together, discovered Oreo truffles, ate a lot of Panera and Penn Station, stood beside each other on our wedding days, ended up in ministry at the same church in White House, TN, and then made the dramatic move to Florida together. Life is full of so many amazing twists and turns; Miami and Indiana of all places? Who knew!

I find comfort in knowing that as believers in Christ, we'll always be connected. Through Jesus, we have true fellowship. Through Jesus and the power He gives us to forgive one another, Kelsey and I are still friends. Through this unique friendship, God has shown me many places where I've missed the mark. Sometimes in friendships, we struggle to find commonality, we struggle to communicate, to admit our wrongs, to weep when others weep, to rejoice when others rejoice, to let go, to respect differences, to pray for one another instead of preach to one another, to forgive despite any circumstance, or to give grace to one another. I am thankful for a friendship that goes deeper than shopping, entertainment, or selfish needs for validation. Through Christ, our friendship has a foundation that is built on kingdom work. We stumble and then point each other to God's word, His glory, His kingdom, His purposes, and maybe some chocolate covered strawberries. :)

It's a privilege to pray for them as they start their blood family and spiritual family in Indiana. I pray for men and women of faith to encourage, guide, fellowship, and babysit (you gotta get oooout). I pray for accountability, home-cooked meals, hand-me-downs, new friends, wise doctors, family visits, communication, and financial support. I pray for the transforming power of Jesus Christ to be made known in their house and to branch out and shine from their intimate walk with God. I pray for God to revive the city of Indianapolis towards His redeeming power, forgiveness, and grace.

My dad always said (in his strong Tennessee accent), "Caroline, life changes a lot and you have to learn to change with it." Boy, is that true. I doooon't like this change! No one can anticipate what path their life will take, but we can be thankful along the way and try to embrace the refinement instead of resisting it. I never anticipated to move 900 miles from home. I also never anticipated to move 900 miles from home with someone who is practically family. You are a gift! Desire Church is blessed by your ministry. I'm thankful for the almost ten years of memories we shared and I can't wait for you to experience the joys of motherhood.

... you're gonna have a BABY!!!!!

When it came time to find the perfect gift for baby Ezra, I stumbled across this idea on Pinterest. Kelsey is a teacher whom I believe has a calling to work with children. So, making some alphabet blocks seemed fitting! I simply bought some wooden blocks and alphabet stickers off of Amazon, printed this free printable HERE, and Modge Podged them on. I hope that baby Ezra enjoys learning his alphabet and knows that we love him!

We threw an extra large party because this shower functioned as a celebration of Ezra and a farewell gathering. It was very bittersweet to bake for my friend one last time. Kelsey requested these tea cake cookies from my mom's bakery, chocolate covered strawberries, and a lemon poppyseed cake. Now I'm drooling!

Thanks to Trader Joe's alphabet cookies, I didn't have to go too crazy in the kitchen.

Another gift that Blake and I enjoyed making for baby Ezra was this book crate. You can find instructions here. It was SO simple and inexpensive to make. We purchased an unfinished crate from a craft store, Blake (wonderfully) stained it, Katie Suggs helped me paint the letters white, and Blake screwed the wheels on the bottom. Now, Ezra can scoot his little books around the house, haha!

Katie and Mistie worked so hard on all the hot food. Not pictured are some delicious ham rolls, spinach pastries, spinach dip, and all kinds of other dips. It was marvelous!

Thanks to Katie Suggs, we had these fun bookmarks to hand out. Also thanks to Pinterest for the free printable bookmarks and bookplates which are HERE and here

My sister Amy used this adorable banner at Jude's baby shower so, thanks to Pinterest, I found it again HERE (thanks to Katie Suggs for making it)

Our sweet friend Ashley couldn't come to the shower but she made this amazing wreath for baby Ezra. Here's the details on how to make one, HERE

Thanks to Amber and Yin for these adorable favors and the beautiful hydrangeas

the sweetest little boy you've ever met (my Jude)

Some delicious punch that Katie Elliott and Mistie made!

One of my favorite parts of the shower was when Katie handed out this prayer for baby Ezra. It was amazing! Each person was able to read a part of the prayer that discussed a physical part of Ezra's body and the spiritual importance of those parts. For example, we prayed for his physical and spiritual heart. There were so many tears!