Beatitudes, Blessings & Broadcasts: Leah and Moshe's Baby Shower

On February 2nd, my daughter Kaila and I hosted a shower for my daughter Leah who is preparing to give birth to my first grandbaby.? We had such a delightful time preparing for this day and when it all came together - we just had so much fun!

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Here's what the invitations looked like:

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We thought and thought and thought about what the theme should be.? Finally, we settled on a basketball theme for a few reasons.? One, when I first met Moshe, it was very evident that he loved basketball.? Two, when Leah lived at home, she enjoyed playing basketball with her daddy, who also loves playing basketball.? And lastly - Leah's favorite colors are orange and purple and the basketball decorations I had were orange and purple - so it was just meant to be.

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Here is a picture of the party favors that we made for all of the guests.? I was thrilled to find the cute little basketball ribbon one day while I was out shopping.

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I had fun making this blanket for my new little grandbaby.? I have made a tie blanket for all of my children (except one- who will get one this year, Lord willing).? So, I decided to stay with tradition and make one for my first grandchild as well and I kept to the theme of the shower.

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And here is my gift for Leah, all ready to go.

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My daughter Kaila loves to dip things in chocolate.? My did she ever have so much fun!

First of all, she dipped pretzel rods in white chocolate and added blue sprinkles.

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Then she made chocolate cake balls and dipped those in chocolate also.

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Then she dipped strawberries - yummy!

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For those of you who know my daughter Kaila - she is extremely artistic.? So, imagine her surprise when I brought home some cuties and asked her to make them look like basketballs.? She was a trooper and she did.? They were so adorable and they were a nice touch for those that don't like chocolate dipped stuff.

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We served cheeseballs in cups simply because they looked like basketballs and when Leah lived at home, she loved those things.

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The cake balls all laid out on the plate.

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Blue wrapped chocolate kisses had to make an appearance just because they were cute!

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Did I happen to mention that Kaila also made some cake balls look like basketballs.? She said it was very hard though and she would never attempt that again, but they were cute.

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We had little quotes hanging up all over the house about babies.? Here's a small sampling of the many we had hanging up.

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One of the games we played was "The Candy Bar Game."? It was a huge hit.? Let me tell you, dad and I made a date night out of going to a bunch of stores looking for all of these candy bars.? Each candy bar stood for something to do with babies.? I would say something like, "Picking out names for baby," and people would shout out the answer.? "Whatchamacallit" would be the proper answer and the person who said it first would win the candy bar.? This game brought lots of laughs and I have to say the side of the room with all the moms did a better job than the unmarried gals.? Experience is everything.?

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My friend Kari gave me all these baby rubber duckies and so we made some blue punch and had them floating in the punch.? The funny part was that they didn't float right so they looked like they were drowning, but it added to the cuteness factor.

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For food, we had set up a nacho bar because isn't that what everyone gets when you go to a basketball game.? No, really we did it because we knew that Leah loved nachos and especially guacamole.? She used to tell us that when she got married, she was going to eat barbecued ribs and guacamole every day of her life.? We remember little things like that - so we wanted to give her food that she likes and she said she loved it and gave me a thumbs up, so I guess it was a winner.? We served chips, cheese dip, taco seasoned beef, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, jalepenos, black beans, guacamole (of course), sour cream, onions, etc.

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Our house was filled.? We had 39 people show up.? It was a lovely turnout and I was so thrilled with the many friends that came and showed their love and support and were the hands and feet of Jesus to my daughter.? The house became very loud, very quickly.

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There were so many gifts that we ran out of room on the table.? Thank you Jesus for the way you are already providing for this little one.

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Waiting for Leah and Moshe to arrive.

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The three GREAT Grandmothers, looking as beautiful as ever were so happy to be together.? What a blessing it was?to have them here with us.

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A good side view of mama with her babe inside.? I must say, she is very cute!? I never looked cute like that when I was pregnant.? I always looked more like a beached whale.? LOL!

Rachel, Emily, Ruth and Kendra all looking as gorgeous as ever.

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And check out this very beautiful group of ladies.? Pretty not only on the outside but just as beautiful on the inside as well.? Lauren, Kelsey, Kaila, Rebekah, Kate, Paige, Sarah and Samantha.?

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We had basketballs hanging above the present table as well.? Moshe is allergic to latex, so balloons were out of the question, so we went with these fun basketballs and purple stars.? They were cute.

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Leah was surprised that her friends that she knew from the orphanage came out for the shower.? It was one of the first things she said when she walked in the door, "Oh my, I can't believe the Langkamps are here!!!"? It was a pleasant surprise.? Here's Moshe, Leah, Linda, Sarah and Ruth all together.? A nice little reunion.

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My dearest and truest friend, Susan gave the devotional.? It was such a touching moment as tears were shed and heartfelt moments shared as one who had a life very similar to Leah.? It was such a beautiful time of sharing about God's redeeming grace, his love and plan of redemption and God's amazing provision.? Have I ever told my blog readers how much my friend Susan means to me?? She has proven herself to be the truest of friends to me.? I could have never walked through this adoption experience without her.? She has loved us and walked with us through the entire thing.? She believed in us and always encouraged us when the going got tough.? I have been so blessed to call her my friend and I am thankful to God for our friendship.? So, when it came time to find someone who would share a devotional, I had no question in my mind where I should turn.? She was the perfect one for the job.

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After Susan shared, we played another funny game.? This time, everyone had to take a paper plate and put it on their heads and draw a picture of what they thought Leah's baby would look like.? Then Leah and Moshe had to judge which one was the best one.? I heard a lot more laughing during this game.

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Marsha, Joy, Valerie, Kim, Kari, Grandma Cheryl, Grandma Rachel, & Grandma Marilynne all joining in the fun!

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Rebekah, in the back right corner with the fun look was the artistic winner that Leah and Moshe picked.? Great job Rebekah!

Samantha, Lauren and Paige admire their work.? From the look on Paige's face, you can tell what hers looked like.

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Heather enjoying this artistic art form.

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Sarah looking as beautiful as ever with that pretty smile of hers.

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Moshe and Leah - this is just the beginning of learning to juggle many plates.

I remember hearing Moshe say, "This one looks like a frog."? Lots of laughs!

Now for a sampling of some of the gifts that they were blessed with.

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My dear friend Marsha made this gorgeous blanket for Leah.? In the corner, she put a tag that says, "My Grandma Loves Me."? How sweet is that????

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I love baby clothes!? They are so cute!

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Leah got lots of diapers.? She'll be set for a while on those.

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And who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh?

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I just happen to love warm, fuzzy pajamas and this little outfit was so adorable.

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We interrupt the present pictures to show you a picture of the lovely fruit pizza that the McIntyre family brought.? Isn't it pretty??

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Now back to the presents.? This next picture is of a statue of a mama with her baby.? Grandma Marilynne gave it to Leah.? I happen to have one just like it that my friend Susan gave me and I love mine.? I know Leah loved getting one.

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Pretty bows on packages were meant to make mamas pretty.

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Awwww!? If this baby has all the cuteness factor of Leah and the handsome factor of Moshe, we are going to have the most adorable grandchild ever!!!!

Add some pastel extensions - how cute!!!

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Grandma Cheryl and Grandma Marilynne gave this cute bouncer.?

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Moshe loved this gift.? He hugged it and kissed it and you could tell he was so excited to get this present.

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You can tell who's looking forward to playing with his little boy.

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Kaila crocheted Leah this beautiful blanket that was made the perfect size to be a cover up while nursing.

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Here they are holding my gift to them.

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First of all, we gave Moshe a Bible and he was told that this is the number one parenting tool that Leah's daddy used in training his children and that it was our prayer that he would also make it his number one parenting tool.? We challenged him to read it everyday to himself and to his son.? He seemed happy to have a present that was just for him.? What he doesn't realize is that if he does read it every single day, he will be giving his son a bigger gift than our gift to him.? That is our prayer for him.

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When Leah first told me she was expecting, she said, "I'm going to need one of those Ergo carriers."? She used to love walking around with her little brother Nathan in the Ergo.? Kaila and I were thrilled to be able to bless her with her own Ergo, along with the infant insert and teething attachments.

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This gift has some sentimental value to it.? First of all, it is a GPS (which is my personal favorite invention of all time - because I get lost easily).? Second of all, it tells my grandbaby how to get to my house, of which I hope to get to see him as often as I can.? So needless to say, I fell in love with this little onesie when I found it.

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Leah was adopted into a family with some Irish roots.? So, when Rachel found this cute onesie that said "Kiss Me" on it, we knew it would be the perfect onesie for this baby to wear for St. Patricks day (assuming of course, that he comes out by then).?

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Leah holding the blanket I made for baby.

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Then I made a digital scrapbook that introduces the baby to his mother's side of the family.? Leah read it aloud to everyone.

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It looks like a regular classroom with Leah as the teacher - haha!? No seriously, everyone loved listening to her read.

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As most of you know, Leah lived with her Aunt Jean during a time in her life and she also lived with the Cannalte family after moving out of our house.? I included them in the book also so that baby would be able to see pictures of all the people that love him and care for him.

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Then we did this fun little picture.? I guess baby is officially bigger than a basketball right now.

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Here's my favorite picture of all.??I love these two very much.? It was such a joy to be a part of this special moment in their lives.

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I would also like to add in here, that just yesterday, I found out that Moshe has asked Leah to marry him and she said, "YES!"? I am thrilled and excited and so happy to see God's answer to my prayers.? I am thrilled to welcome Moshe into our family as a son.

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One of the neat things was that my friend Kathy recognized?Marilynne as one of her past teachers and introduced herself to her.? It was a fun little reunion for them both.

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Michael is very happy to announce and show the world that he holds on to his title of being the tallest in the family.? He was sure Moshe would be taller than him, but he was not.

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Nathan was so happy to have Leah home.? He talked about it all week long and when he got the chance, he wouldn't let her go.? After a while he ended up warming up to Moshe who he thought was his brother Robert (who's away at school).

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Nathan - just figuring out that this is not his brother Robert, but rather Moshe.

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Sarah and a new little friend.

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Leah and Linda!

Heather, Kate and Kaila - sweet friends.

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After everyone left, we took Leah and Moshe into Lake Geneva for the annual snow sculpting competition.? It was a fun little trip for the four of us to see the creativity of so many.

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These "Windy City" folk were freezing in Wisconsin!

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This was our favorite - the archangel Michael slaying the dragon?from the book of Revelations.

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All in all, it was a wonderful day with my daughter and her now fianc?.? I am excited to be a grandma and get to hold this little blessing from God.? I love you Leah, Moshe and baby!? Love, Grandma!

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Source: http://beatitudesblessingsbroadcasts.blogspot.com/2013/02/leah-and-moshes-baby-shower.html

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