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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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March 25, 2015

Spring Baby Shower

Spring and new life go hand in hand. With the buds on the trees and the flowers peeking up through the soil it seems like the whole world is starting to wake up.

So when HGTV Gardens asked me to create a Spring Baby Shower table setting the first thing that came into my mind was celebrating new life and the joy of ‘nesting’.

flower bird baby shower spring centerpiece

This mama bird made out of flowers is guarding her babies and anticipating their arrival. This centerpiece was so fun to make and really could be used for any spring gathering or even for your Easter celebrations.

I think her ice cream cone nose and blueberry eyes are my favorite!

flower bird spring baby shower centerpiece

Little nests adorn each place setting along with a packet of seeds which make the perfect gift for guests.

baby shower place setting

I’ll never forget how very surreal it felt to be attending my own baby shower after the adoption of our son. Up to that point, baby showers had become a very painful experience. I always tried so hard to be happy for the new mama and to rejoice with them in their joy, but honestly there were many times when I just sat in my car afterwards and wept over my own empty arms.

One Spring afternoon I was driving home through the pouring rain and dreading another upcoming baby shower. I honestly didn’t think I could endure one more game of ‘guess how big my belly is’ or being asked if I wanted to feel someone elses’ baby kicking knowing that I would never get to experience that.

As I drove past the fields lining the highway, I noticed the sun beginning to shine through the clouds.

And then it happened.

The absolutely most perfect rainbow I had ever (or have ever since) seen, formed right over me. It almost seemed like it was following me the whole way home.

It was a reminder.

A reminder of a promise. Not the promise of a baby. Or the promise of a pain-free life.

But the promise by God to never leave me or forsake me.

I didn’t care if all of the other drivers on the road could see it or not, that was MY rainbow.

It brought me a peace that truly did surpass understanding because it made absolutely no sense that I would feel peace in the midst of that deep pain. But I did.

3 months later I attended another baby shower. Only this time, it was mine. And as we played goofy games and opened gifts and cried big ol’ crocodile tears over the miracle of the adoption of the most precious boy in the whole wide world, I couldn’t help but think of that rainbow. That promise.

He didn’t leave me. He didn’t forsake me.

Instead, He gave me the greatest gift.

And then, 4 years later, He did it again when we adopted our beautiful daughter.

These days, baby showers are no longer painful. Sure, they can still feel a little bittersweet. There are things that I will never be able to relate to that other women have experienced.

But I know the truth. The baby shower isn’t really representative of motherhood. It’s just a party with super adorable teeny-tiny clothes, great food and lots of talking.

Motherhood is something else altogether.

It’s crawling across the floor on your hands and knees so you can peer up over the crib railing at your sleeping baby because you don’t want to wake them up but you do want to check (for the 10th time that night!) to see if they are still breathing.

It’s stopping every 5 minutes when you are on a walk to marvel at that neat rock…and THAT neat rock…and THAT neat rock…

It’s having tea parties where you wear funny hats and raise your teacup and say ‘cheers’ to the stuffed elephant sitting to your left.

It’s watching a 30 minute video on subtracting fractions so you can then turn around and try and explain it to your 5th grader.

Baby showers are a blip on the page of motherhood. They are a sweet and beautiful blip, but a blip nonetheless.

And that’s what they should be.

Because it’s those rainbows that really matter. The promises and the prayers and the hard stuff and the sweet stuff and everything in between.

So now, that’s what baby showers really represent to me.

They are simply a grand send off into the ‘real’ party.

Of course, we want that grand send off to be as special as possible though, right?

So to see more details from this Spring Baby Shower and for full instructions for how to make the flower bird centerpiece, head on over to HGTV Gardens!

Vanessa signature

8 Comments Filed Under: Adult Party Ideas, Easter, Good Ideas, HGTVGardens, Holiday Parties, Parties, Spring Tagged With: parties

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Comments

  1. Heidi @ Parties for Pennies says

    March 25, 2015 at 5:59 AM

    So cute Vanessa! <3 Heidi

    Reply
  2. Nancy says

    March 25, 2015 at 6:34 AM

    What a sweet blog. God is so good and meets ALL our needs no matter how big or small.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 26, 2015 at 8:51 PM

      Thank you Nancy!

      Reply
  3. Sally Croft says

    March 25, 2015 at 11:08 AM

    Beautiful post. Motherhood lasts a lifetime, whether a child is born in our hearts or under our hearts. It also, has great effect on our grandchildren and future generations. Love it when God reminds us of His faithfulness with a rainbow!

    Reply
  4. Julia G. says

    March 25, 2015 at 12:54 PM

    Thank you for reminding us of God’s promise to never leave us.

    Reply
  5. Sue Tait says

    March 26, 2015 at 8:25 AM

    What a creative piece you have made. I love the idea of the mama bird with the eggs in the nest… So original! Good job~

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 26, 2015 at 8:50 PM

      Thank you so much Sue!

      Reply
  6. Susan says

    March 27, 2015 at 9:34 AM

    What a beautiful post reminding us of God’s constant love. Neat idea for the spring/baby shower table setting and centrepiece.

    Reply

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“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”
General Douglas MacArthur

Grateful today and every day for those who were vigilant to the point of death in the preservation of our freedom and the principles upon which our country was founded. May we honor their sacrifice by being vigilant too. #memorialday
I’ve been on the lookout for small side tables t I’ve been on the lookout for small side tables to pit next to our outdoor couch and when I spotted these plant stands at @walmart from their @betterhomesandgardens line I knew they would be perfect…and they are!! 👏🏻 This is not a sponsored post. I’m just happily sharing this great find and why we should always be open to thinking outside of the box when it comes finding solutions for our decorating dilemmas.

Now we’re ready to head into this beautiful weekend! ☀️
What do you do when you want to use a bunch of boo What do you do when you want to use a bunch of books in your decorating but it can cost $50 or more for just ONE brand new book? Head to the secondhand bookstore of course! I’m so excited about this new look in my family room and this easy, inexpensive decorating tip I’m bringing to you for this #tiptuesday
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This morning I was running errands and the weight of hard things that are happening in the world, the culture, my own community and even in our circle of friends just felt so heavy.

But, as I was exiting a store, I passed a couple who were in their late 60’s/early 70’s and holding hands as they walked through the parking lot. I happened to glance over just as the husband lifted his wife’s hand up and planted a kiss right on it. It was a moment that reflected such love and tenderness and it was made sweeter by the fact that they weren’t spring chickens. I felt honored that I had been the one to observe and appreciate that moment.

What an incredible thing it is that as humans we are able to hold so many emotions in our souls all at once. To feel sorrow for the pain a friend is enduring, grieve the decline of a culture drifting further from the Lord, ponder how to navigate a challenging school situation, marvel at and enjoy the beauty of creation right outside my door and feel joy at getting to see a tangible example of lasting love while walking through a parking lot.

I truly believe that as we mature in our lives and in our faith, we learn to embrace the tension that comes with the collision of different emotions and recognize that they can all coexist at the same time without one taking something away from another. Simple joys make the hard stuff a bit easier and hard stuff makes us appreciate those simple joys even more.

What’s a simple joy that you are thankful for today?
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*Friday night I joined some wonderful ladies at church for a time of fellowship and yummy desserts. I made a strawberry lemon coffee cake and it was amazing if I do say so myself. ☺️ We are new-ish to this church and have just felt so warmly welcomed and folded in which has been very healing.

*Saturday was filled with getting our outdoor spaces spiffed up and my guys got our new table put together!

*Sitting outside for lunch with a yummy salad and iced tea felt like a little slice of heaven.

*Sunday we went to the iris gardens with my in-laws and then came home for naps and the most mouth watering ribs that my sweet husband had on the smoker all day.

*This glorious weekend ended with some ferocious rounds of UNO-corn (a hilarious version of UNO) and brownies my sweet daughter made for our dessert.

How was your weekend sweet friends? 🌸
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If you’d like the link to order them, just leave a comment with the word ‘bottles’ and I’ll send it your way. They’re even on sale right now! 🙌🏻
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Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka.

Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

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