For Patty

What a joy it is to host a baby shower, now, on the other side of infertility. It has taken many years, but I can honestly say that now, I do not covet this miracle any longer. I pray for those of you who are still in the throngs of the sadness which can accompany barrenness. Whether you be barren of the womb, as I was for so many years. Barren of a spouse. Barren in your soul due to a great loss. Or barren of the spirit due to the absence of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am thinking of you today. Anytime I am celebrating, and especially when I post the pictures later, I think of all those who may be hurting today. I pray that the Lord hears your hurting heart today.

This is a baby shower post though. And while I am always selective in the pictures I put on my blog, feel free to skip this post if it is not a good time for you. 

Angelica and I threw a baby shower for my friend Patty. We had a dinner for men and women alike at the downtown Adana Hilton -- one of the only "America-like" places you can find off of the Base. What a beautiful evening it was. Enjoy the snaps:

My friend Heather (who was born in Nigeria) waiting for the guests to arrive. Heather is a nurse who works with JB and Yamil.

Angelica sporting some high heels. She makes it look so effortless -- but if you ask her, she'll tell you how effortless it is not!

Patty & Yamil plan to decorate the nursery in "Space" theme due to their mutual love of STAR WARS.

Thus the blanket Angelica and I had made for little Troy.

 Patty and Yamil were at Eglin with us and what a great time it was to spend a year with them here in Turkey! They will always be a special part of our family.

And so will they -- Dr. "Winda" and Mr. Shane.

The fact that they put candles on the cake was very Turkish. The fact that I had to do all of the communicating as well. (There were no other Turkish speakers in our group.) But the night itself was truly an escape from the life we all live. 

Patty with her co-shower-hosts.

 JB goofing around with our goddaughter Reese. The hotel provided champagne for our celebrations.

Patty is a hugger. We hug every time we see each other and every time we part. I will miss her hugs.

 Today, the truck came to begin packing up Angelica's things. She and Dan will be the first family to leave in our circle of friends. This picture so perfectly captures her beauty -- both inside and out.

With Linda, Angelica, and Reese.

Angelica made this adorable shower cake. You can barely see the "que' pasa" t-shirt in the front. Patty and Angelica share a mutual love of the Spanish language even though Patty is from Peurto Rico and Angelica from Spain.