On April 6, my family threw Roy, Keagan and I the most beautiful prayer shower, even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. It took us a while to decide if we still wanted to have a shower as we didn't want it to be difficult emotionally for us and we didn't want those we invited to feel uncomfortable as it wouldn't be a typical shower. I asked other mom's whose babies had anencephaly and got input from them. Ultimately, we obviously decided to have a shower and I must say we are so glad we did.
We knew very little of what was planned for the day which made it even more special. There were three "activities" for our guests to do and they were all perfect. Keagan's amazing aunt Jessica purchased fabric for our guests to create a prayer blanket for us. This poem was beside the fabric - Prayers were put in every knot, the angels blessed each one. So wrap the fleece around you and let God's presence come. Guardian angels snuggle close as they have a job to do. So if you're sad or lonely may this blanket comfort you. We are so thankful for this keepsake. Aunt Jess also got another perfect gift for us that Roy and I absolutely love. It was a tree on a canvas with the quote There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world. We have deemed this one of Keagan's life quotes as we truly believe even his tiny feet are leaving a huge mark on all of those who have "met" him and he will continue to make an impact even after a short earthly life. Each of the guests to the prayer shower were asked to leave their thumbprint on a branch of the tree - Please touch the ink and stamp your thumb to "sign" the tree of all who've come, to bless our babe with so much love and lift up prayers to God above. Again, we absolutely love how it turned out. It is beautiful both in the way it looks but also in the meaning behind it. Uncle Brian gave us an amazing beautiful (yes beautiful again; that's the best word to describe it) keepsake box, which we definitely needed with all of the keepsakes we have! This was used at the shower though to collect notes from our guests - Write a letter or note to Keagan with any thoughts you would care to share as to how his "little light has shined" and perhaps made an imprint on your life. The box from Uncle Brian now sits on the dresser in Keagan's nursery full of cards we have received and all of these special notes to our little guy. Special really doesn't do the notes justice though; Roy and I appreciate them so much.
Gramma and Papaw also gave us some very special gifts on the day of our shower. The first was a little lamb blanket that we fell in love with at our last ultrasound appointment at the hospital. I'm pretty sure we followed them out that day and even drove behind them for a little bit, so those sneaky grandparents must have gone back to get the special blanket. I can't wait to have Keagan cuddle with this. The next was a small cow stuffed animal. Gramma has become obsessed with these little animals with big eys :) When we first opened it we thought it was just a cute animal, but of course there was more significance. It took us a while to figure out that the cow's birthday is June 5, the same day as my due date. Last was a beautiful blue newborn outfit; I can't say little outfit because I thought it was huge compared to the preemie clothes we have! If Keagan keeps growing at this rate though he will probably fill it out. We loved this outfit and plan to have some of Keagan's newborn pictures taken in it. Daddy found a little extra meaning in this outift that had airplanes on the front, thinking about how Keagan would be flying up to heaven to be with his other grandma.
There were so many other details that didn't go unnoticed at the party - a canvas painted to match Keagan's room, a butterfly sign from K's cousin Carson, a "Keagan's First" display, butterflies hung on the walls, candles in butterfly vases, music from one of Keagan's CD's playing in the background and even the food and cakes were perfect. My family put so much time, energy and thought into this shower and Roy and I can't thank them enough. The day truly was perfect, and I haven't even talked about the guests yet! We had so many friends and family come to support and love on us, and that was felt beyond the extreme. I personally didn't even feel sad throughout the entire course of the shower because people were just there celebrating Keagan's life and enjoying the company of one another. We loved spending time with so many of our close family and friends and we can't thank those of you who came enough. We also know there were several people who were unable to come that wanted to be there; please know that you being involved in Keagan's life daily and your constant love, words and prayers are even more important to us than your presence at our shower. We received some additional gifts from guests at the shower which I will post on later this week.
I know that my words are not doing the shower justice. While I am usually pretty good at finding a way to express our appreciation and the beauty of things, I just can't find the words to do that this time so instead I have include all of the pictures from our shower. I hope you enjoy this video - we certainly do. It allows us to relive this day to which no other day can compare. Again, thank you all for making it perfect and an even bigger thank you to Gramma, Papaw, Aunt Jess and Uncle Brian for EVERYTHING every day but specifically on our shower day. We love you!!!
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