Surprise Bridal Shower!

Under the pretense of a simple luncheon, Mrs. Kamps invited Mom, Lyd, and me over on Saturday and ended up throwing a surprise bridal shower for me! I was very surprised and had a lot of fun. The picture above is a little bottle of bubbles which the ladies blew at me as I entered the living room. Too cute!

The decorations were SO adorable! Whatever Mrs. Kamps does she does to perfection, and she has 3 very capable little ladies to help her (who, I might add, are getting big much too fast!). =)

Yup...I was still trying to let it register in my mind. =D

Lydia modeled her bridesmaid dress for all the guests, and Annika tried on Jewel's flower girl outfit (Jewel is Russell's cousin who is going to be in our wedding). They looked so pretty and sweet together!!! Unfortunately I can't post those pictures because a *certain young man* reads this blog. (chuckle) The wedding is going to be lovely!

Mrs. Kamps had us play two games. For the first game we had to write as many words as we could using only the letters from Russell's and my name. That was kinda funny because there are so many doubles in both our names, which didn't give us a huge variety. (chuckle) Miss Elles, my former piano teacher, won with 11 words. On the next game we had to list all the characteristics of love (charity) from 1 Corinthians 13, and guess what? I won! Mrs. Kamps teased that it's good that I did since I'm going to have to practice them. True! I felt convicted just writing them. And here they are:

Charity...

suffereth long

and is kind

Charity envieth not

vaunteth not itself

is not puffed up

doth not behave itself unseemly

seeketh not her own

is not easily provoked

thinketh no evil

rejoiceth not in iniquity

but rejoiceth in the truth

beareth all things

believeth all things

hopeth all things

endureth all things

Charity never faileth

Unfortunately I missed just a few--probably the ones I need to practice the most. Thankfully I memorized those verses several years ago, though they weren't fresh in my memory. That was fun! My prize for remembering the most characteristics was two little cactus candles. They are so cute!

Mrs. Kamps gave a short devotional. She read about Paul and Silas being thrown into prison and how they rejoiced and praised God instead of getting angry and bitter for being treated so badly when they were innocent. Mrs. Kamps talked about how it is in our human nature to pass the blame, using the example of Adam and Eve blaming each other and then the serpent for eating the forbidden fruit. Then Mrs. Kamps gave us a lesson from a teabag. She had her tea pot set out with 3 teacups labeled "bitterness," "brokenness," and "blessing." She compared a teabag to our hearts and said that the hot water or trying circumstances we are in bring out the flavor of our "teabag." We can blame our circumstances for who we are and how we are, but in the end, if our "tea" tastes bad, it is not the water's fault, but the fault of the teabag, because the water only brought out the flavor of what was already contained in the teabag. Then she held up the teacups and told us we can choose which cup of tea we are going to be. We can become bitter or broken from the trials we are in, or we can be a blessing and use them for God's glory, as Paul and Silas did! The lesson really hit home with me! I love Mrs. Kamps so much and am so thankful she shared those thoughts with us.

Then the ladies began giving me gifts...

Mom and Dad gave me this set of Dutch stuff. I love it!

I'm going to miss Dutch fries and snack bar food! Aren't these containers cute? Mom actually gave all this stuff to me during the bridal shower that was held for Russell and me while we were in the States, so this stuff is in FL already.

Mom still wasn't finished though!!! For my Dutch bridal shower Mom gave me these gifts--2 Dutch towels, a potholder, cutting board, heart-shaped note holder, and a little pot of artificial flowers. When I was a little girl and we lived in the States we used to have these flowers (can't remember the name now) growing in our front yard. Lydia and I would pick them and make "soup" out of them.

Alisah gave me a sturdy red pitcher, which she said I just had to have when she first saw it in the store. She's so cute! It's dishwasher, microwave, oven, and freezer safe! Very handy! Then Grace presented me with nice stainless steel measuring spoons, 2 red teapot kitchen towels, and 2 matching Delft-blauw tealight holders. Mrs. Kamps has the same ones, which makes them even more special to me. Annika gave me a set of cream bath towels and a little net of shells to match my shell bathroom. Mrs. Kamps gave me a special gift, and all the church ladies gave me cards and money. They were very generous! Then Mrs. Kamps served lunch. Everything was delicious, and I especially love her cookies. I've been trying to get that recipe for some time now, and I finally stole it from her! =D Now Russell can find out how yummy they are!

By the end of the day I felt thoroughly spoiled. Mrs. Kamps was an excellent hostess, as always! God is so good to have given me such loving and caring friends and so many nice gifts for Russell's and my home. I am so blessed!

I just want to close with the words written in the card Miss Elles gave us...

When the Lord joins man and woman

the two as one shall be

yet in the home they share with Him--

in faith, the two are three.

He multiplies their blessings,

their sadness He divides

and for their different dreams and needs,

He equally provides.

He adds to their fulfillment

and takes away their care,

And one in Him, their total life

abounds with love to spare!

As you join your lives in marriage,

the Lord will be with you

with ever present guidance

for everything you do.

Enjoy His loving Spirit--

and the life you share will be

an everlasting partnership

of not just two, but three.