Harper's First Flowers

Every girl likes to get flowers on occasion.  While I tend to think of most flowers as not very practical, sometimes a girl needs something a little impractical and pretty to let her know that someone cares.  Harper is a very lucky lady to already have two very special men in her life that have showered her with love and flowers.

I guess the first flowers technically were for me, but they were indirectly for Harper.  We call Harper our little "bonus" baby.  Think about it- if you go to the store to buy one item that you love dearly and you find out that they are "buy one, get one", how excited are you about that one unexpected item?  Or if you get a bonus at work- you get something that was above and beyond what you were expecting, right?  Well, Harper is our above and beyond baby- above what we could ever have planned and beyond our wildest expectations.  On one very unexpected day, I saw a very unexpected blue plus sign that meant I was now expecting something that was previously very unexpected.  It was a Sunday morning and I waited until after church to let Matthew in on my little surprise.  I sat all morning through church and through Sunday school with a tiny little secret that no one else in the world knew besides me and God and a tiny little being that was so fearfully and wonderfully forming.  I let Matthew in on our little secret- of course he was thrilled and pleasantly surprised.  He showed me his stamp of approval later that day he went out to run some errands and came back home with four roses; one for each member of our little family. 

Fast forward 9 months to the Saturday before my due date.  Gavin decided he needed a gift for baby Sister to have when she got home from the hospital.  Mommy and Gavin made a trip to Lowe's where Gavin picked out the most beautiful flower that he could find to give Miss Harper.   

It was actually a very fun trip- never have I ever felt so compelled to buy garden statues.  I mean, normally they don't really speak to me, but seeing Gavin try to have a conversation garden grizzly bear wearing overalls is pretty much the most convincing sales pitch I've ever seen.

But we made it past the tempting bear garden ornaments and purchased our purple hydrangea.  We got home and Gavin took special care to plant and prepare the hydrangea so that it would be a welcoming and warm greeting for little sis when she came home for the first time.

Gavin has taken special care of his flower and made sure to water it (when reminded by Mom) and has even fed it cheerios to make sure that it remains a healthy gift.  

 

 Sure enough, when Harper came home from the hospital, it was one of the first sights that welcomed her. 

I'm so excited for my little girl to have two men in her life that love her so much.  I am sure in the future she will have scads of fine young gentlemen bring her flowers, but long before those days I hope that a strong foundation of love and self worth- far beyond the superficial things in life- is formed and I know that her daddy and her brother will play a strong role in developing that.  

Harper Addison- you are loved.