Waiting on Woo
I've been eagerly awaiting the day I could share this special project with you guys, but how do I even begin? I'm going to be an aunt in about 5 days! It's a long story, so I'll let my crazy talented sis-in-law tell the story in her beautifully written words (a gift I did NOT get, hence the typically short-on-words blog posts). She recently started a blog, The Story of Willa James, to document their journey from the beginning. She tells the tales of how her name came about to the ins and outs of the nursery.
I promise you don't want to miss a beat. It's an incredible story, but I'm obviously a bit partial. I canNOT wait to get my hands on little Willa at the end of July when they return home. We've known God had a perfect plan for them all along, and to see it unfold over the past few years has truly been something special. This exact time last year (almost to the date), I hopped on a plane to China for a mission trip with my church because the possibility of Willa was getting more real.
We knew she was coming eventually, but we hadn't seen a picture. We didn't know when she would be here, but we knew she was out there, so we waited. Hence, the # was started #waitingonwoo (again, props to my SIL for the creative lingo). Given the opportunity, I knew I wanted to see Willa's world. I wanted to experience just a taste of what life in China was like. It really is unbelievable the way God works as they will be in China the same dates I was there, exactly a year apart. What will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up is that Willa's province is a stone's throwaway from where I was. So close, yet we had no idea.
Disclaimer, this is not my child. I'm simply an adoring aunt, but it's the beginning of such an exciting chapter in our lives. We're pretty excited if you can't tell. While I was exploring China last year, I couldn't help myself and started buying all the things. Literally every touristy thing you can thing of, I bought for little Willa. I mean, if she's coming from China she obviously needs a mini tea set, right? And a stereotypical Chinese dress. And little booties with dragons on them. I mean, she needs this stuff, right? Not really, but they have made cute additions to her nursery (again, more details on the
nursery here).
If you've made it this far, here's where we tie it all together with a pretty little bow...
I guess I left out the part where back in April, they got the call. THE call. THE pictures. Willa was coming this summer. We. Were. Ecstatic. And all cried. A lot.
When the discussions started for her "toddler shower", my wheels started turning for the invites. How in the world was I going to capture something so special in an illustration? I felt highly unqualified, but the nursery was coming along, so I turned
there for inspiration.
So, here it is! One of my favorite projects to date (for obvious reasons)...
But then, what about a shower gift? Oh my.
I decided to start Willa in my line of work at an early age, so I created a custom coloring book just for her. Because, let's face it, we'll do anything for Woo. Here's to hoping she's a child prodigy in the arts.
Since, I'm not as tech-savvy as I should be, you'll have to switch to instagram to see a video of the entire coloring book filled with snippets of her life that was and is to come.
The "Toddler Shower" was this past weekend and I can't even begin to tell you how perfect it was. With a handful of hosts, it was a team effort with no detail overlooked including a custom gift list (not my idea, but I was happy to create it). You'll also notice the table runners hand-made by my cousin with words in Willa's native tongue.
I also have to give major props to my mom for designing and my dad for making Willa a picnic table that's just her size! How great is the mini umbrella?
It's from World Market.
Join me in praying for my brother and sister-in-law as they board a plane tomorrow to get sweet little Willa. We can't wait to meet her!
