Riley's 2nd Birthday!

Last night, I celebrated my friend Ellen's sweet son Riley's 2nd birthday in Heaven at Buffalo Brothers! Her friends and family were so warm and welcoming and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. You are loved and missed, baby boy! I'm thankful I could be there for such a special occasion. His actual birthday is on Thanksgiving this year. Riley is Ellen's only child and as I've written about many times before, there is a unique grief that comes when you lose your only child. Please pray for her... that the Lord would comfort her heart and would give her the blessing of having another child to call her own and bring home one day soon.

And it got me thinking... I am single and therefore, my schedule is a lot more flexible to do things like this. If I were married, perhaps I'd need to be home with my husband, making dinner, caring for kiddos, and doing the wife/mom thing. That is of course what I long for and desire, but I want to fully embrace my singleness for the gift that it is. I have the freedom to go out on a Monday night to honor the baby of a friend of mine. I have the freedom to stay for hours talking with her about our little ones and just being there for her. That, my friends, is a gift that I don't want to take for granted. ❤️🎉🎈

Ellen and me at the celebration

The adorable cake for Riley! It was delicious too :)

Gifts for Riley's mommy

There was a little 5-year-old girl at the celebration who was playing and said the salt and pepper on the table were getting married. When asked what the salt's name was, she pointed at me. Then, she said the pepper is named Brandon. I said maybe it's a sign I need to be looking out for a Brandon. haha 😂