Once Upon A Time at Operation Shower

Operation Shower was back, here in Los Angeles at the Riviera Country Club. Sponsored by Carousel Designs with support from Hunter Mahan and Birdies for the Brave this was one to remember! I typically love to show an event off with photos first but instead, I'd love you to watch this video from Luv In Flying Colors, first. I invite you in to experience the emotion, the thankfulness and the opportunity to meet a few of the people behind this organization such as Amy. She is graceful, compassionate and a great role model to all the volunteers that participate in each and every shower - in every city, in every state. I have met so many wonderful people working with them and love connecting our new friends and vendors with such a great reason to throw a party. Did you know they've even been graced with the First Lady as a host, Michelle Obama? This shower was inspired by the graphic design talents of Abigail from Paper & Cake. So much time, so much commitment went into the overall look and feel. Not one detail was omitted, from the backs of the chairs to the dessert labels. Abigail, what a beautiful job. 

About Operation Shower, as stated on their site:

Operation Shower was founded in 2007 when LeAnn Morrissey had the idea to send a “baby shower in a box” to four expectant military moms whose partners were deployed at the time.

The support she received during the process of putting the boxes together, the gratitude of the mothers and the morale boost for the fathers were all LeAnn needed to realize that this was something worth doing again and again. Soon after, Operation Shower hosted its first unit-wide baby shower at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

By 2010, Operation Shower had partnered with the PGA TOUR and Birdies for the Brave® for the first time ever and a year later had the honor of working with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to host a baby shower with Joining Forces. Another key partnership then began in 2012 with a grant from the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund.

Over the years, Operation Shower has hosted showers for thousands of military families, thanks to the overwhelming support of individuals and groups across the country. In 2015, Operation Shower even took its mission to Italy for the first ever international baby shower! The showers not only provide amazing must-haves for the moms and their babies, but also give these women and their families a chance to come together and celebrate.

Are you ready for that video? Grab a tissue:

[vimeo 156834386 w=1920 h=1080]

And now, some images from volunteer photographer EDLT Photo:

One of my other favorite famed baby photographers, Maxine Evans was present. She captured the day through her eyes (and lens) on her blog, here. Be sure to click through and look at all those beautiful, happy babies she photographs! For a few additional images, see the gallery below (credit: maxineevansphotography.com)

And finally, I have to say how wonderful it was to hear Leeann Tweeden was the generous host. It's been years since I've seen her and upon catching up I was able to see how many wonderful things she's been doing. Leeann you have so much heart. You are a class act and such an inspiration and your interaction with all these lovely guests of honor encouraged me to keep on doing good and well, paying it forward. Cheers to you!