All Because Two People Fell in Love

 A dear lady planted the seed of an idea in my brain five years ago: "Have you thought about giving your parents a 25th anniversary party?"  It didn't work out at the time, but ever since I have known that in 2014, for Mama and Papa's 30th wedding anniversary, we were going to throw a party!  Not just any party, but a bash with all their friends, their favorite foods, and romantic decorations.  It would have to be an occasion worthy of their commitment and faithfulness to one another for 30 years! 

All six siblings pitched in to help.  Susanna made the red velvet cupcakes using the same recipe Mama and Papa's wedding cake was made with.  Mikaela took care of the balloons (we used over 100!), and together we did the shopping for the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo dinner we served.  Micah worked on games while Melanie blew up all those balloons and Jonah did the menus.  

The  red velvet cupcake bar turned out beautifully! 

 Susanna put together a memorabilia table with photo albums, pictures, and mementos.  

The first event of the evening was a hilarious game that Mikaela led, involving all the guests doing simultaneous charades.  Every person's action had a match in the crowd of charade actors, and each player was trying to find the person doing the same thing as them.  This resulted in a lot noise, priceless photos, and great memories!

 Next all the couples sat down for dinner, which we served them along with the helping hands of some wonderful friends!  

One of the best parts of the whole event was keeping everything under wraps from Mama and Papa.  We handed them an invitation after they were all sent out, but all that they knew was what was written on the invitation.  Unbeknownst to my parents, Mama's brother and sister-in-law drove several hours to surprise them on Saturday morning, and it was a thorough, wonderful surprise!  On top of that, some old friends drove across the state and arrived at our house on Saturday afternoon.  Although I was at the church decorating when they made their entrance, I heard later there were screams of delight when they surprised my parents!  So many other people made long trips as well, and there were couples from every stage of my parents' life there!

After dinner, I gave a tribute to Mama and Papa in the form of  a list: Top Ten Things Our Parents Have Taught Us About Marriage

Later in the evening, Susanna and Micah hosted a few rounds of the Newlywed Game, which had everyone in stitches!  They asked the wives questions like: "Which would your husband rather lose: his hair or his job?" The wives wrote down their answers, and then the husbands announced their choice.  Only then did the wives reveal their answers, and the couple gained points for matching answers.  After a few questions, the husbands and wives switched, with the husbands now writing answers and the wives announcing them.

The women respond to the question: "What character or sound is your husband known for imitating well?"

 

The husbands respond in classic fashion.

 The lovebirds themselves: still going strong!

 After everyone was partied out, there was still plenty of clean-up to do, so everyone pitched in to help. (Well, at least everyone who wasn't mourning the death of all the balloons!)

This is our fabulous cast and crew!  These people were crazy enough to agree to dish salad for 30 people, wash 30 china plates, take out garbage, and do whatever needed doing.  In fact, Sarah took all these beautiful photos for us!  Believe me, the basement kitchen of the church was never as busy or as laughter-filled as it was that night, even with a stack of dirty dishes in the sink!  

It was an evening to be remembered, and although pearls are still scattered in our car and our dishwasher is still full, I am so glad that we were able to honor our parents in this way.  Serving them dinner was but a tiny repayment of all they have done for each of us.  Surprising them with moments of joy that they were not expecting will give us harvests of memories and joy for years to come. 

With the party over, I woke up yesterday morning to an email from my uncle: "So, what are you going to do for their 50th?"  Thankfully, we have a few years!

Summer Tarantella

 You've heard of the Tarantella? The dance turns faster and more chaotic as the music progresses, ending in a final magnificent fury designed to cure anyone who has been bitten by the tarantula. Of course, this dance was always successful, since no tarantula has ever proven deadly to humans. This weekend was, I believe, the final conclusion of our frenzied summer, and I am now operating under the delusion that summer's tarantella will become autumn's jig, which will melt into a peaceful winter waltz. (Please allow me this moment of insanity!)

Friday we had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower at our house. We are so excited at the prospect of welcoming a new little one into our church at the end of September! That's Mallory, Lauren, Mikaela, and Elsie in the uppermost picture, enjoying the chat time we got at the shower.

We made this peanut butter chocolate tart, which was a hit! You can check out the recipe here.

It's always so hard to come up with fresh, new baby shower games--after all, some ladies have been going to baby showers for fifty years! Mama did a fantastic job, though, and you can see these ladies above busily engaged in matching classic toys with the year they were made. Get the printable here.

Ooohhh! Aaaahh! Is he really going to be that tiny?

Everyone is always so sweet to help out--we didn't run this show by ourselves! One friend brought this scrumptious pear pastry, and another family brought a fabulous coconut macadamia nut cheesecake (oh yes, it was as delicious as it sounds).

Mama crocheted this blanket for the new little one.

Saturday, with blue things still dangling from our walls, we crammed our van and trailer full of supplies, and headed out to help host one of Christian Heritage's Regional Homeschool Kickoff Picnics. Above, you can see everyone intently engaged in the group games we had prepared.  

We played Jig of Slurs or Jar of Slugs--both names are correct, and the usage tends to be split along the lines of gender. That's Mikaela, Lauren, Jonah, Susanna, and Micah playing--Melanie couldn't figure out a way to move our Yamaha upright to the park!

Precious boys.

We enjoyed a short but inspirational message encouraging everyone in their home discipleship.

Over 150 people turned out, and God gave us wonderful weather (in spite of the ominous, rumbling thunder). There were so many families I had never met, and I loved getting to fellowship with everyone. A highlight was when Heather and Hannah came up and introduced themselves as longtime blog readers--thanks girls!

Glowing expectant mother and her always-adorable daughter!

We got everything packed and cleaned up by 8:30, thanks to many helpful hands, and from there we headed to a nearby fort to experience a candlelight reenactment.

Our friends have participated for several years, but we have never made it down to see them in action. "Mr. Thomas Lloyd's" British accent was quite convincing, as was his tale of an American ship run aground, and more. We couldn't resist taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't come out of character, however, and teasing him just a bit.

And here you see an apprentice eagerly searching for a vein on Jonah's wrist so that he can bleed him of any bad humor that might be residing in his body.

The tour began in an air museum, so we took a group picture of us and the other family's kids who were not reenacting. Back Row: Sarah, Lauren, Mikaela, Melanie, Micah, Susanna. Front Row: Zachary, Jonah, Madeline, and Megan.

Now, after late nights, early mornings, and busy-ful days in between, we seem to have contracted some sort of flu. The memories we made, however, are beautiful, the friendships we began are sure to stay, and the old friends we caught up with are still warming our hearts. It was worth it.

 

All pictures taken by Mama and Melanie