The Big Birthday Bash

I know you have been waiting very patiently (some of you more patiently than others!) Here is the story and the pictures from Justin's birthday bash last weekend.

We worked hard all week getting this party planned, and it was SO worth it! Everyone had so much fun. We had a yummy pizza dinner and some wonderful friends created some beautiful veggie trays to balance the grease of the pizza. And of course the cake, but that comes later. Justin was in a great mood and he was passed around so willingly and with no complaints. We set up a room with toys and had some teens come and maintain order while the kids played. They had a blast, and the adults could talk without needing to chase the children around and keep them off the stage. Very important! We learned from the prayer dinner last year! A friend brought a ball pit, a basketball hoop, and a tunnel and Travis loved them all.

I already mentioned about the slide show that Randy created. It was beautiful and it ran while we ate. I think everyone enjoyed it. I, of course, could watch it every day! We still haven't figured out how to load it onto blogger since it is such a large file, but I will keep pestering Randy. After he finishes the taxes...

After dinner we sang a couple of songs and then we had to thank everyone for all they have done for us. That was one of the important things we really wanted to express. Everyone has been amazing helping us and supporting us and it has been so appreciated! And we know that God deserves all the glory for bringing us this far. He has used his body (the church) to do powerful work. Randy gave a beautiful little speech and we prayed again for continued strength and comfort in the MANY years to come. A first birthday is the end of the beginning, and then there is all the stuff in the middle before you get to the end. I want a long middle, unless Jesus decides to return, then I am all for short!

Several people had the sweetest thoughts to share with us. One woman mentioned how grateful she was that we didn't shut everyone out when we learned about Justin. Just letting them know what is happening and sharing our struggles and emotions helped them understand and deal with the situation too. And I thought WE were the ones being helped and supported! I can't imagine it any other way! Someone else mentioned how great it was to watch the love we have for Justin show on our faces. That no matter what, we just love him for being our son. I guess that makes me think about how much God loves us even when we are bad and sinful. We are his children and he loves us no matter what. That's pretty powerful stuff. It's difficult to conceive of loving Justin any more than I do, and yet God loves him even more! And he loves me and Travis and each of us even more than anyone else on earth. That gives me such joy and peace. Being parents really helps clarify how God can love us so much all the time, even (maybe especially!) when we don't deserve it.

We had our family come from Dallas with cousin Lauren, who just turned one in February. We are so glad they could come, even though it was a short trip.

And this is one of my good new friends whose son is almost 26 with DS. She has been such a good friend with the best understanding ear. My church family is so good at listening, and I wouldn't trade that for the world, but Martha is an understanding church friend. She has walked and IS walking in my shoes. Very rare and precious.

And then there was CAKE! The very best part of the party, if you ask the children. The cake didn't even make it to a picture without a finger swipe of the frosting.

I didn't realize until later that I hadn't even given Justin a piece of his own cake, but we had a small family party this week, and he ate an entire piece! A fairly good sized piece! And that was after his dinner. He liked it. But that's another story!

After the crowd had died down, we went outside and took a family picture. This is the best one. I call it "Look at me!! I'm ONE!"

And I almost forgot: After this picture we were going back inside and the person taking the picture has a daughter the same age as Travis and they were holding hands and running back inside and we were saying, "how cute!" when Travis ran head first into the glass table in the foyer. Seriously, like legs up in the air, flat on his back hard. We needed ice and lots of loving to cure that one. He has a lump on his head, and somehow, a bruise on the side of his nose. My advice: when something looks cute, watch out for what you cannot see! I thought that wasn't true until he gets older, but apparently it's just different dangers now!

I have to say, it was the best birthday party I could have imagined and hoped for. We debated having something so large, but we value our family and our entire church is our family in so many ways. They have prayed for us, sent us cards, e-mails, brought food, visited us in the hospital, cleaned up our yard, cared for our children, and simply loved us. Some ladies mentioned that Justin and Travis are as much their grandchildren as their own blood relatives. That means so much to us. We love our children, but for others to love them is special.