Avery's Birthday: Behind the Scenes

This week had so many mishaps that it is laughable.

First, Kate ended up sick and threw up three times: once I even got to wear it for a few hours. (Praise the Lord, she was healthy by Thursday morning - just in time for partying.)

Next, I got sick (different kind of sickness - praise God!) and pulled a muscle in my neck (I'm fine... it just added to the tired feeling).

Then, Ella always makes the cakes for Avery's party and somehow needed to re-bake the cake 5 times (she's a great sport and laughed her way through 3 boxes of cake mix).

And, to finish off the week, Jordan and I spent 2 hours filling water balloons on Friday... only to have them pop within the first 10 minutes of the party. (We knew it was going to happen that way. It was worth it.)

And, during the party, Katie had a near-drowning experience. No kidding. I was standing over her, chatting with someone, and then stepped over about 4 feet to take a picture. In literally seconds, she somehow managed to get into the pool and onto the bottom of the pool, several steps away from the edge. My mom was watching Avery like a hawk (the kid thinks she's invincible!), and praise the Lord noticed a towel floating in the pool. She said it took a second for it to trigger that that wasn't a towel, but rather our Katie Beth. I've never seen my mom move so fast, nor have I seen her so scared. In full clothing, my mom was in the pool and back out again with a crying but very much alive Katie Beth. Once we calmed down a bit, we realized it couldn't have been more than 90 seconds that one of us had our eyes off of Kate. But it doesn't take much more than that. God protected my baby girl, and He used my mom as our guardian angel. Needless to say, the very first thing Jordan and I did when we got home that night was fall before the Lord, thanking Him for giving us another day with our little girls. The pool is such a fun place, but it was a powerful reminder that even with 4 pairs of eyes on 2 little girls, we can never be too careful.

In the end, the party was a blast for Avery girl and her guests, and she was never fazed by the week's comedy of errors, or the one truly scary moment. To a 4-year-old, the week was a blast. Oh, the joy of ignorant bliss! :)

Angela