We love to celebrate Melia. We find little ways to celebrate like drinks on the 1st of each month to celebrate our "got ya" date, and gifts for A's.... We realize celebrations haven't been the norm for her, and they speak to her. As July 1st approached and her time of being with us for 6 months approached she asked if we could have a party. We agreed - but the month was CRAZY and so we asked about maybe celebrating her 6th and 7th month with a big party on August 1st? She agreed.
And thus, a theme was formed - Melia's 6 7 party! LOL We filled a pinata with candy free prizes, we bought goody bags, balloons, bracelets, tattoos, plates etc, tablecloths, a pinata and a photo backdrop with the appropriate number of months we were celebrating - 6 and 7.
We invited family, past guardians, family friends and Melia's sisters and their foster families to join us. In the end we had a pretty good crowd, though we missed those who couldn't make it. We did have a blast. We were especially thankful to Erik and Ingrid for picking up Melia's sisters and bringing them out.
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In this picture, Jared, Arielle - their kids, Bre's kids
Nolan, Stacia, Mike & Me
Melia and her sisters |
Jared manned the pinata. He did a masterful job keeping it from being split open until everyone had a couple of swings at it! The company sent the cute blindfold and wand - we brought out a baseball bat for the second round.
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| Melia |
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| Annie |
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| Trudy |
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| Alena |
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| Bella |
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| Benny |
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| Gideon |
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| Noah removed the blindfold so he could see. |
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| Josiah |
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| Danny |
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| Akemi |
We couldn't have asked for a better day for a party! The outside plan was far better than the inside plan. It was 82 degrees at our home. Melia made a pineapple upside down cake, I made brownie bites, Akemi made jelly filled DOUGHNUTS (maybe Malasadas? Awfully close if not.) and Alena brought a Guava cake. Dessert was well covered. We also had fruit, veggies, meat and cheese, deviled eggs, pigs in a blanket, bagel bites and pizza rolls.
Melia spent hours figuring out how to put up the volleyball/badminton net (Michael helped with the finishing touches of the project).
Guess who blew up all those balloons?
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| Ellie and Papap |
The photo background and props were a hit!
Erik and Ingrid (far right below) were the girls' first guardians when their father was injured. Ingrid has been friends with their Auntie since high school and attends ACF, our church. They were the ones who contacted us back in November about providing a forever home for a teen girl. How thankful we are that they did!
::snort:: Ellie has the general idea! LOL
Our out of Valley guests had left, the local grandblessings were playing in the yard, I was picking up plates and trash, when we noticed two uninvited guests in the garden! I SWEAR we are known as the Buffet place to be!
Bre sent this photo of the kids having a glow stick party at home later in the evening.
It was a great day to be together, and it was fun to remember and celebrate all that has happened in the 7 months since Melia moved into our family.
