Thank you so much for the kind comments this week.  I didn’t actually disappear into grief: this weekend is the girls joint birthday party, and our house has been in party prep mode these past few days.  It has been a wonderful distraction.  I was feeling pretty good until last night when Greg cleaned out and relabeled Jack’s medicine drawer.  It caught me by such surprise that I cried all over the dinner dishes.  Sydney seems to be appreciating the extra hugs and kisses.

As goes all parties, we have our glitches.  I have been too ashamed to pray for good weather.  There seem to be much more important things to pray about these days.  But, the entirety of the party is taking place outside, as it is a sprinkler park party.  In case of rain, “Rainforest Sprinkler Park” does not translate indoors easily.  I finally admitted to my dear friend Ana Paula that I felt the need to pray for sunshine.  Very seriously, with her best Brazilian accent and Catholic tone of voice, she told me to put an egg outside, where the Saints would see it.  I need to ask the Saints for good weather.  I don’t turn away the advice of a Brazilian Catholic fresh home from a month in Brazil.  I rushed home and put the egg out in the pouring rain.  Ana Paula is doing the same.  Now that’s a good friend!

Glitch #2: As I trimmed the LAST drawstring on the LAST of 18 favor bags, I ran my rotary cutter through my finger.  As promised by my quilting teacher, should I ever ram a rotary cutter into my hand, I was A) guaranteed a CHUNK will be taken out of my hand, and B) I’ll be spending the evening in the ER, and C) IF my tetanus shot were outdated (by say 15 years or so), I’d be getting one of those as well.  Now I know, quilting teachers never lie.  I had my first visit to our local ER at midnight last night, where I got a tetanus update and a pressure bandage that has thrilled Kelly so much, she’s spent the day thinking it was a toy and keeps trying to rip it off me.  I may be tired today, but it was worth it.  Wait until you see the fern-themed drawstring favor bags. AWESOME.

“It ain’t a party until something gets broken.”  -Rob Lowe, St. Elmo’s Fire

I had fully intended to post a photo essay of the Summer of Fun!!! today, but typing without a left index finger is…problematic.  Thank God the 100 ft of pennant banners are done.  I’m off to spray paint some buckets (this will all make sense later, I promise).  Double Thank God I’m right-handed!