Family Fun Night

We had a nice time at home tonight--no scurrying around getting ready for another OR visit, no trips to Walmart for more size 5 diapers--just the 7 of us together. We've been promising Lydia a "Potty Party" for quite some time now. Lydia's friend, Taylor, had a Potty Party when she completed her potty training. Lydia thought a party would be a great idea for her, too. Her main concern was that we have cupcakes with pink frosting. Well tonight, after all the delays due to Joel, we succeeded in having the potty party--complete with pink cupcakes. We played the geography game Take Off after dinner. The kids insisted that I play, too. Well, how could I resist? Games and geography--my favorites--too bad there was no math included. Actually, it wasn't that bad. Joel being immobile actually has an advantage--we were able to play the game on the living room carpet. While the rest of us were playing the game, Joel made up his own game. He alternated sticking his thumb in Lydia and Paul's belly buttons. This got all three of them to laughing and then the rest of us joined them. It was nice to laugh again. Things have been a bit stressful around here and we all needed a little bit of fun. Joel began screaming when the cupcakes were passed around. He didn't want to be left out. I cut the frosting off of his cupcake because I didn't want to deal with the mess. I had Paul deliver it to Joel. Paul said, "Momma, Joel is sad because he doesn't have any frosting." I turned around and saw the most disappointed look on Joel's face. Then we all burst out laughing and Joel laughed, too. While we ate cupcakes, Daddy read about Jesus' betrayal and trial, but the kids were too happy to notice the somberness of the passage. As I washed dishes I couldn't help but notice the irony. I think it was lost on everyone else. Then we all sang "Happy Potty Party" to Lydia and the kids trundled off to bed. Hopefully we'll all have sweet dreams tonight.