I’m in awe. I keep going over my daughter’s party in my mind, thinking of how well it went, but more, the quality of character in the company she keeps and being slapped in the face with the reality that they’re not little anymore. First, my older two girls kids got all dolled up Old Hollywood/red carpet style, with make-up and heels. That was enough to make my jaw drop. The youngest three chose characters instead- Annah was Annie, Alaynah was Hannah Montana and Aaron was Buzz Lightyear. Then their friends began to arrive. One by one, they came through the front door as if stepping from childhood to young adulthood, especially since some of them are now taller than I am without heels. These girls are all beautiful inside and out to begin with. Having that accentuated with formal clothes, hair and make-up done, and heels was enough to nearly bring me to tears. I was surrounded not by little girls, but by amazing young women. Snapshots of young childhood memories with most of the girls started pouring into my mind, bringing me to the sudden reality of where, and who, they are now.
These girls are godly, talented, strong yet feminine, highly intelligent, diligent, patient, helpful, thoughtful, and funny. They don’t swear. They’re not boy-crazy. They’re not selfish, they have servant’s hearts. They’re not clique-ish, and they go out of their way to make new people or those they don’t know well feel comfortable. I firmly believe that the qualities I see are a direct result of prayer and the investment that the parents have made into their children’s hearts. I love seeing seeds bear fruit!
Earlier that day, I had to run around gathering up last-minute things, which took longer than I thought it would. I’m so thankful that Rebekah, my sister Katie and Robert were here to work on the house, decorating, etc, and then after I got home, helping to prepare the food. The decorations were found at Party America, in the Oscars night section, discovered by my sister. We bought signs that said “Lights, Camera, Action, Hollywood, Awards Night, Party with the Stars” and in the place where they were giving their speeches “And the winner is…..”. The colors were red, black and gold and we added a few balloons to accentuate the signs. Our living room is painted tan with one accent wall in red, so the colors Sarah chose appealed to my OCD matchi-ness. Anyway, I couldn’t have done it without their help.
The party began with the girls eating from an array of appetizers and salads while they mingled. Shortly after that, we began the videos. Oh. My. Goodness. First of all, I was impressed by how much they all participated. Next, the uniqueness of each video was so much fun! One video was of two girls on a trampoline, tied together at the ankle, with balls on it, “Dodgeball Trampoline”. Their trying to get OFF the trampoline while still tied together was really what made it. There was one video, “The Unusual Pills”, created by one of the girls, where it shows her looking for a headache pill (candy), and after several times, showing her “growing and shrinking”, using her younger sister and a friend as the alternate of herself. Another one, “The Stupid Version of Robin Hood”, had a couple of the girls dramatizing an edited, more modern and funny version of Robin Hood, complete with costumes and music. Rebekah had chosen a couple of videos, in which it shows our kids pushing each other out of the way to get camera time, and one of Adriannah’s 2nd birthday when we were making cake or something and Annah was smeared with chocolate, Sarah was licking the bottom of a large bowl so you couldn’t see her head and Rebekah was making faces at herself in the camera (she could see the screen). There were also videos of Sarah’s friends when they were younger, which were hilarious and put things into even clearer perspective between then and now, as if I needed it. I knew these girls were talented but I really began to get a better understanding of just how creative and well-rounded they are. One girl’s writing a book (several of the girls, including Sarah who has a poetry and script collection, are looking into getting published) and sewed a beautiful costume for one of the other girls based on the one of the characters in the book.
Then, more food. I have to say, I know our family eats a lot, and that the girls are teens, but I was not expecting the quickness with which the amount of food was gone, and I mean GONE. Thank God I bought extra so I could refill platters. Then, more talent and creativity. Many of the girls play piano and sing, so hearing them all take turns playing and singing together was a lovely accompaniment while I worked in the kitchen to put more food out. They also interacted with our youngest kids, and while this didn’t surprise me as many of them have younger siblings, it blessed me to see the enjoyment, patience and kindness they took in playing with them.
The next thing was hearing the speeches. MORE creativity, and wit, I might add. The girls have such a great understanding of humor, and the satire of Hollywood they showed, they should ALL be on stage for real. Just amazing…..”I’d like to thank the maker of this dress for FINALLY getting it right, I don’t feel squeezed into it like a sausage this time”….”Thanks to George Clooney, oh, and my parents for giving birth to me, and to all the little people, you know who you are”….and tying their speeches into their videos and costumes. Here’s the birthday girl’s speech…
I thank the Academy for this award,
But the film in itself was its own fine reward!
I thank the director, the cast and the crew
And thanks to the fam’ly—you know I love you.
Thanks to my sisters and one single brother
And thanks to my parents, my father and mother.
I was so happy to work on this show;
I’m glad that it helped my career to grow.
The friends in the audience helped me to shine,
But it should be known that this trophy is MINE.
Those who are backstage just have no clue
What it’s like to be famous, but that’s all on you.
So now, with this this trophy, as I walk off the stage
I think you should know that I improve with age.
And that I am so grateful to everybody
But the person who made this all happen was ME.
No hard feelings, people.
Thanks.
It’s hard to tell from writing the expression they used while delivering their speeches. All I can say is they had us rotflol, because their tone, body language and facial expressions were spot on.
Then it was time to vote on best costume, video and speech. I had made it so everyone would go home with a prize. The prizes were 1st place in each category, Claire’s gift cards, 2nd place Starbucks, 3rd place Jamba Juice and 4th, cash, in descending amounts. We also had as a “bonus prize” a bowl filled with a mix of candy you’d find at a movie theater, you all know the game, you have to guess how many there are in the bowl and whoever gets the closest without going over gets the prize, which was cash in this case. So they voted, and while they were doing that and Robert was tallying everything up I got things ready for cake, which was awesome, by the way. My mom and Sarah made an orange coconut cake the night before and spent the better part of the day of the party decorating it with fondant to look like a film reel.
We sang to Sarah, had cake, and then it was time for the distribution of prizes. I could swear that these girls have seen a Miss America pageant or two, because their spoof of pageant contestants while they were waiting for their names to be announced, and then when their names were called, was hysterical. The party was scheduled to end at 9:30, and at this point it was 9:00, which gave us just enough time to open gifts before limos started showing up to take the stars home.
Side note, we’ve done slumber parties in the past and while everyone’s getting along and having a good time at night, the next day is a challenge for both girls and parents who have to deal with kids who haven’t slept enough and have had too much stimulation. We gave Sarah a choice to invite a large group and have the party end at 9:30 or have just a couple friends to spend the night. I’m glad she chose the way she did.
Yet again, I was blown away by the talent and creativity. While there were gift cards for places Sarah likes to shop, and hats (her favorite accessory), which were thoughtful by themselves, many of the girls had handmade gifts thinking of Sarah’s likes, favorite color, etc. One girl made a turquoise hat by hand, one crocheted and stuffed very cute monkey (Sarah’s favorite animal), one girl made some very cute earrings, which I may have to borrow, in turquoise. So thoughtful and creative.
I see Sarah and the friends she and Rebekah have and am so thankful that their junior high experience has been so different than mine was, that they and their friends are not caught up in drama and cattiness, that those things aren’t generally in the character of who they are.
I think the girls all had a great time. Prayerfully memories were made that they’ll be able to take with them for the rest of their lives, I know they were for me.
