#birthdayweekendwithlukethomas

The house is awkwardly quiet as we earlier said “See you soon” (NEVER “goodbye”) to our three girls, two sons-in-law, and the world’s most fabulous grandson. We had a whirlwind of a weekend that included a whole lot of food, a One Year Old’s birthday party, a failed attempt at a Christmas card photo, a round of “beer pong” (yes…be excited…but not everyone consumed beer), and a ton of laughter.

My prayer for the weekend would be that any stress of cramming this many people in to a house (with the forecast of HEAVY rain) would be soothed by sweet words/moments and LAUGHTER. God certainly came through…especially as we all felt under attack leading up to it.

It all started with a selfie when they arrived on Friday evening….

After unpacking, Breanna began working on Luke’s birthday cake and stayed up late in the night (well, early in the morning) making it happen. So proud of her and this talent that she keeps developing, on her own, from her love of making sweet things (literally) for people. She’s thoughtful, talented, and the best “Aunt B” ever!

We had Luke’s birthday party on Saturday. It was so fun to see Brittney & Phil with their sweet friends from Denton (where they lived before moving back to Tulsa in the spring). They all showed up at the same time and immediately just got in a circle and took turns connecting with Luke. It was precious to see my daughter’s “people” being so loving and supportive – and EAGER/HAPPY to be together again.

Family was also there and it was the perfect mix to celebrate the Birthday Boy!

Luke decided that maybe he was ready, after all, to take a few steps on his own so – Uncle Jeremy, Aunt B and Brooke took turns cheering him on…precious!

Luke received lots of cool gifts…the one that held his attention the most was the toy box that his Papa made for him. He was so cute opening and closing the lid and then LOVED when we put him inside! I’m mad we didn’t get a better picture (he was so distracted at the time) but – I’m thinking it will be around for a long time to come, so we will try another day…

While the cake was DELICIOUS, the “smash cake” was a little uneventful once he stuck his foot in it and decided he didn’t like the feel of it between his toes! Still…somehow, I took about 100 photos! #lolliproblems

After the party and a nap (for Luke!), we decided it was a “good idea” to head to the mall for an attempted Christmas Card Photo Op (#whoseideawasthis). It was raining and we had no place to go so – it was a bust. We were so desperate for a “location”, we even thought about paying for the “kids” to see Santa and then asking Santa to “get out” and take over his big chair and pretty décor…HOWEVER – do you have any idea of how much it cost to take a pic with Santa??? OH MY GOSH! About DIED when the woman told me $24.99!! So yeah…instead – we just got these great pics…

The whole weekend was full of finding the girls laughing and doing #selfies . Seriously – they were either filling up THEIR phones with pics…or grabbing mine to fill it with silly faces. Makes me laugh everytime I look at these…

On Saturday night we hosted a PAR-TAY complete with a friendly game of “pong” with some extended family. Luke was a champ and slept through the entire thing…he continues to prove he is the perfect baby – no other child could have slept through LOUD voices and “cheering” (ok…”arguing” over rules).

After church on Sunday, we headed to lunch and then home to pack up….it’s amazing how quickly stuff was going out the front door and loaded and yet there will always be things left behind (which I’m completely fine with, as it means they need to return to get them)! I tried to figure out how Luke could be left behind but – that was not to be on this trip (will work on a decoy and a hiding place for next time)!

As I reflect on God’s goodness to us (in regards to family), I am reminded that relationships are HARD and a LOT OF WORK. Our family is NOT “perfect”…we each have our own little “quirks” that make us unique (aka: “weird”) and sometimes that comes out in funky ways that can cause upset or conflict. But- with that said, we think the “funkiness” is worth any/all effort and we are committed to be a family UNIT…strong and supportive of each other. I love that our girls, especially, are each other’s biggest fans. God certainly answered my many prayers for them to be each other’s BFF.

I’m looking forward to being together for Christmas, but today I’m soaking in the goodness that was “Luke’s First Birthday Weekend”!