happy birthday Katie

Weeks of cleaning up the yard for a Narnia party kind of fizzled because of the rain. No biggy - the yard was in dire need of attention. The odd thing is that the rest of the county got nailed with heavy rain except for our immediate neighborhood. I looked out the window as the party rolled on inside, we got a steady light shower and I thought about how much God must love Katie. Katie and her friends were still able to cook their hot dogs over the open fire. They still got to jump on the trampoline and run around outside a little. It's 10:20 now. All the grown-ups are gone and the girls have the basement to themselves. They've got a movie going, pretending to be Narnian girl-warriors, dubbing each other or whacking each other with Nerf swords. No, the party theme wasn't played out to the hilt - but I only had so much time and so much energy. That's okay, because the kid's imagination makes up the rest.

The party kicked off a little over five hours ago. We invited everyone for the kick-off cookout. Beef hot dogs and ground chuck burgers. We had lots of fixings and Mary Hale made a fantastic cake for the event. Our house was full of conversations and laughter. Gina and I were worn to the bone but being with family gave us an extra lift. Gina's leg is still bothering her. She's got a terrible rash that keeps spreading. It's either from the poison ivy she was exposed to earlier in the week or from that bite she got while cleaning around the wood pile. Last Sunday I took her to Doctor's Medcare on Rainbow Drive and she got some shots. I am wondering if maybe she's having an alergic reaction to the shots she received from the antibiotics.

She went to bed a little while ago. She is feeling itchy and miserable. She worked very hard today to make the party all that it was. My mother and Irene stayed a little longer and helped clean the kitchen. It was really sweet of them. You don't really expect party guest to pitch in like that - but they usually do at such events. Robby, Irene and I sat at the kitchen table for a while and talked for a nice long while. I don't get to talk with them that much and it was pleasant.

Brook and Jennifer came by for a few hours. Brook brought his new Taylor guitar. It's probably one the prettiest instruments I've seen in a very long time. It had a wonderful-full sound and it is a nice extension for his talents. I don't get to see family that much, so it's always nice to just be in the same room and hear Jennifer talk about this and that. Strick sat on the couch, waiting to take off with Betty Hale (Gina's mom) to the dance. Strick was the first guest to show. He sat on the deck as I cooked the meat. I am always a little intimidated by James Strickland because he's the man when it comes to cook outs. Strick used to own Little Giant Meats in Rainbow City. He had a fantastic fish fry last weekend. This man can cook.

It was a hard week and a hard day, but the party was a lot of fun. The party is still going downstairs - it will probably burn late into the night. I don't know what's in store. I don't count on sleep. I've never had that many twelve year old's in the house after dark.