That's it until next year!

The festivities are now officially over until this time rolls around again next year. We've just completed the 2nd installment of Su's 5th birthday celebration tour. And now we can relax, let the house resume its normal, semi-cluttered state, and focus on the rest of the summer.

Until Su entered our lives, I just never had any idea on what parents go through with birthday celebrations. We learned quickly (3 years ago) that it's insane to have one huge party with family and friends. There is just too much going on and there is no chance to enjoy any of it. So we followed the path that many parents before us have taken: splitting the party up.

Actually, it's great for the kid (extends the festive mood) and pretty good for the parent, as we can enjoy smaller gatherings, relax a bit, and remove a lot of the stress. Of course, a family with multiple kids may have a different take on all of this. Hee-hee.

Anyway... This weekend's party was a special one for Su -- and for us. The party consisted of close friends -- ours and Su's. All of the families involved share a similar path in building a family through adoption. Wonderful kids and equally wonderful parents.

[Pictured above, Front L to R: Lina, Grace, and Su / Back: Colvin and Jacob]

We were sorry to have to carry on without Su's friend Hannah, home sick and being cared for by her mother. Both were missed immensely. But the kids carried on valiantly in their absence, having a wonderful time playing together, eating cake and ice cream, and beating up on the dads.

Same time next year?

Gimme Five!

If you followed the news this past week, you couldn't help but pick up on stories that suggested the added importance -- or perhaps luck -- associated with the arrival of this particular date: 07-07-07. For reasons I still haven't really understood, July 7th became one of the most sought after dates in recent memory for people planning weddings. ESPN had a lot of fun suggesting that there was some additional importance with the date, finding strange and wonderful links to fate and/or luck (Something about a player with the uniform number 7 getting a clutch hit in the 7th inning to drive in a run that made the score 4-3... yes, totalling 7 combined runs!). I could probably spend a huge amount of time dismissing this need to hand over an element of luck to ballgames, marriages, and whatever other life events occur.

For OUR family, however, this date took on added importance in a very REAL way: the 5th birthday of our daughter. For us, July 7th meant that Su has completed 5 calendar years of living, loving, and learning on this planet. No more kiddie parties watching a toddler smear cake and drool. This is a young lady we're now watching grow up right before our eyes. Beautiful, funny, intelligent, and continuing on toward greatness: in the form of whatever she chooses to be in life.

And July 7th also meant another blistering hot day for a party. Family and a few friends came by to celebrate with Su and share in a day of food, beverages, music, and chatter. Pizza from Taylor Street was a huge hit. And the near-90 degree temperatures assured that coolers filled with water, soda, and brews would not go to waste.

Su had so much fun. Between the heat and the activities, this little girl was tuckered out beyond belief and went to bed with a smile that spelled out the obvious: She had a wonderful time. A very REAL birthday celebrated on a very REAL day. No luck. No hocus-pocus.

Happy Birthday, Su!