I guess since the spirit knows how impossible it is for me to ask for help he prompted my dear friend Pam from the ward to ask the following Sunday, “Do you need any help?” You can bet I took her up on that and we pow-wowed together till we had it figured out. I know I couldn’t have done it without her! The following is an email from when I was in the throws of it all:
May 7th: The dessert buffet is now for 600 people. I've been going cross-eyed trying to figure out how many desserts that is but I'll be getting about 70 desserts. Yimma Himma! The tablecloths they said I could use are nowhere to be seen so I'll be using the trusty black ones again. My dining room table is piled with platters and greenery people have donated for the set up. I found some fabulous centerpieces at Hancock Fabric for 70% off and some gold tulle to intersperse and wrap around platters. Also I've cut a bunch of green palm leaves out of fabric since it's a 10 virgins theme. (Jamie, the palm leaf from Oriental Trading proved to be an invaluable template in making the fabric ones.)
Also, the activity person (me) is in charge of giving out the mother's day favors for Sacrament mtg. I had my heart set on $1 lotion from Sally that Jamie says she gets there all the time. (Remember to keep me posted for next year?) But when I showed up they said that lotion is only seasonal! YIKES. I went to Michaels and got some little candles in votives that I'm going to tie some ribbon around (humor me and tell me how much you would just love receiving this and it is not lame!)
Cause I won't exactly be hard to spot on Sunday since Matt and I are the Mother's Day speakers in Sacrament meeting!!!!!!!!
I still need to get to Wal-Mart for Gray's birthday, which once again we'll be celebrating on Friday the 8th since I'll be no where to be seen on Saturday the 9th.
The day before the Mothers Day Dessert Buffet extravaganza Ava had her 1st grade program at the school. I had gone to the morning production by myself but Matt and Katrina came with me to the afternoon performance. Ava wore the apron she made at her birthday party whe she was turning six. Her musical number was titled, "I wanna be a Baker!"
Grayson watched with his teacher looking on, Miss Panagos (pronounced Pu na gus). Callie tried to get comfortable on the floor. I know how she felt!I didn’t have a good view of Ava from where I was sitting and I didn’t want to lean forward incase I blocked someone else’s view so I sort of just slouched and leaned to the side with my head cocked to watch. Apparently that was NOT a good idea. Afterwards I was talking with some people in the ward when I felt my back spasm and go OUT. As we were walking to the car I said to Matt through strained breaths, “I think I just threw out my back…. I’m serious, take my purse,” Now the uneven weight of my handbag was causing me pain! I panicked HOW was I going to put on my production the following day? At home I lay on the couch and used a heating pad but saw no improvement in time to go bowling for Grayson’s special day.
Matt's thinking as he bowls, "Watch and learn boys, watch and learn."I couldn’t bend, stoop, or lift, so bowling was out of the question but I painted on a happy face and cheered on the others as I paced, sat, leaned, and tried in vain to get comfortable. We ordered our greasy bowling alley food and thus fulfilled a promise to a six year old we’d “go bowling and EAT at the bowling alley.” I had been rather surprised that he hadn’t requested a friend party this year and now in hindsight I’m certain it had to have been divine intervention, because how could I have pulled that off?
Back at home we enjoyed gift opening and a Sponge Bob cake. He wanted a Sponge Bob cake and a Sponge Bob cake he got. Matt had put some clues around, which led to the granddaddy gift--a new swing set! Though we got it on Grayson’s birthday, we gave several reminders that it is everyone’s swing set. He immediately said, “Well, then I get to make the rules: 1. No underdogs 2. No using the bathroom on the swing set.” The rules have been obeyed by almost everyone; except for some birds that have abused number two.
That night Matt gave me a blessing. I was really starting to panic as to how I would even get through the next day. Because of the blessing, by morning I was able to hobble enough to almost appear normal and surprisingly the more I moved the looser I got. I felt like my brother Shafer as I leaned on the cart at Costco. It took going to another Costco and two more Smith’s before we got our desserts and paper products (and that was with Matt picking up cakes from the Sandy Costco). It was already pushing noon when we started unloading at the stake center. I knew at this point there would be no way I would be done with the set up to make my cousins 3 pm baby shower. In fact it wouldn’t have mattered when the shower was because as folks started arriving at 7 pm we were just finishing up. It looked lovely with all the desserts spread on tiered platters and the flicker of battery candles glowing. As the program got under way Pam and I went home to change. She's in the picture in all black with curled hair.
The first part of the program was a musical narration of the parable of the 10 virgins. Count them, ten virgins--it was a bit lengthy in my opinion. And like my sister Sadie said, it was just someone’s interpretation rather than being doctrinally sound (she had come to from the shower, which was in Park City.) Least wise, the buffet was a hit. We as a stake committee had passed out tickets to people who had committed to come. This is where the 600 head count came from. However, it proved to be inaccurate and we had GOBS left over. But like Mary said, it’s better than running out.
Just like the ward dinner/social I put on in March I was surprised that hours and hours of set up during the day could be taken down in under an hour after the event was over. I was a good week after that returning unused items, platters, and gathering receipts to turn in. Phew!
I got home and unloaded the car and was in bed after 11. I was so exhausted and tried desperately to read through my talk that I had printed that morning. I still had never even read through it. The pages seemed to consist of thoughts I had had for the last couple of weeks that I would throw into the computer and now I needed to know if it even made any sense. I never finished reading the talk because I was asleep before I got through the first page (not a good sign.) The next morning I spent tying ribbons around 80 candles. I was going to just forget the ribbon but it really made all the difference and since the candle itself wasn’t that exciting, I went ahead with the tying.
I showered up and was sitting on the front row of the chapel before I knew it and still hadn’t read through that talk! As I approached the podium after the youth speaker I took a deep breath…and just gave it. You know, it is amazing how the spirit carries you when your busyness comes from serving in the Lord’s church. A true tender mercy.
