Chloe's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated her birthday at the beach this year. Chloe loves to go to the beach. I started planning her party just a week before, which is crazy for me. For those of you who really know me, I like to plan at least a month for something like this. But because of our financial situation I put it off until just before her birthday.

Sidebar but still connected to birthday party...Marc got a phone call to paint a house during that week. It's a three story house on the beach. YAY!!  We have a place to clean up before we go home after the party. So I scooped up all the party stuff I thought I could manage financially. And then, Irene threatened the birthday party.  I already felt awful about not inviting our friends that we consider family to the party and then the big bad hurricane looked like it was going to come right to the beach. Talk about frustration.

So I conceded to the fact we may have to cancel the whole thing. I began to think about other birthday party possibilities. Yes, I know it's only a party and she's only turning 2. It's not a big deal. I know, I know, I said it to myself several times. Back to the story, one of the families did have to pull out due to a friend passing away suddenly. And then we had some scheduling conflicts. So it looked like it wasn't going to happen all the way around.

Weather reports came in and Irene took a turn towards the north. Sorry friends! But I was excited that we had a chance to celebrate Chloe's birthday at the beach again. The scheduling conflicts were resolved and we could par-tay on the beach.

All of this said, I was amazed at how everything worked out. It was peaceful. It was restful. And it was special. I am so thankful to have had this chance to celebrate the birth of our Chloe in a place she enjoys so much. It wasn't planning for something I liked it was planning for something she liked. Every time I thought I should make it bigger or better it flopped. I can say I'm thankful for that now but at the time I couldn't make myself step back to see the bigger picture.  God is in control. He knows what Chloe needs. He knows what makes her happy more than I could ever.  What a awesome God!

"Mick-y Mou" (Minnie Mouse) Birthday Party

Chloe had a hard time waiting. So she passed the time with some "N & Nms".

Which one do you want? "Tis one."

She blew out her candles before we were done with the happy birthday song.  

Yum!

Off to the beach to check the water.

The waves where big due to Hurricane Irene.

So we didn't venture far into the water.

Boogie boarding with daddy.

Whoa!

Just another day at the beach.

 As you can see we had a great time celebrating Chloe's birthday. We look forward to more in the future.

Until later...