Life with the Roaches

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of throwing our friends Brad and Krystal a foster party. We met Brad and Krystal through our neighborhood group from CCV, and they are just one of those couples that you feel blessed to know. They are amazing people with huge hearts, and incredible love for God and each other. Krystal writes a whole blog about loving your husband, and I have learned so much from her about being a Godly wife. For the last couple of years, Brad and Krystal have been waiting to start a family of their own. After lots of prayer, one precious angel in heaven, and a lot of patience and trust in God's timing, they have decided to begin a new journey as foster parents. I thought this new adventure and incredible act of selflessness deserved a celebration!

This party was definitely a group effort and I had wonderful people helping all along the way! We went with a tropical theme, which fits Brad and Krystal perfectly. Krystal's mom, Alina, was a huge help, with everything from decorations, to the room, to an amazing fruit display she put together. Our friends, Brent and Nicole, were also a huge help, making a trip to Costco for me and putting all the food together. A bunch of people also came early and stayed late to help set up and clean up, so thank you to everyone who helped...I definitely couldn't have done it without you! I also can't leave out my wonderful husband, who patiently listened and helped with decision making on everything from invitations to decorations, and who was left in charge of the kiddos for the day =). Brad and Krystal, I hope your day was as special for you as you guys are!

The wonderful parents-to-be

The invitations

Brad and Krystal wanted to make sure that this party was about celebrating the children that will be coming to them, not about gifts, so I wrote this poem to include on an insert in the invitations. Their friends and family were incredibly generous though, so hopefully they will be all set for their new arrival!

Our friends Brad and Krystal, are full of love to give,

A small little blessing, a safe place to live.

Who will be coming? Who will this blessing be?

Maybe boy, maybe girl, from birth up to age three.

We trust that God will bring, the right child to their home,

Who will need their loving arms, til’ they’re with parents of their own.

Some of you may ask, what will this baby need?

Clothes to wear, a place to sleep, or bottles used to feed?

Your love, support, and prayers, is all we ask of you,

Your presence there to celebrate, this journey that is new.

However, if you wish to donate, baby items new or used,

You may use this list below, to help you when you choose.

This verse was displayed at the entrance to the party, and also on the invitations. I thought it was the perfect verse for this situation, and such a great remidner of what God calls us to do.

The entrance to the party

Setting up the food

We had the party at the community center in our neighborhood and it has gorgeous views out the front windows

Room getting set up

Krystal's mom, Alina, and the beautiful fruit display she set up. Isn't that one of the most amazing things you have ever seen?! She is so creative!

Another picture of the gorgeous fruit display!

Food set up and ready to go!

The diaper cake I made. This was my first attempt at one and it was surprisingly easier than I thought!

Centerpieces

I put a different verse on each table with the centerpiece. Here are the verses I used:

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."

~ 1 Sam 1:27

"Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

~ Mark 10:14

"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows."

~ Isaiah 1:17

"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

~ Matthew 25:40

"Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father."

~ Matthew 18:10

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

~ John 13:34

Favors - dried pineapple and chocolate covered macadamia nuts

I wanted to keep it simple, but who knew chocolate covered macadamia nuts were so hard to find! They were delicious though, so worth it =)

The yummy cake and cupcakes Krystal and Nicole made! Yes, we tried to tell her she shouldn't have to make her own cake for her shower, but she wanted to, and it was delicious!

One of my many helpers, Brent, getting things ready...setting up the leis for the guests

A place for people to share helpful advice and encouragement for Brad and Krystal

Foster Pool!

People had to guess the gender and age of the first child they will receive. We will see soon who the winner is...

Guests have arrived!

My beautiful family!

Krystal, her mom, and her adorable nephews

Krystal and her sister Kelly

Nope, they're not twins, they just look a lot alike and are both beautiful!

Nicole, Krystal, and Erica - gorgeous girls!

Rylan and Miss Krystal - He looks like he's enjoying his hug =)!

Foster trivia game we played

I wanted people to be aware of some of the reasons why Brad and Krystal are becoming foster parents. I got the information from a lot of different sources, but you can find a lot of the facts from here and the links on that page if you are interested

Beach box for the kiddos!

My wonderful husband keeping both kids busy at once

Limbo time! What kind of tropical party would it be without the limbo...

Brad streching before his turn =)

Impressive Brent!

Krystal and her little helper Garrett! The kids enjoyed just walking under the bar and getting lots of cheers =)

Eric and his very unique approach...running full speed towards the limbo bar!

I impressed myself with my limbo abilities, and was even more impressed to find that I wasn't even sore the next day! Ron wasn't quite as confident in my ability and wanted to catch me just in case ;)

Our winner Kt! How amazing is that!

The beautiful couple!

You are going to be wonderful parents Brad and Krystal! Thank you for letting us be a part of this adventure with you!

For my birthday, Ron planned an amazing weekend for us up in Sedona! We have been wanting to check out the Out of Africa park for a while, so we decided it would be the perfect family getaway. Ron rented a beautiful house for us to stay in, and Ron and Sue were able to come up and join us for one night. Since it was Easter weekend also, the Easter Bunny managed to find us and still pay us a visit as well! The weather was absolutely perfect, and Sedona is such a beautiful, relaxing place. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to spend my birthday! I love my family!

We started the weekend out at the Out of Africa park. This is an incredible wildlife zoo that offers a very unique experience. You can go on a safari ride, where you ride right alongside all different animals and even feed a few of them. They offer several shows, including the Tiger Splash show that we saw. The animals have large habitats, but you can get really close to them, and there are lookout platforms, so in some cases you can see some of the animals without any fence barrier in between. They have over 40 big cats, which are my absolute favorite, so I loved it! I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Ron and Presley getting ready for the safari ride

Zebras following our safari bus

Trying to feed Kibo, the giraffe.

Unfortunately, our safari was one of the last ones and he wasn't interested in coming to try our carrots =(. Rylan left his carrot for him to have as a snack later though

One of the many types of antelopes we saw on the safari

Humphrey, the camel.

It took a lot of coaxing, but he finally got up and ate our carrots! Rylan was very excited to watch, but did NOT want to give him the carrot himself

Family picture on the safari bus

Chili pepper, the ostrich

Papa and Presley hanging out on the bus

Long horn cattle...this picture doesn't fully show it but their horns were huge!

We finally got to feed a giraffe! We saw Pilgirm on the end of our ride and he came right up to us. Unfortunately, most of the carrots were already gone, but he still got a little snack

Waiting for the Tiger Splash show to start

Marmee and Pop Pop enjoying the day with us!

Chalet, the white tiger.

The Tiger Splash show was kind of crazy, because the animals aren't trained at all. It's not as "entertaining" as some shows, because the tiger didn't have any special tricks, but it's pretty exciting, and frightening, because you don't really know how they're going to act. Chalet acted just like a little kitten would playing with you, but one wrong pounce could be much more dangerous!

They had all of these inflatable toys on sticks that they would move around, and she would chase after them and pounce.

Rylan watching excitedly. It did lose his attention sometimes when there wasn't a lot of action going on, but he still seem very intrigued by most of it.

She finally went in the water, after several attempts from the trainers!

Cute little monkey!

This tiger was just pacing back and forth. This one was huge too! So beautiful!

He looked right at us several times

Rylan and Marmee watching the tiger

Family picture with the beautiful female lion behind us

We stood here for a long time. She was just so beautiful laying up on the roof with the gorgeous view behind her.

The male lion was waiting a few yards away, just watching us from behind the bush

Precious little girl.

She was such a little trooper, and finally decided to pass out in her Baby Bjorn.

From the wildlife park, we headed into Sedona to the house Ron rented. Renting a house is the way to go! It was a gorgeous 4,000 square foot home with beautiful views, and it was cheaper than most hotels and had more than enough room for all of us. The only disappointing part was that the hot tub ended up not working when we wanted to use it, but otherwise it was great!

The beautiful view from the backyard! In the family room there was a giant window that looked out at the same view

Right after we got there, Ron and Rylan decided to play hide and seek. This is one of Rylan's best hiding spots to date =)

"Hiding" on the roof deck

Presley and Pop Pop hanging out on the back patio

It didn't take long for baseball to begin in the backyard!

Out to dinner...it was a very long day without a nap, but he managed to hold it together pretty well

Pretty Presley just as happy as ever. She handles disruptions much better...

First time up on a bunk bed! Presley just kept bouncing and bouncing =)

Rylan in his big boy bed!

My birthday apple pie...yum!

The Easter Bunny came! He left Rylan a bunch of clues to find his Easter Basket

Found one!

He did pretty well searching for clues, especially considering he had only been in this house for a night

Found his basket finally! Up on top of the bunk bed

Presley found hers also =)

Opening baseball cards together...Papa's favorite tradition. This was Papa's first year without his own Easter basket, so at least he still got to join in on the fun =)