What a great day!

I am sitting in the quiet of my house.  At 10:01pm everyone is asleep and I have a wonderfully peaceful moment to reflect on what a great day we have had - actually 2 great days.  We have been celebrating Luke and Molly's 1st birthday for two days now.  And what a celebration it has been!

I have put more time and effort into this party than I have for any other party I have planned.  I used to say that I didn't plan outside of work while I worked at planning (this was when I was a catering manager at Four Seasons).  I guess that is true.  In years past, I would plan an event and then didn't really start thinking about the details until it was almost too late.  I was then frantic to throw together a birthday party or dinner party at the last minute.  Now that I am home full time I really, really enjoyed putting some effort into making the last 2 days special, not only for the babies, but also for our entire family.

This year has been monumental for all 5 of us - and honestly I should include my mom as well in that count since she has been here every step of the way.  I have stopped working full time, Al has the additional pressure of providing for our family, Ely spends much more time at home and we have two babies to care for and love.  And mom basically dropped everything in her life to come and live with us for the better part of 3 months.  To say all that was an "adjustment" is a huge understatement.  There have been times that I have doubted if I really was suited to be a stay at home mom.  I have always wanted to but maybe I couldn't cut it.  There were times that I wondered if we had "asked" for all of the hardships that came with having newborn/infant twins.  This year has proved to have the fewest travels, at times, tightest bank accounts and more frozen meals that I can count.

Despite all of that, the Lord has provided for our family in so many ways.  Having the babies forced Al and I to slow down.  We have enjoyed more family time together than we have in years.  Ely still enjoys being with me despite all of our time together!  The babies are growing and thriving at home.  I am most thankful that I am now fully secure in our decision for me to stay home.  I am finding my niche in this new life and I love it.  Molly and Luke are just plain fun.  Each month has been more and more fun.  I am not sad to see them turn one.  Yes, they were precious as newborns and infants.  Yes, it was fun to see them roll over, find their feet and coo.  But, honestly, it was so hard.  It was hard for me to manage two babies.  It was hard on me and Al.  It was hard on Ely because I didn't have enough patience with him after putting so much energy into the babies.

Now Molly and Luke are 1.  They play together.  They are learning to stand (Luke) and walk (Molly).  They want to hold hands in the stroller or while sitting in their booster seats after lunch.  They are thrilled each and every time I walk into a room.  They play in their cribs for about 30 minutes each morning before they are ready to face the day.  They steal each others pacis and toys.  They think Ely is the funniest, best brother in the world.  They are awesome.  It is only going to get better.  I am so incredibly thankful for thriving children.

Okay - enough reflection.  I am now going to brag on the babies party!  I will say, I am pretty proud of it.  Through a progression of ideas, we settled on a Mardi Gras themed party.  New Orleans is such a huge part of Al's past and February is the month for Mardi Gras, it was a fun, unique theme to plan.  The challenge was to keep the party juvenile and not too cheesy.  I think I did a good job at that :)  The house exploded with purple, green and yellow decor.  Tissue Puff Balls were the main decoration and could be found in most every room.

The menu of cajun food was fun to plan and prepare.  We had shrimp gumbo, chicken and sausage jambalya, hot crawfish dip (Thank you Southern Living!), and bruschetta.  Our sweet tooth was satisfied with a king cake, straight from Gambinos and cupcakes from our favorite local bakery, Texas Star Bakery.  I am just thrilled I was relaxed during the party enough to enjoy the food as well!

A few decorations

Scenes from the party...

The Vickers with little Ian - he turns 1 in just 5 weeks!

Grammy dressed perfectly for the party with Molly girl

We used to be with JCI!

MawMaw and Grandpa

Pretty Girls - Joanna and Ava

My sweet Lukey

Campbell Kay hanging with the boys!

Sweet friends - Miss and Amy

I can't get enough of Ian

Davey helped show off the party favors - Feather Masks for girls and Crowns for boys

Davey's parents and little brother Will

So thankful to have Jo and Linds in our lives (and of course their men too!)

 Official family picture time!

Thank you everyone for celebrating with us and sharing your lives with us!

 Cake time.  Ely was ready to help but neither baby was too thrilled about their first bites of cake!

On Tuesday we take the babies for their check up and I will be posting our last monthly update on the babies with their stats!

A year - somedays lasted for every and others flew by.  Maybe I will be a bit more teary eyed next February but tonight I excitedly await what the next 12 months bring.  I am grateful to be the mommy of this amazing family God has formed together.