Good bye for now

So tonight was the going away party for my good friend Shae and her husband and little boy, Dakota, who is one of Luke's "friends". And now I get to show you my secret project! The last few days I have spent turning this:

into this:

The verse at the bottom is Numbers 6:24-26.

"The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace."

First of all, I feel that is a very appropriate blessing for someone you love that is moving away. But secondly, our preacher pronounces that blessing over the congregation every Sunday, so I thought it would strike a sentimental note. I also made something for Dakota.

What 20 month old doesn't want a hooded towel as a going away present?! Anyway, it was a nice party. There were kids everywhere! And it was so nice to just sit and visit. My dapper little man made quite a first impression when he walked through the door.

I wanted him to get to wear his suit before he grew out of it, considering its only been worn the one time, so I paired the vest with his jeans and this hat I found on sale a Babies R Us for $2! I ALMOST let him wear the tie, but the neck of this shirt was a little snug and I didn't want him suffocating for the sake of fashion. There was also hot chocolate!

I mistakenly let Luke have the whipped cream off the top, and of course he grabbed the cup and spilt chocolate all down his front. On his white shirt. Awesome. The little stinker also kept grabbing chips off my plate and running off. Apparently the dinner of chicken nuggets, tomatoes, and carrots that I brought for him just wasn't good enough. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of me and my dear friend Shae tonight, but I did get some more of our boys. They turned out much better than the ones from this day. When the other kids saw me taking their pictures, they all came running and wanted in, so we ended up with this:

At 9:30 I reluctantly told Luke it was time to go home. I had to give quick hugs to Shae and Joby and dart out of there so I wouldn't start crying like a little girl. *ugh* I hate saying goodbye.