Friday, November 30, 2012

Lucie's 50th

Well that picture just about sums it up - Lucie's surprise 50th birthday party was a success!  It all started when we were at our former Pastor's 80th birthday party and someone asked if Lucie would like a big party when she turned 80.  She said she would so I figured if she was OK with one at 80, she would probably be OK with one at 50.  I had two weeks to pull it together so I enlisted the BIG help of a friend and got the wheels in motion.  And it was quite an undertaking - we invited the whole church (400+ people) via Facebook, emails, hand-outs, and an announcement from the pulpit.  All secret of course!  Then we had to order food, arrange for cakes, set up, hang decorations, etc.  Our church was very generous and assisted with letting us use their Cafe, fountain soda machines, paper goods, etc.  I could only do so much without raising suspicion so our friend and her family jumped in and really did the bulk of the work.  One of the hardest parts was getting people to understand what the "R" in RSVP meant!  How do we plan for as many as 400+ people?  About 100 did reply that they were coming so we planned for a little more.  75 or so actually came.  And the secret stayed a secret!  Ashleigh told Lucie she was going to take her shopping but wanted to stop by the church to see Elliott play football and show her friend the chapel where Lucie works.  I had left the house earlier saying I too wanted to see Elliott play (it was the annual Turkey Bowl flag football game at church).  When Ashleigh got Lucie to the Cafe door, Lucie could see the decorations but wouldn't go in thinking that they were crashing someone else's party!  But she came in and she was overwhelmed.  Great time.  Lots of love from her friends.  Now to start planning for the second 50th...

Been a little slow here on the blog but I will try and pick it up.  The good news is that I have been busy with work and I don't want to post work related stuff here.  But I will try and add some other activity on here.