Celebrating With Rainbows

Before the guests had arrived I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror finishing my make-up when Justin's mom peeked in and asked if I was doing ok. I guess that I was being pretty quiet that morning and looking back I'm sure that I was. I had been internally processing the last two and a half years. I had been thinking of everything that we as a family had gone through (good and bad), I had been saying silent prayers of gratitude to God for allowing this day to come. No, nothing was wrong, for once everything felt right. Everything.

When I originally choose rainbows for Vada's "theme" I couldn't explain why, it just felt like the perfect idea,  but the night before her party, when I was doing some last minute preparations, I realized that It wasn't just because of the vibrant beautiful colors (although those were an added bonus). Ultimately, I feel that I chose rainbows because rainbows reminds me of Gods promise to Noah. Rainbows seemed fitting for this particular celebration. In my heart we were not only celebrating Vada's second birthday but we were also celebrating her life and a life that has been fought to live, a life that has taught others how to live and we were also celebrating our hopes that all of our tomorrows will be just as beautiful as these last two and a half years have been.

Maybe I am naive.

Maybe I read into things too much.

Maybe, but from where I am standing I am only seeing God's rainbow. When I thought that He was flooding our lives I now see that He was only building us up and I am grateful for every moment of these these last two and a half years because God has been molding me and my family. We are better people for what we have come together to go through with and for Vada. I wouldnt change a thing.

So rainbows it was...


I can not claim credit for the ideas used for decorating Vada's party, most of them I actually found on  Pinterest. So there's no need to give me credit for "thinking outside of the box." I copied and where we had new ideas, well, those came from my husband, Justin. :) He is a pretty amazing man, which I am sure that I have mentioned on several other occasions and yes, I admit that I am "uber" biased but he is my husband! When I told him originally what I wanted to do for V's party I know that I must have overwhelmed him because he knew that this would also mean a lot of work for him but he agreed to help and together with the help of his parents we did it and I think that the day was as close to perfect as perfect gets!

Vada's six layer Rainbow cake. We didn't flavor the different colors different flavors because we thought that it may be an overwhelming explosion of flavors when combined, so we stuck with whatever flavor white cake tastes like. I was told that it tasted like "YUM!".

Almond bark covered Oreo cookies.

Strawberry soda, Orange soda, Lemonade, Ginger-ale, blue Mt. Dew and Grape soda. We took their original labels off and replaced them with our own.

My husband Justin and his father Jim did the balloons. I showed Justin a picture, said this is what I want done and ordered the balloons. Im not for sure how they did this. I know that there is a string and the balloons are tied to it. :) 

Somewhere I saw a similar set up with the age spelled out. Justin used the strips that he had made on photoshop and used not only for Vada's invitations but practically everything else that went into the party, for out spelled out age photos. These were made on photoshop and printed on my large photoprinter. We used foam board on the back to hold them up and thats it, their just pictures that look like they have been framed.

The "candy bar" was another idea that I found on Pinterest. From Left to right we had Rainbow Gold Fish Crackers, Mike and Ike, Skittles, Rainbow Twizlers, Rainbow Suckers, Gum Balls, M&M's, and Gummy Bears. I should have also handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste but I didnt.

Justin made the bases the day of the party. He hand painted them and drilled holes into them so that the ka-bob's would fit perfectly. In our minds we kind of look at the stands like a grassy hill. 

Jello filled orange slices. I am not a jello fan, in fact jello will never touch these lips but when I saw this idea I thought it was perfect for the party. How did I do it? I cut three oranges in halves. I then took a knife and cut about a half of an inch into the white part of the orange, making a cut all of the way around. Then I took a ice cream scooper and scooped the orange  out in one full scoop. Super simple! I then made my jello as directed on the box only adding about 1/4 cup less of water and poured it into the orange peel bowls. After all of the bowls were filled with their different colors I sat them in a muffin pan for extra stabliness and then placed them into the refrigerator. After the jello sets you slice and serve. Again, super simple and super pretty!

Noah looked up. The storm clouds were drifting away, the bright sun was shining against Noah's back. And against the dark grey sky, God made a brilliant rainbow appear. God said to Noah,

“You see, I have set my rainbow in the sky. This will be the sign of the covenant I have made with you and all creatures, never again to destroy the earth by a flood. It will always remind us of the promise between you and me.”

So, the next time you see a rainbow, think of Noah and the flood. Remember that God loves you, and that no matter how bad the storm, there will always come a bright new day.

It makes me a little nervous to openly admit this but I feel like our personal storm may be over. While I don't know what our futures hold or what Gods plans are for our family Id like to believe that maybe He had His hand in our party planning and that this celebration wasnt just about Vada turning two but also about a fresh start and a new year. Call it what you want but I call it Faith and God couldn't have given us a more beautiful day to celebrate it all than this one.

A special Thank you to Mom and Dad Wilson, for all of your help and support, not just on Vada's birthday this year but everyday. We are also better people and parents because we have you!