P-A-R-T-Y!

The birthday party was a huge success, thanks to all our friends and family who came to support Shadow. We were blown away by their kindness and generosity (seriously, the kid came away loaded with toys, clothes, and tons of other cool stuff). And the best part of all was that I really think (or at least hope) Shadow saw all those people and realized that they truly care about him. He prayed out loud for the first time last night, and his words broke my heart:

"I want to thank You for all the people who came to the party and thank You for
all the cool stuff they gave me. Please bless them for giving me such great
presents. I don't really have anyone right now, so thank You for the party and
please bless them."

To be honest, I wasn't sure how the party was going to go. I didn't have very high hopes after some of our friends introduced themselves at church, and Shadow just sat there ho-hum and didn't really try to interact with them, even though they have a boy very near his age. However, God blew me away at the party -- not just in how Shadow played with the kids who came, but with how many people came and the generosity of their gifts!

We invited about 10-15 families, and I think almost every single one of them came. I'm not sure exactly how many people came, but I know Lawrence cooked 24 hamburgers and 40 hotdogs. We only had about 8 hotdogs at the end of the night! I'm really glad that the weather was so nice because I don't think everyone could have fit in our house! We ate in the backyard, and the kids ran around, played laddergolf, bags, jumped on the trampoline, played on the swingset, or hid in the empty frog-shaped sandbox. And after Shadow opened his gifts, there was a quick game of football!

Speaking of gifts, the kid was buried in presents! We brought them all from the coffee table to the trampoline, and I think the poor trampoline about gave way from the weight of the presents (not to mention all the kids sitting on the trampoline "helping" Shadow open his gifts)! People were so generous, and got him clothes (which he tried on immediately after everyone was gone), model cars (two of which he has already assembled this morning), monster trucks (which make really cool sounds -- a given since they're from my brother-in-law who always gives Coralyn presents that make obnoxious noises), drawing supplies (which he proudly showed us last night, especially emphasizing the erasable colored pencils), 2 footballs (1 of which got used immediately), a couple of frisbies, a hat, a basketball Wii game (which he has played for over an hour this morning), and I can't even remember what all else. Basically, the kid is now loaded with cool stuff! And we are blown away by how generous everyone was! They don't know Shadow from Adam, and yet they came to his party and brought him some really nice things. We are so grateful! Not just because he got nice presents (and we would never be able to afford to get him all that stuff), but because he saw what the love of Jesus looks like lived out by normal people. He saw that God does care about him, by means of all the people who came to his party. And maybe, just maybe, that heart of his is softening. I pray it is.

I know that one birthday party isn't going to undo 11 years of no birthday parties. Or that a couple weeks in our house isn't going to undo the 12 years he has had in the world, and all that he has learned there. But it's a start. A really good one! And it gives me the hope I need to carry on, to keep on going, to keep giving of myself even when I am exhausted and don't see much progress. It gives me hope that we can make a difference. Now I don't really know who was more blessed by the birthday party: Shadow or me?!