and it came to pass

For three years, I have been involved with directing our ward's parties. In October of 2007, I was in the primary presidency, and the primary was in charge of doing the ward Halloween party. In December of 2007, I was on the committee to help with the Christmas party, and I was in charge of the entertainment portion of the evening. And then in January of 2008, I was officially given the title as "Ward Activities Chairperson" and I've held that position ever since. I've done 2 Halloween parties, 3 Christmas parties, 3 spring parties, and 2 summer parties.

Summer ward parties are my absolute favorite to throw. I have them outside in the church's pavilion, so the set-up and clean-up are super easy and the decorations are non-existent. And there's usually less people that attend in the summer, about 130-150 rather than 180-200 that attend the Christmas party, so there's less food to prepare as well.

The first summer party I did in August 2008 was called "Food & Fun, Water & Sun". We ate ham and corn-on-the-cob and salads and brownies and ice cream and homemade rootbeer. I set up several water games outside: water balloon volleyball, I made wood launchers for the kids to throw squish-balls that I got for every child, and I brought wading pools and filled them with water for the kids to splash in. It was SO much fun! Everybody loved it! And I was so busy running around that I didn't take a single photograph of the event.

Last summer's ward party was in June. I called it "Grillin' and Chillin'". We ate hot dogs grilled by the Bishopric, cut-up watermelon, pasta salads, chips, and cookies. I set up several outdoor games for the kids to play: ultimate frisbee, ladderball golf, lawn darts, ring toss, and croquet. Once again, it was SO much fun and everybody enjoyed being outside and having a relaxing environment to eat and chat and play! And this time, I took several photographs:

I did have a plan for this summer's party. The theme would've been "Eat Drink and Be Merry". For dinner, we would've eaten dutch oven chicken and potatoes, fresh garden produce for side dishes, and cobbler for dessert. And the activities for the outdoor party were going to be chalk-drawing for the children on a blocked-off area in the parking lot & sidewalk and ultimate frisbee on the grass for the teenagers. But, alas, my party never came to pass.

The Bishop is releasing me from my calling. After the ward party I did this spring, I had a conversation with the Bishop. Because I felt like I had finally mastered the art of producing ward parties and started really enjoying them, I knew a change would be coming, and Bishop eluded to that during the conversation. So, even though I knew it was coming, I was hoping it wouldn't happen until after the summer, Halloween, and Christmas parties because I'd already had them all planned out for this year!

I will miss throwing the ward's parties. I really enjoy organizing, planning, and producing fun activities! I feel like I'm good at doing them, and I'm sad I won't be involved in directing them anymore. But even though I feel saddened by the loss of having that calling, I'm also a little glad to have one less stressful thing in my life.