a fun party & a not-fun day

I just completed another ward party this past week (I'm the ward activities person), in honor of Cinco de Mayo. We had a "FIESTA"! But it didn't feel like May--when I left the party, snow was coming down hard, and I was thinking about the last Ward Party I did back in December when I was hoping for snow, but there was none. And I was thinking about what a breeze the "FIESTA" was in comparison to the December party "Dreamin' of a White Christmas", due to many unforseen problems that unfolded on that day...

Because December is such a busy month, I chose to have the party on the 10th, so there would still be 2 weeks to do things before Christmas (I choose the dates for the parties months before they actually happen). In the middle of November, I learned that Josh would be gone for 3 nights in December on an all-expense-paid work trip to Alabama. It just so happened that the days he would be gone also coincided with the day of my ward party, the biggest ward party of every year with 200 always attending. I knew that I would be stressed out in his absence, but I also knew that I couldn't force him to stay home on my behalf. So....off he went.

Those 3 nights that he was gone also happened to be THE coldest nights of the year, with temperatures reaching below the -20 degree mark. It was so difficult for me to keep the house warm, and I was waking up in the night stoking the fire multiple times to keep us all from freezing.

Of course, the morning of the ward party, I woke up to find the water pipes had frozen. So, I had no flushing toilets, no shower taken, nothing could be washed. I didn't have time to go under the house and try to heat up the pipes because I had so many preparations to take care of & direct for the party: tables had to be put up, table covers taped on, decorations to hang, food to cook, kids gift bags to make. I put a hat on to cover my yucky hair, and I went to spend the day at the church.
I was tired from waking up all night stoking the stove and tending to Kanyon's needs, I was stressed because I hadn't taken a shower and I had so much to do, I was overwhelmed with all that needed to be done, and I was just plain ornery. Of course, since Josh was gone, I ended up taking Kanyon with me for most of the day and he didn't like having to be tagging along with me doing all my preparations. He was unhappy, screaming, head-banging, and throwing tantrums constantly. So that really helped my mood as well.

All the tables got put up and covered and set (with only a few problems--not enough tables were set out, the tablecover tape was missing, the kitchen didn't have enough plates in stock). The centerpieces were mini snowman bags and mini marshmallows. All the decorations got put out and hung (with only one problem--the stage curtain wouldn't shut). On the walls were cut-out snowflakes the primary made, along the back wall was paper plates with the theme "Dreamin' of a White Christmas" painted on them, along the front of the stage was a paper-link chain, and snowman paper lanterns were hung from the stage curtains. All that was left was the food. I had left 3 giant cans of green beans in my car that I had to cook, and they got frozen due to the low temperatures outside. By the time they started to thaw in the slow-cookers, they looked more like French-Style green beans. But they weren't thawing fast enough, and when it was time to eat, we were still trying to cook them--taking them little by little (the church only had small pans) to the stove to heat up faster. I ran to the grocery store and got the cooked, sliced ham and the donuts and hurried back to the church. The dinner was delicious; we ate ham, potatoes au gratin, green beans, jell-o salads, and donuts. There were 6 missionaries serving from our ward at that time, and I asked every member to bring something small to send in a package to each of them from our ward themed "Dreamin' of a White Christmas". Ideas for items were: mini marshmallows, hot cocoa packets, snowman stickers, snowman ornaments, snow window clings, snowman chocolates/Christmas candy, etc. The packages also included the snowflakes cut out by the children that were on the walls at the party. After dinner, the children all made two crafts. The first was a tri-fold snowman card that they colored on to send to the missionaries.

The second craft was a snowman ornament that they created to take home to hang on their own Christmas trees.The final event for the evening was a program. It went pretty well (with only a few problems--the microphone quit working half-way through, the actors forgot a few cues). The children's book "Snowmen at Christmas" was narrated while youth portraying snowmen acted out the scenes. The YM/YW, Primary, and Snowmen also sang songs throughout the narration that went along with the story, like "White Christmas", "Snowflakes Falling" (to the tune of "Popcorn Popping"), "Falling Snow", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Joy to the World", and "Once there was a Snowman".

The party, from an outsider's view, was a success. It was well-attended, and everyone there had a good time. After the party ended, I cleaned up while my in-laws took the boys home and tried to thaw out the frozen water pipes. By the time I got home after 9:00, there was still no water. I was exhausted and frustrated.

Where Josh was at, he couldn't get cell phone reception, so he wasn't answering my phone calls. But he could get internet, so I messaged him, hoping he would check his email/facebook. My father-in-law couldn't figure out where the pipes were frozen at, and he needed to talk to Josh about it. By the time Josh discovered I was trying to get a hold of him, he was mad at me for waiting all day to tackle the water situation. I tried to convey to him that I hadn't been home all day, and we yelled and fought over the phone. I finally gave Edward (my FIL) the phone, and just sat and bawled. I wanted to use the toilet. I wanted to take a shower--I felt so sweaty and dirty and yucky. I just wanted to go to bed. I was mad at Josh, because while I was living in freezing temperatures, trying to heat the house, living without water, taking care of the children, and running a ward party, he was golfing and getting fed home-cooked 4-course meals, and relaxing in 60 degree weather. I couldn't understand why HE had ANY reason to be mad at ME!

Thankfully, Edward got my toilet running that night, and by mid-morning the next day, the rest of the water came on. The following day, the below freezing temperatures were gone, Josh came home, and all was well once again!!!