Happy Birthday Baby

Today was a bit of a strange one. We had been planning a birthday party for about a week together with one of our friends who was also turning 30 (like me). It was a lot of work for Faith because, if you've been to one of my birthday parties recently, you will know that Faith makes AMAZING Chinese food. The only downside is that it takes close to a week to prepare the food for it all. Then figure in how to get all that food into the oven at the last minute - it doesn't work, so we farmed out some of the dishes an hour before the meal for final preparation to some of our friends who came.

We also had to figure out how to get 9 adults and 9 children into our trailer and still be able to sit down and eat this meal. We cleaned the place fairly well because we knew that it would be cramped if we didn't allow the kids some freedom and access to other parts of the house. Amazingly enough, we actually fit our table fully extended with two leafs across our kitchen / dining area. There wasn't much room to spare, but we did it! And it got so warm from the cooking storm Faith had going, that we actually took the plastic off of the windows and opened them. One couple walking by told us later that they thought they had smelled Chinese food on their way past (and had been craving it for weeks) but couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

The company arrived, but the birthday girl I was sharing my party with, well, she looked a little sick. By the way, she goes to the same church we do, and we noticed she didn't look well this morning either. She just so happens to be pregnant. VERY pregnant. She had two weeks until her due date, but babies don't really follow the doctor's theories or timelines very well, right Judah? She didn't feel much like eating, which was a good thing. Her husband got their two boys some food, dished himself up a plate, ate a few bites, marveled at the exquisite flavour and made a comment about opening a restaurant, and then he and his wife were out the door.

They left for Moose Jaw at 5:30 PM and the baby was born at 7:45 PM. It was a girl (finally)! 9lbs 14oz. Anyway, this removed three friends from our party, one being a guest of honour at that. So, I spotted some folks on the street whom I knew walking by and invited them in for supper to replace the people we had lost. They quickly went home to get their appetites and returned for some food. We still had half of the food left over, but it was all fine and dandy. At least we have a meal to send to the once-again parents who had to leave in such a flurry.

The meal was Pineapple Chicken Balls, Fried Rice, Cantonese Chow Mein, Ginger Beef, Sweet & Sour Pork, Oriental Chicken Rolls, Lemon Chicken, and Beef with Broccoli. For dessert, we had Deep Fried Bananas with ice cream and caramel sauce (wow). People couldn't stop complimenting the cook. It was pretty amazing. We're always surprised at how well the meal turns out every time. Faith is pretty amazing. And for so many better reasons than her phenomenal cooking abilities.

We had a good time, but it sure was a lot of work. Even the kids liked most of the dishes. Judah wouldn't let go of his Chicken Roll. I had to wrestle him for it at dessert. The people we called in off the street (who had earlier smelled and craved the delightful meal) had the dessert anyway even though they had been invited by someone earlier that day for dessert just a few minutes after leaving at our place.

We had a lot of fun. Did I mention that the kids outnumbered the adults 9-6 at one point? Yeah, that was a little hairy. But this is our crazy life. You invite someone for lunch, and they go and have a baby in the middle of the meal. By the way, the husband had Chinese "take-out" to go in the van. That one made me chuckle. He just couldn't put the food down even though his wife was in labour and they were on their way to the hospital. I figure you gotta eat sometime, baby or no baby! Oh baby...

- Mark

(P.S.: The Briercrest Clippers Men's Volleyball Team lost in the bronze medal round at Nationals).