Wendy's 12th Birthday

And on the heels of the loss of Lucky, Wendy turned 12 yesterday. We celebrated with a party for her friends from school and church at the Funplex, a local amusement venue that has to be experienced to be truly understood. I'm not sure we will ever have another party there, but Wendy did love the chance to be there this year, and she and her friends had a wonderful time.
The only shadow over the day was that Wendy had apparently really been hoping for/counting on an iPod as a birthday present. Looking back over the past month or two I know she had mentioned it a few times, but I thought it was clear to her that we did not feel ready for that and that her party was her big present. But I guess she had hung on to her hope. So she felt quite sad several times throughout the day, and though she really enjoyed the party and loved the presents from family and friends, she also had to manage her feelings of disappointment which was hard.
A few pictures of morning present opening and then the Funplex extravaganza: