Going Away Party

A couple of weeks ago I decided to have a going away party. My dad had just celebrated his 50th birthday with a party at our house and I thought, "That was fun, I could do something like that." My mom made delicious desserts and food for his party and hey, I'd have a party anytime if that meant my mom would made such wonderful goodies! So I said I wanted to have a going away party, which my parents readily agreed to. I think my dad wanted more desserts :)

At first we were thinking of having similar fare as my dad's party, such as wings and parfaits. But then I thought it would be fun to have people try something new. Thus, we ended up having a Korean themed party with our attempt at making Korean food! My mom and I tried out a Korean restaurant, Cafe Korea (see previous post), and decided on what food to make for the party.

Food:

• We set up a station for people to make what we called a "rice bowl". You grab a bowl, fill it with rice, and then add meat and vegetables. My parents and my brother cooked beef and chicken Korean style. Then we had vegetables we experienced at the Korean restaurant, such as bean sprouts, spinach, carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini. 
• Asian salad with ginger dressing.
• Green tea ice cream
• Mango ice cream
• Fruit cups with apple, orange, grape, and melon

Drink:

• Lemonade
• Sodas
• Bubble tea! This was a last minute idea. We were just going to make hot tea. But last week I tried making bubble tea on my own so we had all the ingredients to make bubble tea. We even had a ton of large straws. We thought it would be a fun thing to have, especially for those who have never had it! It was popular at the party! Fun!

Decorations (which were last minute):

• Toothpicks with korean flag at the end. My mom made these as stickers on the computer. 
• Children's library books in Korean. If you didn't know I love going to the library and I love children's books. So I went to the library where there is a whole "World Languages" section with books in different languages. There was an entire shelf of books in Korean. I checked out about 12 books and set them around the living room. 
• Streamers. I put some red, white, and blue streamers around the house. Very sloppily. My talent is not putting up streamers. 
• One table had a red tablecloth and a fun skirt around it. Turns out it was Chinese. I got it at the party store and liked that it had dragons on it. 

Anyway, the day of the party was a little chaotic. We didn't do much getting ready before the day of the party. I'm a procrastinator by nature so this made sense. After church on Sunday we were rushing to get things done. Thankfully we had some help in the form of my siblings and a family friend come around 4. The nice thing about rushing around and getting ready is that I didn't have time to stop and be nervous! I don't like being the center of attention, so usually these type of things would make me really nervous/anxious. At my high school open house I was so nervous I thought I was going to be sick and didn't eat at all. I'm pleased to say though I wasn't nervous during my going away party and I had a wonderful time! I was comfortable, relaxed, and having fun. That just shows you how much I've grown in the past 5 years! 

So yes, I had a wonderful time at my party. It was fun to talk to everyone and have them try the Korean food. People seemed to be enjoying themselves. I really appreciate all of you who could make it. I felt very loved and supported. I could not have imagined the night going any better than it did. 

The best part of the party was the when my family and friends laid hands on me and prayed for me. How amazingly awesome! I was surprised that almost every single person came down to the basement to pray for me. So many people! All for me! Everyone was standing in a circle and then someone brought over a bar stool for me to sit on. I'm not used to such attention, but it was very special. I will cherish that moment forever. Everyone came in close and put hands on me. I even had a friend hold my hand which was nice. Someone started the prayer and then others chimed in as they wanted, with my dad finishing up the prayer. The tears started forming in my eyes as everyone surrounded me. I'm starting to tear up as I think about it. People prayed some very kind words, words of encouragement, affirmation, and love. For safety, for community. God has blessed me so much with my community of friends and family. Thank you so much for your prayers. So yes, best part of the night and one of the coolest moments of my life! I had some friends crying more than I was! 

Then came some presents. So thoughtful and sweet! I have great friends. I will miss you all so much! We took some pictures together which I will cherish. I will post some for you to see :) 

One funny thing that happened after the party...all the food was gone! That doesn't usually happen, we usually have lots of leftovers after parties. I was actually counting on eating leftovers after the party ended, so I didn't eat much during the party. Anyway, I was hungry! So my brother and I went to Kroger and got a frozen pizza! It was great :) 

Again, thanks to you who could make it to the party! I had a great time and will cherish the night in my heart. I love you all! 

My wonderful small group who all were at the party! They made me a nice memory book to take with me to Korea :)

Me with the small group boys! 

The My <3 is in Indiana poster that people signed, along with my business card that has my blog, email, Skype name, and address on it. 

Yummy dessert table with mango ice cream, green tea ice cream,  Korean crackers, fruit cups, and sweet buns. 

Small group girls making happy llamas and sad llamas. Inside joke :)

My beautiful small group girl friends! 

Sad faces! :(