Birthdays

We are less than two weeks away from celebrating our little guy turning 3 years old! The invitations have been sent (we are having it at a pumpkin patch this year) and I am well on my way to having everything planned out. Of course those of you who know me know that I had this party planned out months ago! One of the things I most looked forward to in being a mother was to plan and participate in my children's birthday parties. I recently found a book at the library from the MOPS organization I am involved with that is all about creative ways to celebrate your child's birthday. It is called The Birthday Book, by Shelly Radic. The most inspiring is the first chapter that talks about Why to celebrate your child's birthday. I LOVE the things they said there and wanted to share them (in no certain order) with you!

"You can build your child's sense of belonging in your family when you celebrate his birthday...special traditions help your child know he is an important part of your family. As your child sees you valueing her life, she learns that her life has value. Celebrating a birthday by doing some of your child's favorite activities, welcoming his specially chosen friends, or decorating your house with dinosaurs (or whatever his current passion is) sends a message of respect to your child. While a one-year old will not remember anything about his first birthday, the sound of his mother's voice singing the birthday song and whispering a prayer of thanksgiving for her little child will be etched forever in his brain. A parent's job is to celebrate a child as he or she is. Finally, celebrating your child's birthday offers an opportunity to give hope. A birthday is a day of looking forward, a chance to ask your child what she thinks it will be like to be three or five or eighteen, to imagine with her the exciting new adventures waiting for her as she grows up...and to remind your child of the wonderful things God has blessed her with in the past year. At the close of his or her special day, every child should know without a doubt that he or she is a unique creation, truly special, and dearly loved."

Isn't that beautiful? Bet you will never think of your child's birthday as just another year passing. I tell myself I want to make it special for they will never be 3 or 7 or 13 again in all their life. It is so important to me that my children carry with them memories of their childhood that make them smile well into adulthood. I want them to feel the devotion we have for them, to remember us with love in our eyes, looking at them with all the acceptance in the world. Every year it is awesome that God gives me one day to celebrate each one of my babies as the miracle creation that they are.

This is us last year when Isaac turned two, don't we look like we are having fun!