Friday, March 13, 2015

Birthday Blessings


Benjamin Creed


March is a big birthday month in our family.  
I counted six birthdays in the extended family.
After putting up the crepe paper, balloons and birthday banner, 
we started fixing pizzas for the 20 some guests, mostly family.
  Rose and Joe are the main pizza chefs. 
 Joe prepared his specialty:  BBQ chicken pizza, 
Rose made the Pepperoni, and we all worked on the Jalapeno Popper Pizza, 
which we copied from Anna, who had just tried it the week before with great success.





 When the food was ready,
 Daddy prayed a special blessing on the birthday boy, Ben, who is turning 11 years old.




 After dinner-- cake, of course...except our boy wanted banana splits instead,
 so we put his candles in his ice cream.  
He was quite pleased with it.



Long ago we started a tradition of giving the same gifts to each boy at a certain age.
  This has worked very well...and the children look forward 
to the day they will be old enough to get  ______, as if it has become a right of passage.
 It also keeps things fair.
Once our boys are nine, 
we leave toys behind and enter the age of tools that will last, hopefully, a lifetime.

When they turn nine, we give them a foot locker.
 At ten, they get their first pocket knife.
  At eleven, a hatchet.
  For twelve they get a hunting knife.  
Thirteen, a .22,
 and fourteen- a gift especially for their particular interests.
 Fifteen- a fishing vest. 
 When sixteen, they receive  a dinner date with parents, with a "becoming a man ceremony".
 Seventeen, a tool kit for a car,
  And eighteen, a "senior trip" with daddy.

We have a whole different list for girls, but that will be told another time.
  
Here, you can see, 
that this little woodsman is happy as can be to have yet more camo and a fishing net,
 gifts from grandparents. 


After stuffing ourselves with pizza AND banana splits,
 enjoying all the company...which somehow consistently includes a dress up party for the little girls  (always amusing), opening presents, visiting some more...
...and the guests have left...sigh...
we settled the children down and read a few more chapters in Little House On Plum Creek 
before tucking them in, then seeking our own happy slumbering place.

  Another birthday..
..one more year added to the many years we have been blessed with our children. 
 Each one has their own gifts and talents, bents, and love language.
 Each one so unique, so precious in their own way,
 and  yes, challenging in their own way.
 Yet each one, certainly a reward (Psalm 127).

 We concluded the day feeling overly full and abundantly blessed..
...the perfect ending for a birthday.

6 comments:

  1. What a blessing our children are! My husband and I are firm believers that God gives us children to help us to grow!

    I like what you do with gifts for your boys. We always get our boys tools, as they grow. And knives, etc.

    Happy birthday to your son!

    Deanna

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  2. So love the idea of the same gift at a certain age and the "right of passage" feel that goes with that. We have so little right of passage in our society and I think we are the poorer for it.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  3. It always makes me tear up when reading about fathers praying blessings over their children.

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  4. Thank you Julianne and Brian for the intentional way in which you parent the gifts God has entrusted to you. I love what you do ... and, it reminds me of days gone by. But, I'm still doing a bit of parenting here on the other side of the world. Pam and I are blessed that you will entrust your daughter Rose to us ... again ... for three weeks here in Uganda. Our anticipating is building as we look forward to living life together for the glory of God.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Paul, We are delighted that Rose will again join you in Uganda. She is thrilled. You will find her much changed...a lovely young lady now...oh how I will miss her!! I pray that these last weeks there for you and Pam will be blessed time.
    love to you both!

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Your comments and input are very much appreciate
- Blessings!
Julianne

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