Hello, all--
I wanted to share a little about the birthday celebrations at our house. Jilllian turned 10 on Dec. 9; Faith and Joy were 6 on the 16th; and Elizabeth was 7 on the 18th. This is the first year that Elizabeth has had a party all to herself. She thoroughly enjoyed it. But more about that later.
Jillian had two friends over for her party. They are sisters. Olivia is 11 and Lucia is 9. They are from New Zealand. Their dad works for a bank here and their mother homeschools them. Jillian wanted a "cooking party", so we selected foods to represent each continent of the world. Our menu: Pasta habanero-Europe; Chips and Salsa-South America; candy bar cake-North America; spring rolls-Asia; fruit salad-Africa; banana rolls-Australia; ice cream-Antarctica. The girls washed, sliced, diced and cooked everything. We gave each cook a bib apron and wisk. The food they prepared was our supper, and we invited a few extra adults--the Bos, Duc and Linh, and Dawn, a gal who is here teaching English and who leads the children's class at our church. Jillian said it was her best birthday party ever--the girls enjoyed every minute of cooking. The gift Jillian really wanted was a guitar, so now we have lots of strumming in the house.
For the twins, we invited some children to the house for cake and ice cream, and then took the group to the Big C center to watch the movie "Madagascar 2." Our girls had seen it, but they enjoyed it just as much as the first time, maybe more, since they were looking forward to their favorite parts. We gave Faith and Joy small scooters that they sit on to ride. They love them! They have played and played with them, offering their sisters "taxi rides" on the back. Their cake was decorated with their favorite candy: M&Ms.
Elizabeth chose a puppy theme for her party. We played "Put the Puppy in the Doghouse" (like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey") and had a "Puppy Chow" eating contest. They ate cereal from their dish without the use of their hands. Elizabeth won, with Faith a close second. The kids made puppy ear headbands and dog collars. The cake was...what else? Cut to the shape of a dog bone. We had a lot of fun. Elizabeth had been praying for a guitar, so how could we do anything else. Like I said, lots of strumming going on around here.
Birthday parties were easier this year. People are not so busy during Christmas-time here as in the US. Also, we could have the parties right after school during the week, so we didn't have to try 3 different weekends. I am becoming well-acquainted with the toaster oven, having baked four cakes over the last 10 days--the twins got 2 cakes--one for the party on Saturday, and one with the family on Tuesday (their "official" birthday).I can hardly believe how everyone is growing up. Jillian is 10! And our "babies" are 6! It hardly seems possible.
One of the sweetest moments was after the last party. Joy came to me with a very serious face: "What about Anna Mei, Mommy? When do we sing "Happy Birthday" to Anna Mei?" I assured her that Anna Mei is not forgotten.
I pray that my heart will remain tender and caring like that--to take notice if someone is left out, to want celebration shared, to be aware of others even in the midst of my own happiness.
Grace and peace!
