A Happy Birthday and the Blessing of Family

This past weekend we had a little family party for my two favorite toddlers. There was cake and presents and balloons. We LOVE balloons. 

Rooster actually turns 3-years-old this month! He's becoming such a "big" boy I can hardly stand it. He's constantly making us laugh! He loves Curious George and the Magic School Bus, and he calls all of his stuffed animals monsters. All of them. 

Rooster: woof, woof
Me: Oh look! Are you a dog? 
Rooster: No!
Me: Oh...are you a little boy?
Rooster: No! 
Me: Okay...
Rooster: MONSTER!!!!

Yeah. He's a barrel of laughs! 

Cupcake will be 2 years-old this year. However, since her birthday is the day after Christmas poor girl probably won't ever have her own party on her birthday, so I decided to let her celebrate right along side her brother. Of course, she doesn't seem to know that she's not actually two yet. She has so much character and personality, and talks almost as well as Rooster does! She also gets in trouble about as often as he does. Her favorite word is "no!". And yet, she is such a joy to be around, and I love her more every day (which seems almost impossible!).

I decided on the whole double party thing just because it was convenient for our families. However, it it also worked out well because they both had their own presents to open and plenty of toys to share. No fighting! (Just kidding. There is always fighting.)

But the BEST part of the day was getting to see our families (although I've been informed that the Curious George movies were a close second).

We currently live several hours away from our families and honestly, it's hard raising kids on your own. I love getting to visit with our parents and see the love my kids have for them. They are the only people in the world who come close to loving my kids as much as I do. That isn't something I take lightly at all. 

My husband and I both come from families of faith. And not just our parents, but our grandparents and our aunts and uncles.

My grandfather is a wonderful Christian man, and his three living children are all still married to their first (and only!) spouse. It's such a blessing to see what real, lasting marriage looks like in three of the most different couples I could imagine!

My dad is a pastor and one of the most discerning people I know. My mom is my best friend although she probably doesn't know it. She is the one person I would ask anything of and she would just do it, or at least tell me why I shouldn't do it (smile). I can trust her advice because it comes from the wisdom of scripture and a heart of love. 

And even though they haven't been grandparents long, they seem to have gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. It's nice to know my children are safe and well cared for when Grammy and Papa are around (wink, wink). 

My husband's parents are the greatest in-laws I could hope for. His dad is in full-time ministry and is an outstanding Bible teacher. And his mom has always been at home with her kids, homeschooling them and now caring for my husband's younger brother (our favorite uncle!!!) who is much, much younger than his siblings. They are the most welcoming and warm people I know and always go out of their way to make our family feel loved. 

And my grandmother. Well, she is our Little Bear's best friend. She is also one of the most generous people I know and goes above and beyond to take care of those around her. Our family is constantly blessed by her gifts and her time and the love she has for my children! (Her chocolate chip cookies are pretty good too!)

So often I hear people complain about their extended family, their in-laws, their parents, and I know that we are so blessed. Our families aren't perfect, which is great since we're not perfect either! However, we love one another, and I look forward to many more birthday parties where we can gather together and celebrate the wonderful children God has given us. 

I pray that one day when my kids are happily married and raising families of their own, they will look back on their heritage and be thankful that God used all of us to teach them about what it means to be family. 

Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. {Proverbs 17:6}