Special Birthdays

Our daughter Faith turned 9 today. She awoke so excited and asked to open one of her gifts. Then at breakfast, I sat looking in her beautiful brown eyes and said, 9 years ago today you were born. You came out of my body and were our miracle. We had no idea how much love and joy you'd bring into our lives...and my voice was cracking. She had so many tears running down her face too. I am reminded how much more important those moments of connection are than the gifts that come and go.

We are busy organizing her birthday for Sunday afternoon. Faith has always found that the time we spend organizing the party, writing up the invitations, planning the activities, talking about how to make each child feel welcome has been as much fun as the party.

And it is a wonderful time to embed such important values including what makes each child feel welcome, how to thank each child for coming and thanking each one for their gift, how to create an atmosphere that is inclusive and happy. All values that help children learn how to create successful friendships - and good friendships would likely be chosen as what brings the most joy to a person's life. And for me, it is such fun having this time working on something that brings such joy to my child.