Birthday 2014 - Jason

I feel like this post would be more appropriately named if it were titled, 'How Many Ways You Can Botch a Birthday'. Because I certainly managed to do that in so many ways.

I am not a big fan of my birthday; a sentiment that I hope Jason or the kiddos never feel about their own birthday. So I work pretty darn hard to try to make Jason and the kids' birthdays a nice experience and that they fully realize just how much we love having them in this family. And when all that planning and working to make it a nice experience goes horribly awry I just feel plain awful about it. Thus it was with Jason's birthday. Right down to forgetting how old my own husband is turning (yep...I messed up his age...I'm an awesome wife...), forgetting to cook rice to go in the requested birthday dinner of bean and rice burritos, and having our Plan A outing fall through AND our Plan B outing. The day just oozed awesomeness, can you tell?

Things that did work out; the kids did a great job with the decorations.

The birthday boy quite enjoyed his new socks, and all the hugs and kisses, and the cards.

Atticus picked the card and decided that if we made Milayla the little baby then I could be the girl and then we would all be in the picture. I think he did a great job coloring it!

And, for the first time in my life, I made decent pancakes for breakfast. A fact that everyone was very happy about!

And the snowstorm that we were greeted with in the morning made for some fun in the snow in the afternoon.

Love this picture. Jason had just told the kids that he was going to get them with a snowball and they both looked at him at the same time, unsure of whether to trust the claim or not. 

The kids made a snow slide and stairs.

So while my birthday planning skills need some serious help, I am grateful for two little kidlets who just didn't care and were happy to celebrate with balloons and brownies. And a husband who did a decent job pretending not to care; though I think he's just happy that I didn't burn the brownies (like last year...). And that Milayla was an awesome kitchen helper and made sure that those brownies were loaded in chocolate chips. I kind of love when positive attitudes outweigh negative experiences and fun is still had by all; particularly when that was my hope all along - that we would enjoy celebrating Jason and his unique part in our family.

So here is to Jason getting to enjoy un-burnt brownies with tasty vanilla ice cream and getting to turn 31....again...

*sigh*

Happy Birthday Jason!

I'm grateful that you know how to laugh at things like this...enjoy your extra year!

Jason's Birthday

The kids and I always have so much fun planning and preparing for Jason's birthday. When we started planning it triggered a daily question from Atticus - "is it Daddy's birthday YET!?". They were just so excited to spoil him with all of our surprises we had planned. Then we made a fairly last minute decision to go away for the weekend of his birthday which threw quite a bit of our plans for a loop, but it did seem to entail Jason to a few extra days of birthday surprises (how he manages to swing that nearly every year still puzzles me ;). I'll post more about our trip weekend trip to Holland another time, for now the focus is on the little birthday celebration we had for Jason on the Monday following our weekend getaway.

Of course, we kicked the day off with our favorite blueberry buckwheat pancakes topped with plenty of fresh fruit. Once we finished eating, Atticus announced that he was "BERRY full!". Jason wasn't sure if he had really meant to say it that way so he asked him, "do you mean, VERY full?" to which Atticus replied, "No. I am BERRY full because I just are lots and lots of berries so they filled my tummy.". That gave us all a good little laugh. Creative kid. And funny.

After Jason headed off for work we got to work ourselves with decorating, grocery shopping, dinner and birthday cake. Atticus learned how to use an airpump for the balloons which was great because he took over the balloon blowing up while Milayla and I handled the birthday banner.

Following a brief time period of concern that Jason may have to work late (which would have certainly put a little damper on the birthday events), he made it home in good time which was great because the kids were rather anxious to play the birthday games they had picked out for his birthday. Hide&Seek and Triominos. Classic, right?

Naturally, the birthday boy picked Greek for his birthday dinner - greek salad, bread, vegetarian Moussaka, grapes, veggies and Tzatziki. Pretty tasty stuff!

Then it was time to open up presents. The kids could not wait to give their gifts to Jason and Jason was such a great sport (even donning a pair of the kids' bunny ears from an egg hunt that we did in Holland). The kids and I all went and picked out one gift for Jason together and made a special big birthday card for him (loaded with all the sweets he loves that we never have around the house) but they were concerned that it wasn't enough for Daddy so they loaded up a gift bag with all sorts of goodies for Daddy. I'm not sure how they decided on their selection process, but there was no shortage of books, blocks, and straws in that goody bag. I think my favorite part is that they hid it in my closet a week in advance so that Daddy wouldn't find it. They are seriously awesome kids. We love them and absolutely love their creativity and thoughtfulness.

 We were all pretty excited to give Jason his Candy bar card, and he was pretty excited to get it too.

 And while Jason was busy reading his big birthday card, Milayla was busy helping Jason open up his next present.

I love those little smirks, chubby cheeks, long lashes and the incredible personality that beams through this little girl.

 There is certainly no shortage of help when it comes to getting gifts open around here. The part I love the most is that the kids really are doing it our of the excitement to give the gift and are on the edge of their seats about how happy they hope it makes the receiver of the gift. Jason's excitement for his brand  new wallet definitely put a smile across these kids' faces, too.

Then it was time for cake. Ever attempted to make a gluten-free, double-layer, brownie cake with two energetic toddlers? I hope not. Though, with a lot of patience and the acceptance of a chocolate-covered kitchen, I think we made a pretty good team and produced some great results! 

 It was a fun day that we all enjoyed. We feel pretty blessed to have Jason as the head of our household. He's awesome :). We love him.

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Jason's birthday starts a plentiful string of holidays and birthdays for our family and friends so there is a lot of extra excitement surrounding his birthday as we usher in many more cakes and parties to come.

Of course, birthdays are about a lot more than cake; they are about celebrating a person's life and all the incredible ways that they bless your life. And boy, does Jason bless us in so many ways. We're pretty lucky here!

So to kick-off the celebration of Jason being one year older (and wiser too) we, the kids and I, put together 31 reasons why Jason is just plain awesome (and why we love him :) ).  

Here we go!...

31 Reasons Jason is Awesome!

1. He is extremely patient.

2. He is really good at knowing when to take things lightly and to laugh at himself. (Like when his wife and kids pick embarrassing childhood photos to put on a birthday blog post all about him...)

3. He is a great Daddy

4. Because he is BIG like I am (this one is 100% curtesy of Atticus)

5. He is super forgiving.

6. He has great work ethic and always does everything in his power to see something done

7. Because he is a great bike rider (the kids came up with this one! I love the way they think; it gives way for more childhood photos :) ). 

I loved Atticus' reaction to this photo... "THAT's Daddy? He has no clothes on! That's silly."

8. He is a great example to me and the kids in so many facets of his life.

9. How well he speaks french. It is so impressive that he has kept it up since his two-year mission for our church in Paris.

10. Because he is awesome (yes, he is awesome because he is awesome...it seems to be a continuous feedback cycle)

11. How willing he is to try new things (new foods, languages, cultures etc.)

12. His love for learning.

13. His love for reading.

14. How dedicated he is to following the Saviour

15. His mischievious smile that gives away any trouble that may shortly come around due to his actions. Both children seem to have inherited that smile...

pretty sure he's got a little "crazy" in there...

16. Because he gets to spend Saturdays with us. 

17. He can bake some pretty awesome cinnamon buns (and Lemon Meringue Pie!!)

18. He builds good towers

19. He has great hair (and when/if it all falls out...he'll have a lovely head :) ). 

20. He has awesome eyes!

21. He is a talented Piano and Organ player (even though he hasn't had time for much practice as of late..)

22. He is crazy handsome!

23. He's kind to everyone (even when it sounds like they are saying something mean in a foreign language...)

24. He sings songs with us

25. He's a good climber

He's the one up top...

26. He is genuine and cares about everyone. 

27. He is determined and goal-orientated

28. He knows how to make the most out of otherwise icky weather.

29. He has a great smile.

30. He gives awesome hugs, kisses and cuddles.

annnnd

31. He is just the best person that we could have ever prayed/wished/hoped for to be husband and father in our little family. He's awesome. We love him. And we feel so blessed to have him as the head of our household and all the incredible ways he blesses us and the world around him.

Yep, reallllly grateful he can laugh at embarrassing photos. I love him :)

Happy Birthday, Jason! We love you! Thanks for being so awesome!

Jason's New Year Talk

Jason gave a talk in church back at the end of December (after Christmas and right before New Year's). Seeing the time of year that he was giving the talk, the topic was on New Beginnings. December was a pretty crazy month with everything that was going on and I am so impressed that he was able to carve out some time to write a talk and a really great one at that. And he did an awesome job delivering it. Of course, he delivered it in German (thanks for the translation, Ingo!) but it's here in english for everyone.

We sure wish that our family and friends in Canada (and sprinkled throughout some other countries as well) were able to come and give their support in person, but since the logistics of that are a little tough I thought I would post his talk on here (with Jason's permission, of course). And even though you weren't about to be there in person, we sure do appreciate the thoughtful emails, calls, prayers and cards :).

When Jason was up giving his talk, Atticus decided to draw a picture of Jason giving his talk. So between Atticus' picture, and getting to read Jason's talk it is about as real as it gets without having actually been there (short of Jason recording his talk, maybe I should do that next time..).

Without further ado, I introduce Jason (enjoy!!!).....

:::::::

As we complete our Christmas celebrations and near the end of this year, many of us look forward to our future in the coming year.  What will the year bring? What will I accomplish? Who do I want to become? Whether we seek to improve some specific aspect of our life, or want to completely recreate ourselves, now is a wonderful time to consider where we are, where we want to go, and how we can get there.  This is especially applicable to our spiritual selves.  As spiritual children of a loving Heavenly Father, we all have the divine potential to become great.  Great in how we live, love and bring God’s truth to the rest of his children.  Yet we all make mistakes, and, as the apostle Paul wrote “come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). There is wonderful news, however, for anyone who may feel discouraged by the imperfections of their mortal nature.  The prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament taught us an important lesson.

One day, Jeremiah was in his house and heard the Lord saying:
“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
“Then the word of the Lord came again to me, saying,
“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? … Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” (Jer. 18:2–6.)

Though each us has has flaws, the Lord does not throw us a way.  No, he can make us anew.  He can make us into something useful, something beautiful, something great!  But for that to be possible, we must be moldable in the Master Potter’s hands.

Thirty years ago, in a 1982 general conference, Elder Hugh B. Pinnock of the Seventy gave a talk titled “Beginning Again”.  He says that from a spiritual perspective, we may all begin anew, and gives us eight ways that we can do so.

First, Elder Pinnock says that we must eliminate the phrase “if only I had done something differently” from our thinking and vocabulary.
If only David had not gone up on his roof that fateful night, he might not have fallen and committed murder.
If only the Nephites had stayed humble and acknowledged God in their lives, maybe they would have remained a great nation instead of being exterminated by the Lamanites.
If only you had not gone on that date, or taken that trip, or made that investment, or met that person, your life might have been different.
How much time do we waste thinking about what might have been had we done something differently.  Our thoughts and our words are precious resources.  Continually asking ourselves “What if” is not the question to ask if you want to start again.  Instead, we must face today, and accept where and who we are; look forward with faith and optimism to the future, and not waste precious time dwelling on the “what ifs” of yesterday.  A better question would be “what may be?”

Second, do not wait for tomorrow to begin again. In Proverbs we read “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” (Prov. 27:1.) This is particularly important to me.  Too often, I make a resolution or goal...that I will start tomorrow, or the next week.  Now -- right this very second -- is the time to resolve to change and become who we want to be.  

Third, Elder Pinnock admonishes us to commit to living the gospel of Jesus Christ in its entirety. “For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” (D&C 84:44.)

Elder Pinnock continues by saying,

“Many people live the gospel according to themselves. That is self-deception. There is only one true gospel. We may alter it or tint it with our own notions. But if we will adhere to the pure teachings of Jesus Christ, we will eliminate many of the rationalizations that lead to problems. The menu has only one entree. To pick and choose which of God’s precepts to live is satanic self-centeredness. Integrity is the foundation of our life-style.”

It is not enough for us to choose which principles, commandments and covenants we will keep if we hope to gain salvation.  In his Lectures on Faith, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained that “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.”  If we want to be saved, we must strive to obey all that God has instructed us to do.

Fourth, face reality.  And I would add - accept it! If we wish to journey somewhere in life, we must first know from where we begin; otherwise, the directions are of little value.  Often, it seems like it would be so much easier if we could simply run away from our difficulties.  King David was someone who thought this way.  He had been a good man, even a chosen and elect individual.  But he buried himself under his own lies, until they spiritually crushed him.  We can understand a little of what he felt from Psalms where he cried, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.” (Ps. 55:6.) Do we try to escape our problems by running away physically or emotionally in some way? I believe most would agree, however, that this cannot solve any problem.  It is only when we accept personal responsibility for our lives that we can begin to escape the weight of guilt or trial that weighs us down.  Remember, the Savior said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28.) He invited us to learn of him and to take his yoke (a much easier yoke) upon us. (See Matt. 11:29.)

Fifth, approach our challenges positively! Look up! Take charge! Sound the battle cry!
A poet wrote:
Never give up! If adversity presses,
Providence wisely has mingled the cup,
And the best counsel, in all your distresses,
Is the stout watchword of “Never give up!”
(Martin F. Tupper, “Never Give Up,” in Poems of Inspiration, sel. Joseph Morris and St. Clair Adams, New York: Halcyon House, p. II-77.)

If we do not know how to begin making the changes we want to see in our lives, recall what the Savior said:“Seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (JST, Matt. 6:38.) Just a few verses later, the Savior tells us, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matt. 7:7.)  The Lord has the answers we seek for, if we will but ask him.

Sixth, don’t begin again partially. We must be thorough and complete.  Have any of you tried to patch an old piece of clothing with a new patch? The patch will not hold.  I love how the Lord puts it: “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for … the rent is made worse.” (Matt. 9:16.) Don’t patch. Begin a completely new life.

The wealthy young man described in the New Testament missed an opportunity to follow the Master because he was unwilling to give all he had. Instead, “he went away sorrowful” (Matt. 19:22), and is never mentioned again.

Seventh, be open and candid in your relationships with others. I cannot agree with Elder Pinnock more on this point, and yet, I admit, for myself, that expressing my feelings frankly and honestly is a huge challenge.  Elder Pinnock said, “So many of life’s difficulties are brought about by being double-minded. Let us learn to say it as it is. Think of Peter’s extreme discomfort when the Master addressed him after Peter had been teaching a false concept: “Thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of man.” (Matt. 16:23.) From that moment, Peter was a greater disciple. The person who is open and honest will be vindicated. Time is his friend. Trust is his reward.”

Last, but perhaps the hardest of all; forgive. Paul said, “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also.” (2 Cor. 2:10.) In order to begin again, we must be willing to “love [our] enemies, do good to them which hate [us], Bless them that curse [us], and pray for them which despitefully use [us].” (Luke 6:27–28.) When we harbor resentment, hate, anger, or envy towards any man or woman, the only person that we hurt in the end is ourselves.  We cannot move forward spiritually while we carry the chains of the unforgiving.  I love the example that Elder Pinnock shares in the story of young Joseph in Egypt.  Here was a man who had initially been left for dead by his brothers and subsequently sold into slavery.  If ever there was someone who had reason to want revenge or to carry a grudge, it was Joseph.  Nevertheless, he chose not to.  Joseph said to his brethren when they encountered him in Egypt as Pharaoh’s deputy, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, … to save much people.” (Gen. 50:20.)  Because he chose to forgive his brothers, the Lord blessed Joseph immensely and made him an instrument in helping his family.  

I would like to finish by quoting Elder Pinnock once more:

“Yes, so much of heartache and grief eventually become blessings, our earthly instructions, and condition us spiritually. Even if we cannot understand the “whys” of our tribulations, we can still turn to God and rededicate our lives to his safekeeping. Yes, “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.” (D&C 59:23.)”

I challenge each of us this day, to commit to beginning again.  Become the person we want to be, and who our Heavenly Father knows we are capable of becoming.  If we want to know better what that potential is, we need only ask him.  Remember that we are literally his children, and as such we carry within us the seeds of divinity.  Each of his children born on this Earth were born to greatness, but it is for us to decide whether we will accept that role, that potential.  In the words of Eleanor Powell, “What we are is a gift from God.  What we become is our gift back to him.” Through the atonement of our Savior, even Jesus Christ, we can accomplish all things and bless the lives of our families and those within our reach.  Begin again, my brothers and sisters, and not just today, but every day.  

I testify of the truthfulness of this gospel and its power to save all who abide by its precepts.  Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He has given us the power to begin again.  It is why we partake of the sacrament each week, and attend the temple as often as possible.  They are opportunities to rededicate ourselves to a higher purpose and better self.

Uh Oh!

We seem to have a knack for little injuries around here, especially when it comes to the oven or a particularly infamous high chair. Jason gave quite the yelp the other day when he was trying to set up the high chair and got his hand caught. He had to wait for me to run across the apartment in a towel to release him from the pinch (quite the visual, I'm sure). And it left quite the mark...

Thankfully, it's only ever little things and it healed really well (thanks to some Dermox ;). Now, we will enjoy being better and staying that way!

30

We celebrated a pretty spectacular day around here this month - Jason's Birthday! Not just any birthday though, the big 3-0 and he was pleased as punch about it :). 

The kids were pretty excited about all the planning and preparing that they got to help out with. Atticus was eager to be the balloon-blower-upper (bless his heart). 

The lip curl kills me! He tried so hard!

In the end Atticus resolved to helping me stuff little papers into each of the 30 balloons that we needed to blow up (each giving a reason for why we love the birthday boy so much!). Then the kids helped pack up the balloons to hide them in the storage room until the following day.

On Birthday Morning, Atticus woke up saying "Happy Birthday Daddy!" and helped Mommy and Milayla pull out all the balloons, hang the birthday banner, and get a surprise Birthday Breakfast ready for the Birthday Boy!

The Birthday Boy was pretty excited to come into the living room to see balloons, cards, presents and warm Peanut Butter Pancakes waiting for him. Though we made him go through the cards and presents before he could eat, so those pancakes weren't quite as warm :). Atticus was particularly excited about the stain-glassed heart that he had made for Daddy. And Milayla loved seeing Daddy open the gift that she helped wrap.

Jason and his Super-hero emblem

30 chocolates for our Birthday Boy - though they came with pretty strict instructions on what he needed to do with them

He needed to  personally give every single one away! A task he happily fulfilled.

Unfortunately, Jason needed to rush off to work so he didn't have time to pop his balloons and discover the messages inside. So to quench Atticus' crazy desire for Jason to pop the balloons, the kids piled on the couch with Jason for a couple photos with some of the balloons. 

During the day, Jason was showered with plenty of wonderful birthday wishes from family and friends.

That night, as per the Birthday Boy's request, we arranged a babysitter and headed to our favorite Indian Restaurant for dinner (all organic and made by hand...DELISH!) where we delved into questions printed inside 30 Lucky Stars. The questions ranged from the silly to the serious and sparked some really great conversations. Though, having a conversation with Jason is always great :).

Since our Saturday was filled up with previously planned activities, the family birthday dinner was planned for Sunday. Boy, were we all anxious to get those balloons popped and see the smile across Jason's face as he read the papers inside. The reasons we love him vary greatly and were hard to narrow down to just 30. Certainly his incredible kindness and unselfish service made the list, but we could not forget to mention the perfect pot of porridge that he makes each morning, his scrumptious Lemon Merengue Pie or those handsome looks ;). Atticus even made sure to submit some specifically on behalf of him and Milayla (eg. We love you because you read to us).

Then it was time to sit down to the requested Birthday Meal - Moussaka, Greek Sala, Olive Bread and Tzatziki (can you tell we're still on a Greek kick around here?). 

After over a week of Jason working long hours, being able to sit around the dinner table with all of us present was a very special treat. And since the time had changed the night before (spring forward), we enjoyed the sunshine pouring inside the windows just a little bit longer as we talked, laughed and ate. 

Then came time for the cake which, unfortunately, was no where near the culinary masterpiece that I had envisioned for the sweet-toothed Birthday Boy. Though, despite a poor finished crumb (that fell apart when coming out of the pan - twice...) along with icing that went awry and left only enough to cover the top of the cake, it did taste pretty good. It may have not been picture perfect, but there were certainly no complaints from the Birthday Boy as he made a wish, blew out the candles, and cut into the first slice. Cake and ice cream were enjoyed by all (well, not Milayla - she happily chewed on carrot sticks). 

We had so much fun trying to make Jason's birthday extra special for him and cater to his birthday wishes. We are truly so blessed to have him as the head of our household. He continuously sets an incredible example of what it means to follow the Savior and serve others. He is a dutiful husband, father and friend and it is an honor for us to be able to call this incredible man "ours". 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!