And the Celebrations Continue…..

Blame it on my husband and I…..way back in the beginning, we made the celebration of our birthdays bigger than any other day of the year. After all, that’s the day God made us so we rejoice and are so glad for it….not just for a day, but oftentimes, for the week and in more recent years, my husband and I called it “Birthday Month”.

The older we get, we tend to downplay having another birthday. We don’t want any “big deals” or any attention given to another birthday. But, in reality, the older we get, the more we SHOULD celebrate another year of life. And, those of us who have been here for half a century and more are the ones to be celebrated EVEN MORE. For goodness sakes, every year that we’re still here, we deserve fireworks, celebrations, recognition and tributes….. because we EARNED this birthday and every other birthday! We made it another year.”

And, that’s what we’ve done this week. It was Payton Wallace’s 16th birthday on Wednesday (I made it to Frisco to celebrate with the family), then yesterday was the celebration with 40+ of his friends from his church. Then next week we’ll continue on to enjoy another one of his birthday gifts….going trout fishing in Oklahoma where Papa and I took the grandkids every summer.

Yesterday, I witnessed how kids that love God and each other celebrate together. Over 6 hours of wholesome and outrageous fun — at the park, scavenger hunt, pizza and so many snack foods and topped it off with make s’mores. Many of these teenagers are musicians and worship leaders so the dueling grand pianos, multiple drum sets (a new one was added today — another gift to Payton from Mom & Dad), guitars, microphones and ukulele made for lots of joyful noise indeed! I love how Larry and Staci embrace these occasions. Their home is welcoming to all, especially their kids’ friends. They never have to be concerned where they are — because they all love being at home with the Wallace’s.

And, as for this Nana — how sweet it was to steal away to Larry and Staci’s bedroom and get a really sweet chair massage as the kids had their hay day! Celebrating my family’s birthdays from this vantage point, is mighty fine! Life is GOOD!