Thursday, September 3, 2015

To ..... Birthday Boy Ben -



The other night the boys pulled me into their conversation with -

Jack - 'what!! you don't have a million dollars!?
Me - 'no bud, that's a lot of money'
Jack, in pretty much complete shock - 'i thought you had like millions. you give like thousands'
Ben, all sorts of matter of fact - 'jack every time they go to Costco it's like $200 and that's just a medium load'

oh let's get rich & buy our par-ents houses in the south of France ..... <insert musical emoji here>

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For his birthday - 3 days short of an entire month ago! - he said he wanted pancakes for breakfast.
He also said he wanted to cook them himself. Outside.


check.
check.
and check.


Grammy & Grandpa showed up just in time for hot pancakes & fresh strawberries.
They also showed up with a new bike.





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Nerf guns & Legos are always a for sure winner too.

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We brought along every ridiculously darling cousin we have and went back to the water slides.
Auntie April is known for her cheese puffs & tooties pops .... those combined with too many plastic (hostess) donuts left poor birthday boy Ben feeling a bit sick :)


His actual birthday finished up with steak for dinner & building his new lego sets.

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It's interesting ... or ironic .... to me that it's taken an entire month to post his birthday .... in light of the fact that we're coming off a killer week of relationship.

We hurt each others feelings.
We frustrate each other.
We accuse each other.
We don't know what to say & we're selfish.
We believe lies instead of truth.

Ultimately he's been one of the clearest pictures that relationships with people are directly related to my relationship with Jesus.
Flip that & the same is true - my relationship with Jesus is directly related to relationships with people.

I love him.
Even when it hurts & it's hard & I bleed.


I guess what's struck me the hardest is how when it's all boiled down it's less about me & Ben or Ben & I. It's about me & Jesus and Jesus & Ben.
Can you say humbling .... 

And lest this post tank in depression .....

He is anything but :)

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He knows more lyrics to Mat Kearny & TobyMac than I do .... obviously ;)
If anything can be done it should be done with music.
He loves music & sleep & good food & netflix & days off of school.


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He lets her pick his clothes & style his hair ... most of the time :)
Their relationship is all sorts of fun & beauty.



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If he leaves at 18 then we're already 1/2 through & I want to make the most of every bit of the last half. I want the fact that he is loved without condition by a God who will forever be faithful be so deeply rooted in his dna that his life is secure because of it. That every part of his being is changed because of that truth. 

Here's to the next 9, Benners. 

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