Happy Birthday to My 50 Years Young Son!

Whew! How can it be? I still so fondly remember your Dad and I dreaming of having a baby boy, and then God gave us YOU! We were so young and in love and hardly knew how to take care of ourselves – never mind, a baby, but with God’s help, and our highly experienced parents' help, we made it…..and so did you.

Your beginnings of conquering and winning have continued to empower you for all these 50 years. The first 50 brought you to today -- and you've accomplished so much and had so much success -- which means you have more wisdom and knowledge in the next 50! Four beautiful boys, a precious daughter, and your loving and devoted wife -- all of whom have been such treasures to me.

I pray that this birthday marks, and starts, the greatest and most blessed years ever. This next fifty will provide more wisdom, more creativity, more celebrations and more memories than ever before.

This next fifty will bring you more daughters, and precious grandchildren. You will rock out being a grandfather because you’ve learned your lessons well -- not to mention that your Dad and I gave you plenty of “great grand-parenting role modeling”!

My son, I love you beyond adequate words to describe. I believe in you. We entrusted you to God’s mighty hands when you were two weeks old (pictured here) as we dedicated you to Him for to raise you up in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man. On this 50th birthday, once again, I’m entrusting you to God’s mighty hands as your life continues to be dedicated to Him for His honor and glory. Your best days are ahead. Your best memories will be made and your best life lived begins today. I celebrate you and thank God that He gave me YOU! I am so proud to be your Mom!

Happy Birthday, my precious son! I love you with all my heart!
Mom

Not Looking for a Celebration -- I AM a Celebration Looking For a Place to Land!

This is my friend, Debbie Moutsos! I do hope you'll meet her someday because you'll know you have met a celebration when you do. Several weeks ago she sent out these birthday invitations to her own party. From Woodstock to Medicare -- Debbie is Turning 65.

Last night was that party -- and it was everything she had hoped it would be. So many friends from around the country came to celebrate this full-of-life gal. One of her friends stood up to talk about her. She said, "I don't think I've ever met anyone who was so excited to turn 65 so they could get Medicare!"

It's true. I've heard it said many times "I can't wait until I'm 65 when I can get Medicare!" Those of us who were paying those high dollar insurance premiums monthly, can wholeheartedly agree with Debbie. I sure did. We paid into that benefit and it sure feels rewarding when we must have a doctor appointment, a procedure or even a hospital stay and we read "Bill Paid in Full".

Ever hear someone complain or be sad because their birthday went way under the radar. It seemed everyone forgot their special day and it made them feel so unappreciated. It even caused them to go into a deep depression. That's because their happiness depended on others and what they did or didn't do for them. In Debbie's case, she didn't wait to be celebrated. She prepared, organized, paid a substantial amount for the incredible meal to be catered -- a 5-Star meal at that.

She had a tremendous band there -- which created the desire to dance and sing along. Debbie danced with just about every man that was there -- young or old. She even announced "I've lost 20 pounds because of my water aerobics class (her instructor was at the party) and I'm going to lose 20 more because I'm looking for a man!" She has no filter! LOL!

The fact is, Debbie could have easily taken the money she spent on this party and gone on a cruise or extended vacation, but instead, she wanted to extend her love and appreciation to her friends and family -- far and near. With or without a party....Debbie always is The-Life-of-the-Party! You can hear her laughing from afar.

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Why am I making such a big deal about Debbie's birthday celebration? Because, she taught me something. When she moved to Tulsa from South Padre Island two years ago, she had one friend here. She had to start all over with meeting new friends. She did and last night -- she expressed how much she loves her Hyde Park Family!! She was willing to get out of her comfort zone and start over again with new friends. Proverbs 18:24 says "To have friends, show yourself friendly." Debbie has got that down pat!

In life, it's easy to get stuck on a "What about me?" mentality. But then comes along a Debbie who, instead of saying "What about me?", says "It's all about me -- so let's throw ME a party!" That's how I want to live. I want to be a celebration just looking for a place to land -- so let's start NOW....planning our gratitude and thanksgiving party! I'm sure the whole town will want to be there....because we're just that kind of fun-loving, fun-acting and love-giving kind-of-people!

Hidden Treasures

Upon my return from Texas, I went to see Mom. I know she loves getting the latest news about all the family and I use my visual aids (my cell phone's photos) to describe it all. I had lots of photos from Payton's 16th birthday celebrations to show her, that she loved.

She played baseball as a young woman so she got a special joy of hearing about Brennan, our 11 year old's recent game. They were down 4-0 when Brennan was up to bat. It was a full count: 3 balls, 2 strikes, and each strike was a tipped ball. His dad hollered out "Shift your back leg". He did, and WHAM, he hit a homerun over the fence which brought in two who were on bases and his run. I showed her this photo of Brennan's team running out to celebrate with him at home base. Mom loved it. So much so, that she went back to her bedroom and found the photo of herself (on the right), her friend, and her sister, Penny (on the left) in their baseball uniforms. During the war, they worked for Western Steel who had competitive ball teams. Their team's name was "We Steel". Mom's eyes brightened up when she told me about how she made sure her back leg was positioned for her runs and homeruns, sliding into home, and her stretches to catch the balls in outfield. Treasures.

This little shared time with Mom (my mother-in-law) reminded me of the importance of spending time with our loved ones, but not just "time", but giving them the opportunity to remember and share their past. With my own sweet Mom, I would go over and often capture our conversations on video so that my family could hear "her stories" of what school was like for her, their Christmases where they got an apple, an orange and a few nuts in their Christmas stocking (that was all, but big -- in a family of 12), how she and Dad met, how they fell in love, how they made it through tough times. Treasures.

Maybe there is a Mom, Dad, Grandparent, Aunt or Uncle (in your life) that are past the ages of getting out and around like they once did, but I assure you, they are filled with stories and adventures that are just waiting to be heard. Maybe this weekend would be a good time for a planned and unrushed visit to see them and let them share those treasures with you. I promise you, you'll leave with joys inside and they will feel such love from you that you gave them the time to want to know! Live with no regrets. Know those loved ones deeply so they don't leave us with hidden treasures inside that we never found.

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!