Wow have birthdays changed for Brent and I over the years. Looking back at the birthdays we have spent together the pattern has totally been rearranged lol. Growing up birthdays were a huge thing in my family. It was your day and it was all meant to do anything you could to make the birthday girl or boy feel so special! So of course when Brent and I started dating I threw myself into trying to make his birthdays better and better each year.
I can remember :
- planning surprise parties
- secretly flying his best friend in from California one year
- convincing a local bar to give me his actual college jersey they had hanging so i could frame for him
- expensive electronics
- concert tickets
And the list goes on and on. Then married life took over.... WOMP WOMP WOMP!!!! Lol
All of a sudden one year we just started doing cards. Adulting stepped in and although that isn't the fun way it is what was more reasonable. Building a house, paying the bills, saving saving and saving some more became what was on the to do list. Then the year we had Braxton it was just hard to truly celebrate because Brent's birthday fell so close to his. Then next thing we knew medical bills started rolling in and we decided to take the leap with IVF so no foolish spending was allowed in our eyes. But no matter what we would always sing, make a big deal about the day and spend time together.
Well yes a lot of the bills are still there just like everyone else but this year was different.
No amount of money could buy how this year we celebrated Brent's birthday. Leighton and Jean Paul colored him pictures of birthday cakes and woke up early to give to him before work with a small present. Seeing Leighton's excitement and how proud she was to give it to him warmed my heart so much. And of course Jean Paul is at the age where he wants to do whatever she does. Then after I picked them up from daycare all she was talking about was baking a cake for him so we could sing with candles. So that is exactly what we did. And since the weather has been nasty Brent was not able to cut grass this afternoon so we actually all got to spend some time together on his birthday. So not really any money was spent this year but the celebration was worth a million bucks. I've always been taught and have known it is not about the presents you give or receive, it is more about quality time and the memories you make. But more than ever I am constantly learning this first hand as time goes on. The moments and memories we make with our kids are what matter the most. And even when we do not realize it we are actually making our own traditions. Ones that can never be replaced, because more than most we know life can change in a heartbeat. Even when my kids are grown and I am gone I truly hope they remember to make birthdays special for each other. It is a very fond memory I have of growing up and I want them to feel the same way. Time is more precious than money!!! And people are more valuable than things!!!
Happy Birthday Brent! Hope your day was beyond special! Here is to homemade cards, cakes that may have egg shells hidden in them, pizza picnics in the living room and spit on the cake because the kids demanded to blow the candles out over and over again.
Love,
Sarah, Braxton, Leighton & Jean Paul
Well yes a lot of the bills are still there just like everyone else but this year was different.
No amount of money could buy how this year we celebrated Brent's birthday. Leighton and Jean Paul colored him pictures of birthday cakes and woke up early to give to him before work with a small present. Seeing Leighton's excitement and how proud she was to give it to him warmed my heart so much. And of course Jean Paul is at the age where he wants to do whatever she does. Then after I picked them up from daycare all she was talking about was baking a cake for him so we could sing with candles. So that is exactly what we did. And since the weather has been nasty Brent was not able to cut grass this afternoon so we actually all got to spend some time together on his birthday. So not really any money was spent this year but the celebration was worth a million bucks. I've always been taught and have known it is not about the presents you give or receive, it is more about quality time and the memories you make. But more than ever I am constantly learning this first hand as time goes on. The moments and memories we make with our kids are what matter the most. And even when we do not realize it we are actually making our own traditions. Ones that can never be replaced, because more than most we know life can change in a heartbeat. Even when my kids are grown and I am gone I truly hope they remember to make birthdays special for each other. It is a very fond memory I have of growing up and I want them to feel the same way. Time is more precious than money!!! And people are more valuable than things!!!
Happy Birthday Brent! Hope your day was beyond special! Here is to homemade cards, cakes that may have egg shells hidden in them, pizza picnics in the living room and spit on the cake because the kids demanded to blow the candles out over and over again.
Love,
Sarah, Braxton, Leighton & Jean Paul
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