This is year two of COVID birthday protocol and I really struggled to come up with a celebration that seemed worthy of turning 17 and meeting Mila's relationship needs in a covid-safe way. After a couple weeks of brainstorming, I came up with a scavenger hunt of sorts. Seven different clues guided her through the day to make her 17th birthday special...
#1 A special new shirt for your surprise day
#2 A special drink with your favorite Sunday person (Pastor Elanor)
#3 A fancy lunch with Finn & Roo's momma-chica (My college friend Risa)
#4 Time to shop for make-up (hello gift card that has been sitting in my purse for 2 years!)
#5 Go have cake & presents (By special request...a hamburger cake!)
(Great Aunt Nancy & Uncle Jake scoring big points in the card department!)
#6 She has a special seat in the car next to you & Isaac (Annie!!)
#7 They live at Auntie Jessie's house and love your favorite food (Dinner with the cousins)
Mila spent the day as the center of attention in the lives of many of her favorite people--there is no greater love language than that for my girl <3 This is just our 4th birthday together and I'm still learning what and how my girl appreciates things...she grabbed me in the hall this evening and humbly said "Mom. Thank you for mine 17 burrthday" then wrapped me in a hug. I think the day was a success.
Happy 17th Birthday, Kamila Naomi. May you be blessed in this next year with health as the Lord continues to develop in you His unique gifts & callings that only you can fulfill. You are a gift to us.
We adopted the Dutch tradition of making Olie Bollen on New Years Day with Gramma 8 or 9 years ago. Isaac has been involved in some fashion every year and while Mila was still in her "not crossing the kitchen threshold" stage for her first New Years in 2019, she has quickly learned to enjoy both the process and the outcome.
This year the fun for my Chinese son and Albanian daughter was attempting to pronounce the Dutch words Olie Bollen and Appleflappen. I declared success when Mila spouted "oh...HOLY BOWLING!" (As if nothing made any sense prior to her accurate translation of this annual event) Yep...that's it! Traditional New Years Day Dutch Holy Bowling! 😜
Isaac made the "coppy" (coffee = hot chocolate) and set the table. Then my IHOP family sat drinking hazelnut hot chocolate, eating Holy Bowling and watching the tiny little chickadees bop around in the snow. Feels like a good way to start the new year.
(also, pro tip...don't attempt to make appleflappen in the airfryer. Some foods are just meant to be deep fried!)
In 2018, when I received a cold call from the Adventist Church asking if we'd like to participate in a Christmas program for kids with special needs, I was both nervous & excited. I shouldn't have been nervous--to see my kids beaming together as a "beautiful angel" (Mila's specific description) and handsome drummer boy made my heart absolute burst. I thought, there is no way we can top this and gave my sincerest thanks to our new friends at the Adventist church.
Then, in 2019 when Mila got to be THE Mary and hold a real baby (NOT the real baby Jesus--we had that conversation, that is baby Kevin) and Isaac the Shepherd came over to check on them in the Stable, I thought, this is it; we've peaked. I hugged & thanked our Adventist friends deeply--this simply cannot get any better!
I was surprised to get a call in 2020, that despite the Pandemic Shutdown, a Special Stars Christmas program would continue virtually and would Mila & Isaac like to join the virtual choir. Of course! And it was perfect. We shared the video with everyone we knew <3.
We were already committed to the 2021 production, whatever that would look like, but was again surprised to get a call in August asking if Isaac & Mila would be willing to sit for a commissioned piece of art for the Christmas program. When I said "tell me more", our now good friend & director of Children's Ministry for the Adventist Church said "I can't find any pictures of Jesus and children with disabilities, so we are going to make one!". My heart absolutely leaped with joy! (What I didn't know until tonight was how absolutely AWESOME this piece of art would be...)
Fast forward to December. It is now time for "da Chris-chris show", but this time a grant has allowed the program to take place at the Performing Arts Center with 400 guests in the audience.
My two angels decided to sing one of their favorite Psalty songs from Jeremiah 29:11...together...without any rehearsals...with live mics (I cornered the director and nearly begged to have Isaac's mic turned off. "You can't give him a live mic! He's a pentacostal--he'll go full Billy Graham on the whole crowd!")
You've got to watch the full video!
The rest of the performance is a bit of a blur--I was beaming with pride, laughing with joy & hysterics...and a little bit of heart ache that this little piece of Heaven is denied to so many kids with special needs. Isaac & Mila were up on stage 3 or 4 more times in the large angel choir and many of our Christmas Friends presented their beautiful selves to us and to Jesus.
Angel Isaac was getting his HARK! on! ;)
Our nonverbal Christmas Friends, signed the most beautiful Christmas hymns. Some of our autistic Friends sang and waved to Jesus. Our Friends confined to wheelchairs presented as Wisemen on specially designed camels and even the beautiful Mary was twirled in her wheelchair as she arrived to Bethlehem. One young man with Down syndrome offered his most special dance as an offering to the King. To outsiders, they may have seen an intellectually delayed man simply swaying back & forth to Silent Night, but I know to Jesus's heart, that Friend's swaying was as precious as King David's dance before the Lord in 2 Samuel.
This is the absolute beauty of the Christmas Stars program: there is a difference between being allowed in and being ushered in as honored guests. Matthew 19:14 says "let the children come to Me". It was Jesus's command to his disciples to stop blocking the way to the Savior they sought. But it's more than just not preventing their journey to the Lord; it's not a passive command. (I nerded out and checked the Greek...aorist active imperative verb). It's an active command of "Move! Get out of the way and help them to me! Get organized, part the crowd, and usher the little ones straight to my side...it's their honest worship is that you should be learning from to enter into My presence (Matthew 18)." My heart is so very blessed by the Christmas Stars team because they truly understand this: everyone else stand back, we are making a way for these precious kids to offer their birthday gift to Jesus...open mic and all.
I thought the night couldn't get any better, but then the commissioned art was presented. OH. MY. GOSH. Each of our Christmas Friends were immortalized in the most special panoramic of the Christmas Stars program, including the neurotypical helpers (the shinning angels) who usher each one of our kids in:
Have you ever seen anything more spectacular in your life? A picture of Jesus and children with special needs...a picture of Jesus with MY children with special needs. <3
The artist, a lovely man from Mexico, titled it A More Special Night.
Six Hundred Twenty Two Days. My little family made it 622 days--March 12, 2020 to November 24, 2021 before The COVID entered our realm. Ugggggg. We did everything right--careful, vaccinated & wise without being fearful or paranoid; fully aware of the high risk nature of my kids (Isaac specifically) and the job that daily exposed me to the virus while trusting our Great Physician to protect us along the way. Our 622nd day, the night before Thanksgiving, ended holding my violently vomiting child and his bone rattling chills sending the dreaded text to Thanksgiving guests "stay home tomorrow, this is probably COVID" and whispering 'oh dear sweet Jesus'.
It hit Isaac first. Then Mila--looking at me with a panic during our tiny family Thanksgiving lunch then breaking into tears "I am NOT going to school on Monday!" She felt SO yucky, she pre-declared the start of her sick leave four days ahead of time. (Classic Mila!) Twenty-four hours later, we had all tested positive and the Health Department was sending ration boxes to our door.
I have harbored two fears over the last 18 months: 1.What if we all get sick at once? 2.What to do if one of us needs to be admitted to the hospital? There is literally no back up plan if I have to be two places at once caring for sick kids--and God forbid, I need to be admitted! Thankfully, I didn't get so sick I couldn't take care of the kids. It wasn't pretty but we all were able to stay away from the hospital and recover. Isaac slept 6 days straight, waking only to drink and use the bathroom, then falling asleep again.
He loves his pediatrician and had just said "I sick. You call Dr. P"
He spent the next 4 days refusing to eat; his little ribs poking through his frame crushed me but I was once again so very thankful that the Lord had protected my little boy from any respiratory effects of the virus--symptoms I am confident would have indeed landed us in the hospital.
She worked on puzzles for three days straight:
I am thankful for our friends that door-dashed orange juice and ginger ale to our doorstep. And friends that literally amazon-ed blankets and kleenex. (How anyone survived the Spanish Flu without doordash, amazon & curbside pick up is absolutely beyond me).
But also, if I find out who gave The 'Rona to us... ðŸ˜
