Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Jacob Turned 23!... a month ago.

I'm really pressing into the phrase "better late than never" on this one... 

Happy Birthday Jake!!



Jacob turned 23 in September. He told my mom that he wanted a birthday party. Birthdays in our home usually consist of the Birthday Person's favorite meal, dessert, the birthday song, and a gift from our parents. Oh, and always, ALWAYS, waking up to my parents singing happy birthday with a video camera in our face. We act like we hate it, but we love it. Well, my brothers might actually hate it. 

Our group of friends in Iowa have made a bigger deal of birthdays for the last two years. So much so, that we dedicate at least an entire hour to honoring the Birthday Person with songs, gifts, poems, slideshows, acronyms, and the like. 

Those experiences have totally changed my view of birthdays. 

I love that we get to honor people and be honored on birthdays! How great it is to lift up, spur on, and acknowledge the beauty in our friends and family once a year in a big way?? So great. That's how great it is. 

So, for Jacob's birthday we surprised him. Each member of the family took a letter of his name, picked a word that described Jacob, and encouraged him! I just love it. 

My letter for Jacob was A, so I chose the word ABLE.

I chose able because Jacob has a high capacity to do many things with excellence. I wish I had my chart of all the words I wrote, but some were...

Mender - he is not only great at fixing things around the house, but he also longs to mend people's broken hearts. He has been there for me through break ups, moves, and challenges. He has desired to do whatever he can to mend my broken heart.
Gas - he is like a gas pedal in our family. We are full of dreamers, people who have many grand ideas for what to do. Jacob is the person who puts those ideas into action. There have been countless nights when a bonfire was suggested and an hour later Jacob was the one who was out there starting the kindling so we could all enjoy our great idea. 
Seeker - I have seen him and his amazing fiance, Kelsey, seek God together. This is the thing that will pour into their marriage and make it strong. He also seeks out ways that he can show his love to Kelsey through gifts, hugs, dates, etc. 

Those are just three of the 10ish that I had for him. Other people did things similar to me with picking different words and explanations - others made slideshows, others had multimedia experiences. It was a riot and a blessing to all of us. 





Thanks, Jacob, for letting us bless you and in turn be blessed. You're an outstanding man and I love you very much!

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