Double Digits

Oh, boy... I have officially been a mama for a decade now!  Where, oh, where does the time go?!  Our oldest child reached the double digits this past week, and it has caused me to do a lot of reminiscing in this mama-heart of mine.

Davey has reached that awkward "in-between" stage of crossing over from childhood to being a teenager.  While we see some of those teenage characteristics creeping up, we sigh a breathe of relief to hear Davey's all-out childish giggles.  Why can't we just freeze these kids in time?

I prayed that God would give us a son as our firstborn.  It just felt so right to me to start our family with a boy to lead the way for his siblings that would someday follow.  And the Lord did not disappoint (and He never does!).  Really, I just love when our plans line up with God's plans.  {And when they don't line up with His plans, we just try to jump on the right track of where WE should be in our thinking, planning, and actions.}

I was really excited to realize that Davey would have the opportunity to turn the big "One-Zero" here in Israel.  As a great friend put it, "Not everyone gets to celebrate a birthday where Jesus celebrated His."  Wow.  I like that thought.

The evening before Davey's actual big day, we invited some other Americans over to our apartment for some partying.  We sat out on our balcony and enjoyed the perfect weather from our eighth floor.  May weather is pretty perfect in any country, wouldn't you agree?

We have Domino's Pizza AND Pizza Hut here in Israel.  Motorcycle deliveries are the thing for pizza delivery here, so our children excitedly listened for and awaited the buzzing sound of the motorcycle from our balcony.  And, our delivery man was kind enough to let Davey try on his helmet AND pose for a picture too.  Yes, we gave him a nice tip.  He deserved it.

I made a Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer cake that did not disappoint.  We couldn't find the mini Reese's  PB cups for decorating the top as was suggested in the recipe (though they DO have the regular-sized Reese's here), but mini Snickers candy bars did the trick.  It was challenging to bake in a kitchen that lacks much of the equipment I needed for baking, but a borrowed mixer and some dollar-store measuring spoons saved the day.

As if Davey did not receive enough birthday love, he was also sent some money which he is saving to buy a Kindle Touch.  This will really come in handy in a place where books in English are not readily available.  But, I am still wondering whatever happened to the days of my little boy dreaming of cars, trucks, and dinosaurs.  I know, I know, you don't have to remind me.  He is outgrowing those things. {sigh}  Our family's gift to Davey was a model of the Garden Tomb (which you can see in the left-hand corner in the picture above.)  He loves having this memory to take home with him of that place that has become so near and dear to our hearts.

On Davey's actual birthday, his Daddy surprised all of us with the news that we were going to a safari zoo in Tel Aviv!  The outer part of the zoo is drive-through only and the inner-part of the zoo was a walk-through area that we mostly enjoyed with a rented golf cart.  Double wow.

We now have a new pressed penny to add to our growing collection and a whole host of memories and pictures of this special time together.  And who knew that this "detour" in our lives could be so fun?!

Trusting the Lord for your future is always a good thing.  And I hope and pray that Davey has learned that by seeing what God has done for him personally through this "detour" to Israel!