Celebrate Today- ceremonies and celebrations to make your days count

Our church back in Knoxville had a wonderful tradition to start off the school year with the "Blessing of the Backpacks."  As the kids came up to the front of the church with their backpacks, some of them were asked to pull out an item from their backpacks and think of how that item could be used to be a blessing to God and to others.  Then they were each given a card with a blessing, and the congregation prayed for them. We decided that this was too good to leave in TN and we started this up in Seattle when we moved here in 2012.  This is our 4th Annual Blessing of the Backpacks celebration here. Kids gathered on our porch steps, Anna and her friend Mary Margaret took turns reading the lines from the blessing on the card, and then we scooped up ice cream for everyone. It is one of our traditions that is short but so very sweet, and my hope is that through the years that the reminder to go forth into their schools to be a blessing would take root in their hearts a litt...

Our friends' 16th wedding anniversary was on Friday, and we got to be on a camping trip with them near Mt. Rainier on that day.  Balloons and streamers were stowed in the car for the occasion, and before Rachel and Aaron got out of their tent that morning, I recruited their kids Katelyn and Jake to help decorate and make the campsite festive with a fun morning surprise.   the art of surprise....  Sweet 16th smiles!  Hard to beat this memory of a place to celebrate an anniversary!  16 candles!  Friday (July 31st) happens to be Harry Potter's birthday too so we put this sign on our tent for the day... Why not? It added a little more magic to our day for sure. 

In the past, we have celebrated half birthdays with sandwiches cut in half, half filled glasses of milk, half a piece of cake, etc.   In the middle of the celebration, we have also sung “Happy Birthday”, but we stopped singing halfway through the song.  It's actually kind of tricky to figure out exactly where the halfway mark is in the song! :)  We have some friends who celebrate their child’s half birthday by having the child pick a gift they want to give  rather than receive.   This summer, Seth wanted to make “blessing bags” to keep in the car to give to people who are asking for money and food on the street.   As a small group, the kids assembled these bags for his half birthday with bottled water, new socks, pens, pads of paper, granola bars, etc.   The kids all loved the project and it was a sweet way to celebrate Seth's half birthday. one of the notes that the girls wrote to put inside the bags 

This spring when we were volunteering at the food bank, there was a box of random donations that included some gingerbread houses. The volunteer coordinator told us that we were welcome to take these home with us, and I put mine in a drawer to save for when Micah came home from Malawi so that we could have fun with it this summer. When he came over last night for our monthly little baking date together, he remembered that I had shown him a drawer with some things I'd saved for our projects together.  We both agreed that this gingerbread house kit that I'd saved for him was perfect for a Christmas in July celebration last night.  The roof designs were such fun since the kit came with stencils.   I must say that gumdrops make everyday a bit more festive. :)  merry merry! 

I love days like today (Christmas in July) as they are simply excuses to pull out the stops and celebrate just because .  This morning, I had Jason and Taylor come down the steps together to the living room for a fun surprise.   a Christmas banner, a Santa hat, some Christmas lights and a few fun gifts  were part of the decor this morning.      Other years, we've been on camping trips, and it's been fun to bring goodies to put inside some socks I brought for stockings that I've hung by our campsite as a fun surprise, but this year it was a rainy Seattle morning with a bit of cozy time in our living room.  Whatever the decor or wherever we are, it's fun to mark the day on this 25th of July each year.  Merry Merry! 

ebenezer stones  Last night for Memorial Day, we had some friends coming over for dinner, and as I was setting the table with some red, white and blue placemats to be festive, I thought it would be meaningful to mark this day with Ebenezer stones.   It seemed like the perfect project to pull out to take some time to reflect and remember the ways over the past year that God has been faithful and has helped us. I Samuel 7:12 says, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”   Samuel was erecting a stone to remember God’s help, blessings and faithfulness after a difficult time of trial and hardship.  The word Ebenezer simply means “stone of help.”  We had a bowl of rocks and a cup filled with Sharpie markers on the table, and at first our guests thought this was a curious table decoration.  I explained to them during dessert that each person ar...

Pentecost Sunday is today. One of my favorite traditions for this day is in Knoxville at Church of the Ascension where they call this day "Balloon Sunday." This picture below is from the time we got to be there a few years ago to see the joyful decor.  Balloons represent birthdays, and Pentecost is the birthday of the church. The balloons also remind us of the gift of the Holy Spirit that we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday. 2012 balloons  our friend Jud at the Church of the Ascension with his boys in 2013 balloons we have tied to our door in Seattle to celebrate in our own way for Balloon Sunday  a timeless poem below that is definitely worth the read (or re-read if you know it!) in honor of Balloon Sunday:  BALLOONS BELONG IN CHURCH by Ann Weems I took to church one morning a happy four-year-old boy Holding a bright blue string to which was attached  his much loved orange balloon with pink stripes... ...