Rebekah's 9th Birthday

So back in June, our newest family member decided to join us outside the womb (with a little assistance,of course).  And in the midst of recovering and learning to take care of six children, I missed blogging about my oldest daughter's 9th birthday, which was in July.  Since this is my blog and I make up the rules, I have decided it is ok to blog about it now. . . in October and she is lucky she is getting  a post at all.

We were at Grandpa and Grandma's house the day before Rebekah's actual birthday, planning to come home that day.  But Uncle Erik (prompted, no doubt by his two daughters) spontaneously asked if Rebekah would like to stay with him for a few days.  As much as we tried to say no (Rebekah is my NUMBER ONE helper around the house!!) we were unable to convince her that coming back home with her family would be as fun as staying with her cousins.  The catch is that with her gone, we did not exactly celebrate her birthday without here back at home.  Then she got back into town on the same day as Zipporah's baptism.  And while we had a cake for both of them, letting them share the day of celebration, overall, Rebekah's birthday was largely underplayed.

But she did not complain. . . because generally she just does not do that.  So I will continue with a "birthday post of sorts," in this spirit of gratitude for the amazing young woman Rebekah is becoming.

Reason #1 that Rebekah is amazing:

She has such a sweet soul.  I have quite a collection of holy cards and they seem to keep growing (charities love to send that kind of stuff).  I usually give them to Rebekah to use as bookmarks.  After going through a basket of "stuff" (you know, that "stuff' that collects everywhere like plaque and is just difficult to keep up with!! - but I digress) I gave her a fairly large pile of cards.  I expected her to put them in her desk.  But later I discovered she had concluded there were too many for her desk.  So instead, she took some sticky tack and put the religious pictures up ALL OVER the house.  Seriously, they were EVERYWHERE: Below the car key hook, on the front door, on the dryer, on the bathroom mirror, below the crucifix in my bedroom, even on the OUTSIDE part of the back door.  You could barely walk two steps without encountering one.  It was very sweet.  In the picture below you can see one by our holy water font.

Reason #2 that Rebekah is so amazing:

She gently leads us all toward holiness.  The other morning I noticed the little note beside the holy water font (as shown in the picture above).  She wanted to remind us to use the holy water.  This font and her sign are beside the doorway to the kitchen.  A doorway everyone walks through multiple times during the day.  A well-thought-out plan, there, Rebekah!

Reason #3 that Rebekah is so amazing:

She has a heartfelt generosity that knows no bounds.  A while back we were over playing with our neighbors in the late afternoon and dinnertime was approaching.  I commented on what we were having for dinner (as I believe it was in the crockpot or the oven - whatever the case, it was almost ready for us to eat) and our neighbors said they had not started dinner yet so it would be a while before they ate.  Unbeknownst to me, Rebekah slipped back into our house at this point and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the neighbors, so they would not have to wait so long for dinner!  Then, about ten minutes later I gathered our crew and started heading back to our house.  Out came Rebekah with the sandwiches that she proudly presented to our neighbors.

Rebekah, you are certainly one of the greatest gifts I have received!  Such a wonderful big sister and role model for us all.  I thank God for the young lady you are becoming and pray He will continue to bless you, today, forever ago on your actual birthday,  and always!

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  

(Ephesians 1:16)