Kids Birthdays in another Country!

We four children and three of them have just had their birthdays this last month. It is the first time we have had a family birthday in another country and we did what we could to make it special, fun, and memorable for each one. Elijah was the first to have his birthday here in Guatemala. I had prepared what I could in bringing things from home to make it special; for example the cake mix, chocolate mousse mix and skor bars to make our favorite cake for birthdays "Death by Chocolate", streamers, and balloons. I also bought a few little gifts for each one that I knew they would like from back home. Elijah got a Hero Factoy toy and lego. I made cupcakes for his class at school here. He got to pick where we went for dinner and if he wanted anyone to come. He picked Dominoes which is 30 minutes from our house and he wanted a few of our neighbour kids to come. It was great and we had such a fun time. Simple yet so fun.

Jenna was the next one to have a birthday, only one week later. We put up some new decorations for her in the house, I made cupcakes for her class (different of course then Elijah's), and she got to pick where to go for dinner as well. She picked Dominoes but with only our family. I liked it that it was just us and we had such a nice time. We were so full from dinner we could barely eat up our dessert, which was Death by Chocolate. Jenna wanted the neighbour kids to come for cake, which they loved! The gift Jenna got from us was a new watch. She then gave her old watch to one of the neighbour friends. He liked it as it was blue and sporty. Jenna also recieved a few things from friends back home. Such a great day.

Two weeks later it was Noah's birthday! 3 years old already! WOW! He had been asking everyday since Elijah's birthday if it was his birthday...he even would sing "Happy Birthday" to himself. All Noah wanted and cared about for his birthday and for weeks he was asking us, was a bike. He has never had a bike and he learned one sunday at Shadow of His Wings when he borrowed another boy's bike. Almost everyday when he asked when his birthday was, he said "my birthday, my want a bike". Super cute! Well, Steve got him a bike at a Market in Antigua the weekend before his birthday. I don't think he has really gotten off it since! He loves it! He rides it throughout our house, which thankfully is tile, and out to the back cement area in the backyard. The bike only has handbrakes, which he figured out how to use in the first 30 minutes of riding. He seems so big on it as he flies by. His birthday was fun....it started after his nap with a scavenger hunt throughout the house finding clues and then candy, we went to a different restaurant with the neighbour kids, our friends with their two kids came over with a pinata, and then cake to top it all off. Noah was so hyper and excited from all the sugar, he was just running, jumping and almost bouncing off the walls.

When it was all said and done, I was exhausted. A lot of my time in the last month was to try and make sure my kids had great days and felt special even though we were away from family and friends on their birthdays. I think they all were happy and felt loved and really that is all that matters. My fears that they would be sad, disappointed or upset, were eliminated each time as my kids had great days and didn't ever mention they were sad, upset or missing being at home. Thank the Lord! I was amazed at how kids really just want to know they are loved and special, and the day can be simple and they love it! Now I can enjoy looking back! I am so proud of my kids and thankful for who they are and how they have handled living in another country away from our families and friends. They really are great kids!