Zachary's 21st Birthday & Time Capsule Opening

What a fun time we had Saturday!  My parents came to town Friday night, and my mom, Zachary, Lauren, and I spent all day Saturday cooking for Zachary's 21st birthday. The 21st birthday in our home is special because the kids get to open their time capsule that was made at their 1st birthday party.  So for 20 years that sack that was his time capsule has been safely stored away.  I've never even peeked to see what was put in any of them, so it's always exciting to me, too!  

Lauren bought Zachary a yummy cookie from a shop in Oklahoma City she had made with the Italian flag on it. She gave it to him on Friday.  We gave him a special book, which I'll tell about towards the end of this post.

Originally Zachary wanted to cook all of the food for his party, but in the end he decided it would be easier for him if we all helped! It worked out perfectly! He chose Italian food, which was great because he and Lauren spent three weeks there in May (which I haven't yet blogged about, but need to!).  I'm usually not one that likes the food I've cooked all day. I guess just being around it all day makes me not like it, BUT this time I have to agree with those who said - it was all delicious!  Everything just seemed to go right, and turned out like it was supposed to (yippee!).  

Most of the decorations I had for this theme, but was really excited to see the "Hunts" brand of large tomato sauce at Sam's. Mine were so old and had been in the garage and gotten too hot, I guess.  The red cans make it extra cute!

Walmart had these red and white plates in a "picnic" section, but worked great. I ordered the Italian flag napkins from Amazon. 

 The traditional "cousin" picture.  The little ones are second cousins. They make parties even more fun!

My mom made two chocolate pies (Zachary loves that one she makes) so we would be sure to have enough dessert. Zachary had requested that I get a church friend's banana pudding recipe for his main dessert. We put candles on it!

And then it was time for the time capsule opening. I remember using slick paint on that sack at the last minute before his 1st birthday party thinking I should have done something different - more special. But I didn't let myself change it, either. It was fine!

 There were lots of special things in the capsule.  A red wagon from Grandma (my mom) that had a message of how she pulled Zachary in that wagon a lot when she kept he and his siblings a few days in the summer when I worked part time.

 An extra special handwritten letter from his great-grandpa with his first wedding band in it.  Oh, I wish that grandpa was still alive to have seen this, but how neat that he has this memory and keepsake.

 A plate and napkin from his first birthday party. The candle was in their too. I should have used it for the "1" of "21"!! (But I had no idea it was there! Ha ha!).

 A letter and pictures from family members.  It was fun ready them and looking at the pictures.

When Zachary was born one of my friends gave me a scrapbook keepsake book. I kept it up well and it was something special that just he had.  It tells funny sayings that he would say. I enjoyed reading that again. 

 The book we give them when they turn 21 is the words of the book "Just in Case You Ever Wonder" by Max Lucado. The words are put to pictures of them growing up.

It was a LOT of work, but I'm proud of it and know Zachary will be, too.  I loved looking through pictures of him. It brought back so many memories and tears of joy, happiness, and a little sadness at how fast it's gone.

And I love the main point of the book - that we taught Zachary about God...about Jesus....about Heaven.

Another special thing was in the time capsule. This book. I wrote a letter to him in it - a really long letter. I'm not sure he's even read it, yet! Ha!  And I had letters that I wrote to him each year.  Some will be blog posts that I print out.  And two years were missing for some reason. I got a little overwhelmed a few years and had a hard time keeping up. It seemed like I was always writing and maybe I just didn't do them??  I don't know. Hopefully they'll show up. If not, it's okay.  

I'm not sharing a picture of it, but one thing we did last week was watch the commercial we made for Comanche County Memorial Hospital about Zachary being born and having Group B Strep.  The commercial was good at the time, but they made it waaaaayyyyy close up so our heads are HUGE! And I have on way too much makeup!  But Zachary and Lauren looked cute :).  It didn't show Jacob, although he would have been born at the time.

Then the party was over.....

On Sunday, Zachary's actual birthday, Mom and Dad were still in Tipton. We all went to Bible class and worship, then had a quick lunch before they headed back to Texas and we left for Texas....visited the DFW area for a few days for a quick vacation trip.  We worshiped at Roanoke, TX, then at in Carrolton at Babe's. A fun and delicious ending to Zachary's special day!

Dear Zachary,
When I think of you celebrating your 21st birthday, my heart is filled with pride.  God allowing me to be your mother has been one of my biggest joys of life.  After always wanting a big brother - or any brother - it was fun having a boy! I'd never been around boys other than my dad, grandpas and your dad, so actually being around a little baby boy and raising him brought all new experiences in my life!  And I have truly loved every minute of it.

I'm writing your letter a few days late, so it's a Wednesday. Just tonight at Bible class, you taught about two miracles of Jesus - Him healing the woman with the issue of blood and Jairus' daughter being brought back to life.  As you taught, I just kept thinking about your wisdom and knowledge for your age.  I know people think it's our doing (your dad and I), and I hope and pray that we have taught you a lot and you did learn a lot from us, in reality I know that a lot of what you know you have learned on your own - by digging into God's Word yourself.  That's what it should be and that's one thing I love about you.

As you attend college and learn in classes, I know that you are doing what you can to shine your light for Jesus in any way you can.  In a small way, but something that I have seen you do, is that you get to know people. You learn their names. When I've been with you on campus, you speak to them and say hello to them. You do what you can to make them feel like you care.  I can't remember what you said exactly, but I remember you saying you were specially trying to learn people's names and say their names.  You know....that is something people need to hear and you are doing that.  That one thing made a big impression on me. It's something I need to work on myself.  You teach me things all of the time.

You're so mature for your age.  I thank God for what He has done in your life and how He is molding you into what He wants you to be.

This summer has been special for you and for us.  We have had you here, which I never would have thought possible. You've worked at the children's home helping organize and plan events, camps, etc. You've directed QMCC camp session with your dad for the 3rd year, baptizing someone for the first time and influencing many others who are on their own spiritual journeys.  You've gained knowledge in your future career, but been an asset and helper to all who needed you here - especially to your dad.

I'm going to miss you when you go back to college, but am also excited about your junior year.  You've made it a goal to have lots and lots of people in your apartment.  Hospitality is important to me, and I think all of our family feels that it's important. It's so great to see you willing to open up your college home to reach out to others.  They will be thrilled! :)

Zachary, all that your dad and I wanted for your future was to know that we loved you and for you to be a faithful Christian and a worker for Him in the Kingdom.  You are doing just that.  There's nothing more to say.  All I can say is that I love you and am proud of you.  Most importantly, I believe you are doing God's Will.  You have Him at the center of your life.  I pray that He is always the center.  If He is, all else will be okay.

I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. Now and forever my baby you'll be.  MOMMA (You call me Momma. Not all the time, but often. No one else does :) )

Lauren's 21st Birthday Party - Opening the Time Capsule

It's over, but I haven't taken down the decorations.  I think I'll leave them up just a few more days.  The party is over, but the fun memories remain!

We celebrated Lauren's birthday with a Minnie Mouse them, at Lauren's request.  I didn't want it kiddie looking, but just pretty.  She picked hot pink over red, so the sugar cookies were ordered in that fashion. A friend of ours has a business in Wichita Falls, TX, so if you're interested, I can give you more information.

My mother-in-law make Lauren's birthday cake.  She's probably made almost all of her cakes, though I remember making a few of them (very few!) and ordering one!

Lauren was excited!  This is the 21st party I have decorated for this sweet girl, but it's the LAST ONE! Ha ha!!  We will have a party for her next year, if she desires, but she knows that this was the last "big" one where we decorate and invite everyone....(though for a free meal, the family might still come :) ).

Isn't it strange how things go so quickly when days and nights sometime seem slow?  Twenty years ago, at Lauren's first birthday party, we made her a Time Capsule that was to be opened when she turned 21. I got the idea from my sister-in-law, Robin.  She had done this for her children.  But this 20 years went fast!  That first birthday party really doesn't seem long ago, though other things seem longer.  I guess special times do tend to seem not so long ago.

This note from her grandma came with a locket.  It told about the locket and how old it and the chain were.

My sis-in-law did something special by putting everything that Lauren's cousin's had been doing on her envelope.  She also put a picture, a little note written by she and her husband, and some colorings done by her small (at that time) children.

Lauren got letters from her great-grandparents, who are no longer living.  That was special and really neat to be hand-written. This note was from her dad's grandmother.  She included a $2 bill and a newspaper note about the changes coming to money.  Her grandpa also gave her $100, which looked fake compared to the money today (which really looks fake!).

This letter was from an uncle who was a Postmaster.  It was neat reading it with him right in the room that day!  How special!  He included a stamp.  They've sure gone up!

One set of great-grandparents gave her a card explaining the meaning of her name and this birthstone angle.  They've both passed away, so it was extra-special seeing this special memento and his writing.

This was Lauren's most special gift - an engagement ring one of her great-grandpa's gave to her great-grandma, who she never knew, but resembles in pictures.  He wrote a letter, which made us cry.  It is 75 years old!

I have to admit that since Lauren opened her time capsule, I've been tempted to want to peek into the boys' and see what's there!  I have been tempted, but I won't do it. I want to be surprised along with them, some day, if that day comes when they turn 21.  That will be special, just like this was.  And it will be here before we know it.....

Another thing I gave her at this birthday party was all of the birthday letters and blog posts I've written about her.  Each year I wrote her a letter (hand written many years, then these posts). I can't find a few of the years, but hopefully some day I will!  

Happy birthday, Lauren!  We are so very thankful that God gave us to you and allowed us the opportunity to be your parents. We are thankful that He is molding you and using you for His good purpose.  Continue to walk in His way and let Him direct your paths.  Love, Mom

Happy 21st Birthday, Lauren!!!

Well, it is here.  The 21st birthday of our oldest that we planned for 20 years ago, on her first birthday.  That birthday party was special. We had family members write mementos that would be given to Lauren on her 21st birthday - 20 years later.  That time capsule was stuck on the top shelf in a closet for what seemed like would be forever away. But it didn't take long to get here. Not long at all!

There are so many emotions about Lauren turning 21.  For one, the world considers her an adult - "legal" to drink.  But you know what? Lauren doesn't care about being able to drink legally (or illegally for that matter).  That's not important to her.  It doesn't affect her in any way.  Her "party" will be fun...and she will remember it....and she won't have to worry about what she might have done during the celebration.

Lauren is more mature than I was at 21, and I was married!  She has done things I probably never would have done - like gone off to Disney World to work last semester on the College Program!  What a wonderful experience!

She's fun. She's funny. She's talented. She's beautiful.  

But more than that, she strives to live her life in a way that pleases God.  She doesn't go along with the crowd, but strives to be the example of Jesus to those around her.  

We're proud of Lauren. She is pursuing her dream of being a sportscaster, just last night having made her TV debut on the college student-produced TV show.  

She's dreamed of that since the 5th grade when she first decided to go that route.  She's job shadowed Emily Jones at the Texas Rangers and been working towards that dream since that time.

But with all of those accomplishments and dreams, being a follower of Christ and sharing His love with others is what we want for her more than any earthly accomplishments.  Our prayer is that she continues to mature, that she marries a man who has those same goals, and raises our future grandchildren up in the Lord and His church.  Nothing else matters.

We can be successful parents in many ways, but if we have failed at teaching them the spiritual truths of God's Word, then we have failed.  Lauren knows that and believes it.  She knows that is the most important thing in life.

Lauren, we love you to the moon and back. We look forward to spending the weekend with you and seeing you open your time capsule and other special gifts.  The years have passed quickly, but we're thankful to have seen you grow every step of the way.  We are thankful God allowed us to be your parents.  We have been blessed by having you in our lives.

I'll leave this post with my favorite passage, which you've known most of your life.  Follow it, always.
I love you!!
MOM :)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6