~ Birthday Meals ~
We traditionally let our children choose their birthday meals, and I thought it would be fun to have birthday meals for Benjamin. So we had. . . .
chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast before the boys left for school
Fudge sundae Oreos for snack
Cafe Rio burritos and ginger ale for dinner
~ Cleaning the Headstone ~
DC and I went to the cemetery and cleaned the headstone. I learned online about a way to apply a preserving wax and shine it up, so we did that, too, and it looked so much nicer!
It was so nice to have this quiet time to talk about our beloved son and what he means to our family. This was one of my favorite parts of the day.
~ Balloon Release ~
We sang "I Am A Child of God" as the balloons went up. It was a special moment, even though things didn't go quite as well this time as last time. (We had two balloons pop, and two get stuck in a tree! :(. I'm so glad I got pictures of the notes the boys wrote to their little brother--they were so precious.
Then came the obligatory playing in the leaves. . . . :)
~ Cake and Ice Cream ~
We had his special carrot cake (the yummiest ever - sometime I'll post the recipe :), sang Happy Birthday to him and blew out his candle. I love how in this photo you can see the reflection of the candle flame in the picture behind it.
We will have a FHE this week to talk about our gifts to him. Each of us will choose something and write it down to work on this year that will help us return to Heavenly Father and be a forever family, so that there will be "No Empty Chairs." The little wooden box in the photo above is where we keep these.
Thank you so much for the comments on his birthday post and for sweet emails and phonecalls! We felt so loved, and it truly was a beautiful, joyful day!
8 comments:
I'm so thrilled that your heart is or has healed. It's been so neat to see this process on line with you. Do you feel that this experience is a blessing? It must be. It feels like it to me. Your a beautiful person with a beautiful family and my heart is full of love and tears for you and all of them. Including Benjamin! Happy Birthday little guy!
Michelle, you are an amazing daughter of God, and remember He does not give us more than we can handle. You are truly blessed, you have a wonderful family, and dear friends who stand by you even when you are having a rough day. We Love you so much. Please keep posting, no matter what it is, we are going to read it. You help each of us in our daily lives and the trials that we go through also. Keep your head up, stay strong and faithful, and yes one day you will be on the other side of Jesus holding Benjamin's other hand frolicking in the leaves together. You are an inspiration to me and hopefully to everyone else. Thanks for all you do. MUCH Love to you :)
I'm so grateful I was blessed to spend that wonderful day with you and your family. It was fun to be together and think of your beautiful son, who I know you miss more than you can stand to think about. Thank you for sharing those special moments with me and my kids.
I can't wait to get the carrot cake recipe. I'd like to make it a tradition to have it in our home on Benjamin's birthday, too. Then we'll be celebrating together.
I love and miss you, Michelle. It drives me crazy now that I have to send you an email if I want to tell you something (instead of strolling over to the room where you are). But, I'm so grateful for the visit.
How wonderful. We still need to go to lunch to celebrate his birthday. Tessa threw a kink in it for me, but I have not forgot. Pick somewhere and we will do it.
I love your family pictures the silver shirt matches so well.
Sounds like it was a great day. I love that you celebrated his birthday like he is there with you. Well, he is there with you. I'm glad you are doing well.
Happy Birthday Benjamin. I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you. I was there in my heart all day long. What a lovely way to spend the day. I love your no empty chairs box idea. I love that you cleaned his headstone, it looks wonderful!
sounds like a joy filled day.
loves & hugs to all.
What a delightful day! We enjoyed letting off balloons in Benjamin's memory also. We're so grateful for a celestial grandson!
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