Pure Joy

Luke J.'s birthday celebration began early in the morning when he and I came out of the bedroom to be genuinely surprised by two kids hiding around the corner. For all our birthdays I decorate the kid's chair with a special sign and a balloon. Well, I dropped the ball on this one Luke. Sorry. But fortunately I have a very sensitive and creative 7 year old who did it for me, completely on his own, before we all woke up. He even included Claire by allowing her to color on one spot. So generous of him! ;)



We continued the celebration at Corona Del Mar State Beach. It was a beautiful day with lots of digging, burying, shell collecting, tide pool perusing, and Aunt Michy-B time!

For dinner we dug up a gift certificate to Olive Garden and enjoyed an over priced, delicious meal where we also found out they do NOT sing for birthdays but we were welcome to purchase dessert.

Friday night we had the family over for hot dogs (Luke's favorite) and dirt cake (cake that looks like dirt but tastes like heaven). The cousins had a wonderful time playing in the gorgeous weather we are currently enjoying.

We are thinking this video could win some sort of award. Not only for Luke's role in it, but the adults in the background. You may need to listen twice. Some background: I had been singing Happy Birthday to Luke all day and every time he would shake his head and grab at me to stop. It was funny. But this is even funnier!



The night ended with gift opening which was perhaps the most delightful experience for me. Here's a kid who doesn't talk at all but uses sounds and an inflection in his voice to communicate exactly what he is feeling. He opened every gift with a loud "aaahhhh",a huge smile, and a proud showing of the present in hand. Luke spends the majority of his life at least a little bit sick. I think a runny nose and a cough is the norm for him. But you would never know based on his personality. He emits a pure joy from him that is much more contagious than any of his illnesses. These last 2 years have been exhausting, a huge learning curve, but most definitely blessed.