• Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Simply Bloom Co.

Where Passion & Purpose Collide

  • About
    • FAQ
    • Media & Interviews
    • Blog
      • Everyday Blooms
      • Marriage
      • Motherhood
      • Recipes
        • Breakfasts & Snack Foods
        • Lunches & Main Meals
        • Desserts & Sweet Treats
  • Speaking
    • Topics
    • Schedule
    • Conferences
    • Enneagram
    • Reviews
    • Podcast
      • Episodes
    • Booking
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • SOZO Book
    • Penduka Book
      • Penduka Shop
    • XES Book
      • Book Reviews
      • Interviews & Podcasts
    • R:EVOLVE Journal
  • Design
    • Client Reviews
    • Investment
    • Book in Bloom
      • Book in Bloom Bundles
  • Shop

Assembly Required: A Birthday Story

{alternately entitled: the things we do for our kids…}

Good morning, sweet birthday girl.

VBS & Ali Birthday 134

Your daddy bought you flowers!

 VBS & Ali Birthday 150

He also happened to bring in your massive birthday present from the garage.

{please notice the Christmas wrapping paper, for that was the plan…had we not all been sharing one room at my parents house with no room for enormous play things…so it got stashed for 7 months.  We went with plan B for Christmas}

*Please also note the image of fabulous kitchen assumed to be assembled inside.

VBS & Ali Birthday 154 

This her sleepy, happy face.

Sleepy, because she would have slept 2 hours longer had she not spied the balloon strings dangling from her ceiling.  We love to sneak in the night before her birthday and load her room with balloons…then we scatter a couple around the house, tied to little gifts, for surprises ‘throughout’ the day.

‘Throughout’ usually lasts 17 minutes.

Back to sleepy…how’s a girl to close her eyes again after balloon discovery?

VBS & Ali Birthday 163

Next on the agenda…waffles!

This might possibly be the only day she is allowed to eat sweeties before breakfast all year long…so daddy went all out.  Take 5.

{This might possibly be the most chocolate she’s ever eaten…in one sitting…before breakfast.  Thanks love, how convenient that you have to go to work}.

VBS & Ali Birthday 168

“How old are you today, sweetheart?”

VBS & Ali Birthday 177 VBS & Ali Birthday 178

Expecting to have to pop a couple of knobs or stickers on to present a complete kitchen for post-breakfast play, mommy opens box.

Mommy experiences near heart failure.

VBS & Ali Birthday 184

While birthday girl eats, mommy smashes box with sledge hammer sweetly sits…for almost 2 hours…attempting to assemble above mentioned {deceptive} kitchen before baby Bug awakes and attempts to ingest one of the {horrible} little knobs.

VBS & Ali Birthday 186 

I suppose when you pay $29 for something, rather than $129…this is to be expected.

{But why must I be punished for being a bargain girl?}

VBS & Ali Birthday 185

I do think 342,567,2334 little pieces is a tad excessive, don’t you?

 VBS & Ali Birthday 190

I will look for these words a little better next time. 

Adult Assembly Required.

Bite me.

VBS & Ali Birthday 200

Project “Kitchen from Hell” is completed right as baby Bug stirs.

Just in time for brutal exploration.  It’s Man vs. Kitchen. 

If anything has not been tightly screwed down…we will find out shortly.

VBS & Ali Birthday 222

Our little chef moves in…barefoot, with her baby.  Go figure.

VBS & Ali Birthday 226

I’ll bet there’s a fresh batch of oxytocin being created right here.

VBS & Ali Birthday 202

A stunning rendition of “Happy Birthday to me” is belted out…

VBS & Ali Birthday 204   VBS & Ali Birthday 211

followed by a dramatic balloon release…to the tree tops.

VBS & Ali Birthday 216

She gathers them once again…and then she’s gone.

Just like that. 

The {old, never-requiring-assembly} baby toys in her brother’s room beckoning her.

VBS & Ali Birthday 242

So long little kitchen, it’s been rad.

VBS & Ali Birthday 247

Mommy played with you for hours this morning…

maybe she’ll come love you a little more?

One day.

Until then, you can find her in ward# 253, turning knobs and twitching.

Related posts:

  1. Happy 6th Birthday, Bean!
  2. Happy Birthday, {Big Boy} Bug!
  3. Happy Birthday, sweet Bean!
  4. Happy Birthday, Baby Bug!
«
»

Motherhood, The Kiddos

Don’t miss a thing! Sign up for the monthly newsletter…

Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
 photo Joy.jpg

Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

Subscribe for Updates

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
Using ONE WORD, let us know how we can be praying Using ONE WORD, let us know how
we can be praying for you today.

He knows the details, we don't have to.

And if you pray for someone else here,
would you give them a 'thumbs-up' to
let them know you prayed for them?

/ / /

"Then you will call upon me
and come and pray to me,
and I will hear you."
:: Jeremiah 29:12
What do you do when you know God can… but you don’ What do you do when you know God can…
but you don’t know if He will?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, Monica Kaczynski shares her journey through cancer, surrender, and learning to trust God in the unknown.

This conversation is honest, tender, and deeply grounding.
Episode 023: Even If | Surrender, Hope + the Unfinished Story
Instagram post 18199828711358670 Instagram post 18199828711358670
In this deeply personal episode, Joy sits down wit In this deeply personal episode, Joy sits down with Monica Kaczynski as she shares her journey through pancreatic cancer with raw honesty and steady faith.

From years of infertility and surrender, to the unexpected joy of motherhood, to a life-changing diagnosis just months before her son’s wedding, this is a story of courage in the middle of it all.

🎧 Episode 023 of Oh, Good Grief is out today:
 Even If | Surrender, Hope + the Unfinished Story

Listen in wherever you get your podcasts.

#ohgoodgriefpodcast #simplybloomco
Using ONE WORD, let us know how we can be praying Using ONE WORD, let us know how
we can be praying for you today.

He knows the details, we don't have to.

And if you pray for someone else here,
would you give them a 'thumbs-up' to
let them know you prayed for them?

/ / /

"Then you will call upon me
and come and pray to me,
and I will hear you."
:: Jeremiah 29:12
The enemy tempts us. Then shame convinces us to hi The enemy tempts us.
Then shame convinces us to hide.

But God’s first response to human failure wasn’t condemnation.
It was a question: "Where are you?"
Not because He didn’t know.
But because healing requires that we name where we are,
and freedom comes as we choose to bravely step out of hiding.

🎧  Where Are You? | An Invitation to Come Out of Hiding now streaming.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #SimplyBloomCo
Instagram post 18062295662456563 Instagram post 18062295662456563
Why do we hide? Often it starts with something sma Why do we hide?
Often it starts with something small,
a moment of humiliation, rejection, or exposure.
And over time we learn how to protect ourselves.
We perform. We blend in. We build armor.

But long before any of our stories began,
God asked the first humans a question
that still echoes today: "Where are you?"

In this episode, I share a story from growing up in Namibia and explore the quiet ways shame can shape our lives, and the courageous invitation God extends to step out of hiding.

🎧 Episode 022 of Oh, Good Grief is now live:
 Where Are You? | An Invitation to Come Out of Hiding 

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #SimplyBloomCo
Using ONE WORD, let us know how we can be praying Using ONE WORD, let us know how
we can be praying for you today.

He knows the details, we don't have to.

And if you pray for someone else here,
would you give them a 'thumbs-up' to
let them know you prayed for them?

/ / /

"Then you will call upon me
and come and pray to me,
and I will hear you."
:: Jeremiah 29:12
Follow @SimplyBloomJoy

Copyright © 2026 · Designed by Simply Bloom · Theme from Restored 316

Copyright © 2026 · Darling Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Unfortunately it does not contain chocolate chips, you cannot eat it and there is no special hidden jar.