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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

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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As Christmas draws near, may your heart find space As Christmas draws near, may your heart find space for rest, for healing, for hope, and for the quiet ways God is making you new.

If you’re tired, be gentle with yourself.
If you’re hopeful, savor it.
And if you’re somewhere in between,
welcome to being human.
Grace meets us in all of it.
For months, I’ve been sitting with a gentle nudge For months, I’ve been sitting with a gentle nudge I couldn’t ignore.
A pull toward sharing again, but differently. Softer. Slower.
From a place shaped by grief, held by God, and steadied by healing.

And now, after years off the public stage… it’s almost time.

A new project is coming.
A conversation, really - about the hard and holy parts of being human.
About faith that’s wrestled with, not polished.
About becoming whole in the places that once felt broken.

I’m both excited and cautious, stepping back into this space with open hands, trusting the One who invited me here.

In one week, I get to share what’s been stirring.
I hope you’ll join me.
In the grace-laced words of Aundi Kolber, may we " In the grace-laced words of Aundi Kolber,
may we "try softer" this time around, 
and into the coming year.
All is grace.
As we move through this season of thanksgiving and As we move through this season of thanksgiving and inch toward the end of the year, I’ve been reflecting on what this year has held — the heartbreak and the healing, the grit and the grace, the parts we survived and the parts that surprised us. And a few things rise to the top.

I’m grateful for life — for the young one we lost too soon and the impact he made, and for my favorite one who got to stay. For the ICU team who cared for my hubby after his stroke and surgery. For his life, his healing, and the restoration we’ve witnessed.

I’m grateful for seasons — for the reminder that it won’t always be this way. Hard seasons don’t last forever, and goodness still finds its way into the cracks.

I’m grateful for friendship — for the people God has enveloped us in. For community that feels like home. For the redemptive conversations and the healing that happens around a table with people who know you and love you still. And fresh sourdough.

I’m grateful for movement — early Thursday walks with my best friend, returning to the gym after five months away… achy, winded, and 15 pounds heavier, but still showing up. For a body that’s in transition, but resilient.

I’m grateful for my kids — for our daughter’s graduation one month after the stroke and the miracle of that day. For our son, now taller than all of us, with a tender heart shaped by brutal loss. And for our bonus boy who has loved our girl well for years—and loves us, too.

And I’m grateful for the Word — for the way it’s carried, challenged, and steadied us. And for The Chosen and House of David for breathing fresh life and color into Scripture again.

There’s more, always.
But today… this is enough.

Gratitude for what was.
Hope for what’s ahead.
Grace for the in-between.
After a long stretch of quiet, I can feel a new se After a long stretch of quiet,
I can feel a new season taking shape.

It’s subtle… a little tender… and honestly, a bit terrifying.
But it also feels like grace. Slow and steady, patient and unassuming.

The last few years have held both ache and healing, unraveling and rebuilding. God has been faithful in the dark corners, gentle in the grief, and persistent in inviting me back to life in ways I didn’t expect.

I don’t have all the answers.
In fact, I’m not even sure I have most of them.
But I do know this...
Something is coming.
Something rooted.
Something honest.
Something that has been growing quietly beneath the surface.

I’ve missed this space.
I’m easing back in, one brave, grateful step at a time.

Stay close. More soon.
Grace + gratitude 🌱
I am regularly overwhelmed by the kindness of God I am regularly overwhelmed by the 
kindness of God in the small + simple.

Things like twinkle lights + Christmas jazz,
scraping out the peanut butter fudge pot
all by myself while sitting on the counter,
and walking around the corner to find my
loin fruit snuggled up together over tea.

They may fight like cats + dogs at times,
but their bond is deep and true and sweet.
Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛 Written at the Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛

Written at the intersection 
of faith and psychology, 
this book is yet another 
soul-nourishing,
heart-healing, 
boundary-fortifying 
gift from Alison Cook
(if you’ve had a heart-to-heart
with me in the past two years,
you know how much I loved 
‘Boundaries for the Soul’). 

As an enneagram 2 who was raised 
in the church, this book was a timely
and liberating read. Pure balm for the 
weary, recovering-people-pleaser soul. 

I am beyond grateful for the wisdom, 
compassion + experience that Alison 
brings to all she shares (and it was
such an honor to be on her launch 
team for this beautiful new book).

Need a survival guide for your growth
and healing journey? Here you go! ✌🏼

#thebestofyou #thebestofyoubook #womenoffaith #healthyboundaries #healthyyou #healingjourney
Find yourself a tribe of people who will, togethe Find yourself a tribe of people who will, 
together, spend a beautiful Saturday
morning pulling this workout off:

• 20 mile run
• 340 tire flips
• 2,000 air squats
• 1,000 pull ups
• 1,500 box jumps
• 2,200 pull ups
• 600 devil press
• 3,300 sit ups

Brutal. Amazing. 
Exhausted.
So grateful for these two - their friendship, enco So grateful for these two - their friendship,
encouragement and wise counsel over the
past decade of being our pastoral couple
has been such a gift to our family 💛

Congrats on your retirement, dear friends!!
Follow @SimplyBloomJoy

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