Elijah's birthday

It doesn't seem possible that Elijah could have turned 16, but he did.......

Where does the time go??? I heard a lady once say that she was in a supermarket line with a screaming baby after one of "THOSE" mornings when an elderly woman came up behind her and said something along the lines of "treasure every moment, it will go by in a blink". The speaker said that she felt like responding I've been blinking furiously all morning and I am still HERE!!!! I understand those kinds of days but in the big scheme of things the older woman is correct. Even as we brought Koliah home from the hospital a few weeks ago I remarked to Tim how it couldn't be possible that the rest of the kids are so old!!!! Where did the years go??? How many more years will our house be full of all the things I love --- okay, okay I know that sounds romanticized. I know (believe me I REALLY know) that it is also full of noise, laundry, dishes and messes but I wouldn't trade that for any of my kids!!! How much longer will our house be full??? I was watching Elijah this weekend -- he has changed SOOOO much just in the last year!!! He definitely is becoming a young man; my boy has gone.............

His 16th birthday was a milestone which was really what Tim and I wanted for him but it is still bittersweet.

We asked several men to come and create for him a rite of passage, like in centuries past, but a rite that focused more on character than physical prowess. We used the Raising a Modern Day Knight book as a jumping off place but we also have a few friends that have done similar celebrations for their 16-year-olds so we had a lot of information and help!!!

Men started arriving at our home at 10:30 in the morning and spoke with Elijah on various topics that Tim and I felt he would need as he grows to be a Godly man. We had a couple of men who could not physically be here so they sent letters, talked to him on the phone and one of our dear friends even posted a talk with Elijah on facebook for him. We were SOOOO mightily blessed by all the men that were willing to invest a bit of their experience, their knowledge, their hearts into Elijah on this monumental day. Then after all the men had shared we hosted a dinner for the men who participated and their families. It was a great time of fun, food and fellowship with our dear friends and family. We ended up with about 30 for dinner!! At the culmination of the evening Tim presented him with a sword - the Sword of Solomon (which represents his wisdom). It really is a beautiful piece -- 51" long, silver and black with gold inset and laser work on the blade. The gold insets are the Star of David and the Ark of the Covenant. It was a very special evening and I was teary at the end of it.

I have had it asked - What's the point?? It does seem a bit strange I guess for a birthday celebration but our hope is that this night will be something that Elijah treasures for the rest of his life -- something that he looks back on and remembers not only for the event but also for the love of his family and the other men and their families who chose to invest a piece of themselves in our son. We wanted to give him men that would accept him in their brotherhood, men that he could respect, that he could admire and go to for counsel if situation or circumstance arises where he needs counsel and we are not available to him. It is our hope that his relationship with the men who participated will endure but that it will also change and he will see himself as a young man --- a young man with a future ahead and a brotherhood of men who will help him achieve the destiny God has in store for him.

What a colossal, significant step in his journey............

We got a few pictures -- most of the day was kind of individual and private so we didn't intrude for pictures there but we got a few at dinner. I posted them in a new slide show.