PeekabooNWA

A Birthday to Remember

Posted on 29. Oct, 2008 by admin in A Dad's View

Being a part of a blended family is a blessing like no other. While it has its unique challenges, it has its own special offerings. Our family will experience one of those many special blessings on November 2nd of this year. It is on this day that there will be a birthday to remember for our oldest son, Ian, and our daughter, Symone. Furthermore, and more than they realize, it will be a very special one for Cassandra and me.

Ian was born on November 2, 1998 and three years later – on November 2, 2001, his “sister-to-be” Symone was born! When they became brother and sister in October of 2005, they were surprised to find they had the same birthday! However, this year will mark the first time they have been able to celebrate the occasion together.

In addition to that, this will be the first time in five years that I will be able to celebrate Ian’s birthday with him on his actual birthday. Since he was allowed to move to San Diego with his mom I have waited patiently for his birthday to fall on a weekend that coincided with my once-a-month weekend visitation opportunity.

This birthday will be one to remember for Ian and Symone. Not only are they going to be able to celebrate it together for the first time; but, their Nana, Papa, Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Jon and Aunt Kimmy, and cousin, Ava, will be making the trip out west to celebrate their special day!

While other families may look in on our family’s life as less-than-normal – it is normal to us. We have two extremes with our children’s other parents – one tries to hinder our relationship and the other is indifferent to whether they see the child or even talk to them on a regular basis. As a result, we travel for weekend visits to California or Texas every few weeks to make sure our family spends as much time together as possible and that they have some sense of normalcy. Yes, it is tough on the wallet; but not doing it is not an option. Doing all we can within our power to provide our children with a sense of family is sometimes difficult – but always worth it.

We do not always understand the circumstances surrounding our lives and we may get overwhelmed at times with all of the challenges; but, days like November 2, 2008 make our efforts and prayers for strength come to fruition. While things may not always play out the way we would like them to, it is how we handle situations that will make a lasting impression in the minds of our children. Our family can attest that God’s plans are bigger than anything we can imagine and we look forward to what He has in store for our future. During this month of Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon our family. And to all the families in our area that have their own unique situations, I would just encourage you to take time and reflect upon all the things your family has to be thankful for.

On a separate, but related topic, Cassandra and I have started a new ministry for families in our area and across the nation. We have been praying about this for two years and God recently gave us the green light. Blended4life ministries is a ministry of families for families. Our mission which we have termed, Mission 13 – based on 1 Corinthians 13:13, is dedicated to bring faith, hope, and love into the lives of all families regardless of situation or circumstance. Our strategy for carrying out Mission 13 is 4-fold. We will offer an online library of resources that cater to varying family needs, hosting online webinars, and live small group discussions with experts and other families that have overcome various obstacles within their family. We will also be promoting and hosting family events for families in our area to come, have fun, enjoy some family time together, all while having the opportunity to network and meet other families. Lastly we will be facilitating and leading specific target groups to offer support and to focus on taking action on various laws within our legal system that impedes the successes of the family unit.