Tuesday, October 14, 2014

you light up my life




We have been blessed to celebrate Zain's birthday the last two years at the beach. This past year he absolutely had his whole heart set on going to the beach at night to play with glow sticks. So late in the evening after a full day of his bidding, the lot of us piled into the car and headed towards Seaside, armed with near a hundred glow sticks.

The littles were antsy with excitement as Kaleb and I sat under a beautifully constructed pavilion, the sky black with just a light sprinkling of stars overhead, cracking sticks til they glowed bright with oranges, yellows and pinks.

As we worked, gradually a crowd trickled in. Other children began gathering around hoping to join in our little party. Overcome with the joy of it, my bugs began handing out their glowsticks to bystanders, small infants in carseats, toddlers in sand filled diapers. Literally chasing down kiddos, to hand them one single glowstick, simply so they could also delight in their fun.



Kaleb and I did manage to convince them to keep a few for themselves so they could live out their dream. We ran to the beach with our remaining glowsticks. We twirled, had a mini dance party, played catch and finally when the time had come to an end, we drifted our way back to land.

We crossed the street to finish the day out with a deliciously cool snocone. There they met other children, busy workers, and tired parents, who obviously needed a glow stick too. Finally having given away every single one of their treasures, we left Seaside with a stream of colorful lights popping up all over town. My wee bugs floating on a high from their evening and me with tears in my eyes, and thankfulness in my heart. These wild ones understand that love is at the heart of it all, they truly get it, and to be a part of that, to share in the joy of their world is a beautiful privilege. 



17 comments :

  1. Looks you all had a lot of fun! Glad to here that :)

    www.am-kubicowelove.blogspot.com

    love, xoxo

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  2. Glowsticks at the beach - such a nice idea - and so sweet of the kids to hand them all out - love it!

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  3. This is such a fantastic idea. I love that they gave all of them out! Your kids are cuties <3 xx

    Little Miss Katy | Lifestyle, Fashion & Beauty

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  4. :) how nice to celebrate the birthday on the beach..a dream fgor me.
    My name is Zainab...I am so happy to read that your son's name is Zain :)

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  5. Glow sticks on the beach... that sounds like so much fun!! :D I'm glad you all had a good time!

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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  6. Another fun family outing filled with love and excitement. On a recent camping trip an older couple walked the "loop" handing out glow sticks to all the kids they came across. They told me it was "their thing to do" to spread fun around. We too saw lots of glow sticks that night in the campground. Great idea to share.

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  7. Aw what an amazing time, and I love that you get happy tears!

    xo

    Michaela

    http://michaelajeanblog.com

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  8. Such sweetness that they would share their treasures! And a simple birthday that will be remembered for a long time.

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  9. How lovely this is and what a fantastic idea to spend a birthday at the beach, that must be so refreshing to be surrounded by calming water whilst celebrating! Your family seems so close and there really is nothing more wonderful than that :)

    http://aglassofice.blogspot.co.uk

    x

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  10. You are raising those kiddos with so much kindness and generosity in their hearts! I love it.

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  11. Your children are so beautiful! So glad he got to use the glow sticks at the beach, and their beauty attracted others.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  12. Sweetest kids ever! A night they will remember forever:)

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  13. Love the creative photography!

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  14. You know what I'm going to say…. :) as always your posts are beautifully written and have a lot of love in them - your family is absolutely beautiful and the way you capture and share these moments is wonderful.

    When they're older it'll be lovely for your family to look through all these photos and posts hopefully remembering all these wonderful memories that you have shared with us! :)

    Love how you've captured the colours too…..what setting did you use to get that?

    Layla xx

    www.sprinklesofstyle.co.uk

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  15. Oh, I love this! What a wonderful idea! And I love that your kids are so willing to share the fun! :)

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