Shade Canon Mashburn - the 8 year old

"Can I have a Bible like yours for my birthday?" - Shade's request to me last night, the eve of his birthday

 

"I've learned a lot about You through Shade since you introduced him to me 8 years ago, God. I've learned about having a big heart, about passion for life, about being able to love anyone, about welcoming new friends who don't have many, about having a love for action and adventure." - my prayer to God tonight with my son on his eighth birthday

 

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - Jesus, in John 10:10, one of the two verses Shade wanted to memorize tonight before bed.

 

"Anyone who claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." - Jesus, in 1 John 2:6, the other verse

 

My day started at about 5:45am, with my oldest son Shade walking into my room with two big packages that came in the mail last week from his grandparents for his birthday, with strict instructions not to open them until today. I had told him to bring them into my room in the morning, because I wanted to watch him open them. Mom woke up, asked him what he was doing, he explained that he was going to open them when it's time to get up as he crawled under the covers next to me.

 

At about 6:30 we were all in the living room ready to celebrate Shade all day. He opened his two packages from Carrie's parents, with scissor help from sister Callie and little brother Jakin claiming each surprise as his own as Shade pulled them out. A perfect Mashburn kid start!

 

Mom asked if he wanted waffles or pancakes for his special breakfast, and he chose pancakes. We all got chocolate chip pancakes, but Shade got one in the shape of an "S"! He joyfully ate 'em up, and got ready for school with mom's promise that our presents would be his when he got home from school at 3:00.

 

At 11:45, Shade's lunchtime, he walks in with a crazy lookin' candle hat from his class that says happy birthday, and he sees his little brother and dad waiting for him with Chic-fil-a at one of the cafeteria tables, which pumped him up (and made all his friends long for chicken!). As if that wasn't enough, mom showed up 2 minutes later to join him. His smile just kept getting bigger. His 2nd grade teachers gave him 3 coupons for 3 free lunches at 3 different restaurants around town.

 

He got home to see his birthday bag from us, making a point to wait for his mom to be in the room before he opened it, instinctively knowing that his joy is greater when it is watched, shared, and observed by mom. He got a cool little arsenal of nerf guns (wish they made em so cool when I was kid!) and air-soft guns (those too!).

 

Just as he was finishing showing off his new treasures to his neighborhood friends, another package arrived in the mail. From family in Houston, this time. More joy in scissoring and opening and card-reading and Jakin-claiming. Shade decided to share with his brother right away this time.

 

After a lasagna dinner cooked by dad (frozen, of course...mom was out for the evening), the three kids hopped in the Blazer to go get some birthday ice cream treats for desert. Shade got one of those fancy chocolate covered bowl-cone things with 2 junior scoops of peanut butter chocolate ice cream with Reece's Pieces on top.

 

I neglected to mention that we sang Happy Birthday to him...at breakfast, at lunch, when he got home, at dinner (twice), and now in the ice cream shop we are about to sing it again when Shade asks me to ask the ice cream lady to join in...which she did...making it sound a whole lot better, I might add (Mashburn's are loud, to be sure, but that's about it).

 

Then Shade seemed to be taken in by the momentum of it all...he stopped mid-spoonful and said, "Thanks, dad."

 

"Your welcome, buddy," I replied.

 

"Can we do a group family hug outside the door on the way to the car before we leave?" he said with chocolate mouth and smiling eyes.

 

"Sure we can!" I answered.

 

After a couple of more bites for everyone, Callie finishing her rainbow sherbet with hot tamales on top and returning from throwing her trash away, Shade continues his lavishing love and appreciation, "I love you guys."

 

"What?" Callie asked with a high pitched, inquisitive voice, because she had started a sentence just as he started talking (another unique Mashburn trait).

 

"I said that I love all you guys," Shade repeated, even sounding glad he got to say it again.

 

"Can we sing Happy Birthday to him again?" 4-year-old Jakin now asked

 

I looked at Shade, and with a hint of humility, but a welcoming smile, said, "Just whisper-sing it this time." Which we gladly did.

 

I brought 3 joy-filled children home tonight, and even the getting ready for bed routine was peaceful and pleasant. I purposely did Shade last, and as I got the first 2 to bed and approached him, he smiled from his room and said, "Thanks, dad. Can we stay up for just little bit and talk?" I invited him to follow me. He did so right down into the basement, right through the locked door of the prayer room. He ran over to his normal spot in there and pulled a blanket up over him, a tad cold, and looked at me sit next to him with anticipation.

 

As I pulled a box out, I informed him that "I have one more thing for you."

 

"It's a Bible!" he guessed, and I let on like he might or might not be right...but he was right.

 

It's pocket sized, soft leather, red-letter edition (with the golden edged pages, which he really liked). He pulled it out of it's box, smelled the leather, and said, "I love it!"

 

Thank you, God. Let him always love it...and more than that, let him always love who it points him to...and right along with that, Father, give him life to the full...the life it describes...the life of Christ.

 

We went up to his room with his last treasure of the day (it), and I with mine (him). We jumped in his bed to 'stay up for little bit and talk' when he said..."Hey, can we get my Bible and I memorize some scriptures?"

 

"Sure...which one?"

 

"I don't care...you pick." And he bounded across to get his new book while telling me about some of the stories he was learning from his teacher in a Bible class.

 

"I'm looking for some red letters," he announced, and then he let me pick John 10:10. After nailing it, and putting the Bible back in it's new box, he wanted to do another one. "Two every night," he said.

 

"You'll know more than me in a week!" I exclaimed, and then said, "Two tonight, but only one on other nights...and we'll practice the ones you learned."

 

He was cool with that, and handed me the Bible to give him another one. "This is my life's theme verse," I told him as I turned to 1 John 2:6...and he nailed that one, too.

 

And now I sit writing about his day...I guess because I didn't want to stop celebrating him yet, even though he's down for the night.

 

Happy Birthday, buddy. You are a joy to so many, and I am so proud to be your dad.