Heidi-Mari's 12th Birthday!

On Saturday Heidi-Mari turned 12years old. My little baby girl, is transforming into a beautiful swan.

I’m entering a season where I have the joy of seeing and picking the fruit of years of hard work in my young daughter. For this birthday I didn’t buy her birthday presents, I’ve decided to make her birthday presents. I wanted her to experience my gratitude for her serving helping attitude in the house. Heidi is never too tied to help me with chores in the house. Never too tired to help a little one. Never too tired to take care of our babies. And especially when I'm pregnant, she constantly has her antennas out to pick up when I'm not feeling too well, although I try to keep my pose.

I've made her a beautiful, pink skirt and two aprons. The one apron is white with pink strawberries - her tea apron and the other a bright, multi-coloured apron, for preparing food. I've made these aprons while she was helping Daddy in his health shop and it was such a big surprise to her.












On Saturday night we (Christo and I) took her out for dinner. We started this tradition with CJ’s 10th birthday. From around the age of 8 years, they don’t have parties with lots of friends anymore; instead we took the birthday boy or girl out for dinner. The siblings stay with a babysitter and he or she has the privilege of a whole evening exclusively with Mom and Dad in a nice restaurant, enjoying delicious food and good service.

This time it wasn’t only Christo and me blessing the birthday girl, the Lord blessed Heidi-Mari and Christo and I could share in the blessing! It was the first time we visit this cosy, Italian restaurant in the middle of the Durbanville residential area and what a pleasant surprise. The restaurant is in an old wine cellar, the second oldest building in the Cape (the oldest building in the Cape being the Castle!) The thick white walls, high ceiling, big old wine barrel and the fire in the huge fire place gave it a unique, warm and friendly atmosphere. As we were half way through our meal the owner of the restaurant (an Italian in his 60’s) and an accordionist entered the restaurant and started to sing classic, Italian songs. It was awesome! He sang songs like Oh Solo Mio (my dear husband’s absolute favourite!) As he passed our table, he spotted Heidi and started to sing for her!

After the first song, he asked if there were any birthdays in the restaurant. There were three more people celebrating their birthdays, but he started with Heidi-Mari! It was so special. He sang her a beautiful Italian song, then asked her name and asked the whole restaurant to sing along, Happy Birthday. Obviously she was (more than) a little uncomfortable with all the attention and blushed tomato red, but it was so beautiful.

The food was excellent and Christo could drink a real Italian espresso – the perfect ending to a nice meal.

Then on Monday, as part of her birthday, the two of us went to the Scrapbook Shop in High Street for a whole day of scrapping. Daddy took the day off at the Health Shop (a real sacrifice) and he and CJ baby-sat the little ones. It was such a blessed day. We decided before hand on the lay out of the double page we would make and got all the photo’s ready. Heidi-Mari wanted to make a scrapbook page on how she grew up, using pictures of each birthday over the last 12 years.

We had a ball! We choose the exact paper, to fit with our theme and colour scheme from the many shelves of scrapbook paper in the shop,












and as the page progressed, we could pick and choose embellishments to beautify our double page.








Half way through the day, at 12h00 we went to the next door coffee shop and had a delicious lunch. It was a typical, cold, rainy Cape Winter day, and we had butternut cream soup and chicken pancakes with a cheese sauce. Add with it the relaxed conversation of two best friends – it was perfect.

How special to have my budding girl, becoming one of my best friends. To share hobbies, but also the business of life! With Heidi-Mari I don’t need to be someone else, to impress my friend. I can just be me, her mother. After 12 years she knows all her mothers weak points… but still loves me. I appreciate her love and friendship more and more as she’s grows up. Like a real friend she knows what stress me, she knows what makes me sad and she knows what makes me happy.

For the rest of the afternoon we scraped to our hearts desire! We almost finished our double page by 16h45,

before we headed home, to my loving, caring husband and my wild, lively boys and little girl! At home even more blessings were awaiting us. Daddy prepared us the most exotic supper! Lamb shoulder in a red wine, garlic and fig sauce, rice and spelt, a ratatouille vegetable dish and slices of butternut, brushed with olive oil and baked in the oven (CJ’s speciality).

Heidi-Mari quickly put on her apron and made us a delicious fresh salad.

This was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Thank you Lord, for such a blessed weekend, celebrating Heidi-Mari’s 12th birthday!

This is my prayer for you:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Prov 31:29,30

May the Lord grant me the wisdom to teach my daughter to fear the Lord!