To say that Ivy enjoys birthdays is like saying ‘summer is hot’. She is the master of birthday lists, the queen of obvious hints – certainly not shy in sharing what her hopes for the day might be.

This year we were slightly befuddled as to how to celebrate the occasion without the time-honoured pool party, given our move to a house without this feature. We also missed the boat in handing out invitations at the end of the school year and were keen to avoid the holiday crush mid-January that usually involves guests being unable to attend.

We had just finished up a wonderful Beach Mission experience in which Ivy had made lifelong friends who were just slightly older than her. Violet and Chloe had made a particular impact upon her – partially because of their similar interests (an undying love of Stitch) but also because the two older teenagers were incredibly fun and relateable. They promised me on the last day of Mission that they would come over and hang out with Ivy on her special day, but I wasn’t sure if their enthusiasm would wane when they returned to ‘real life’.

The day dawned and the girls ensured me they were still keen to come over, so Ivy waited with increasing anticipation for their arrival. We had recently acquired a new puppy (an Australian Shepherd named Fudge) and he was as excited as Ivy, having had the chance to meet both girls on Visitor’s Day when Mum and Dad brought him along. They arrived at 10am and promptly disappeared upstairs, spending hours playing with Ivy’s new toys (Lego) and chatting with her.

We all walked over to the Sushi place (including Fudge) for lunch and ordered a platter to share. While it was being freshly made, Ivy introduced the girls to her favourite place – Ezy Mart. With a generous gift of a stuffed milkshake squishie from Violet, we returned to enjoy our feast. Somehow the three of them managed to entertain themselves all day until dinner time, with featured chicken schnitzel (as per Ivy’s request). It was, according to Ivy, the best day of her life.

Of course, thinking that this auspicious experience would replace the need for a whole class party situation was incredibly naive of me. Ivy and Hudson joined forces to convince me that they still deserved a party with their school friends. Obviously, we folded, partially because I’m becoming increasingly aware that these days of school parties are numbered. Eli is showing very little enthusiasm for one this year and he is only 14.

Squeezing all of the parties (because why would we try and make things easy for ourselves?) into the Term 1 school holidays was both a genius move and a nefarious one. While I could batch some of the tasks, such as lolly bags, having everything hit at once almost destroyed me. Ivy insisted that her favourite food (sushi) make an appearance, so I spent the morning fiddling with nori sheets, tuna and cucumber so that there was more than enough for everyone. Pizza was the other requirement and I swear the local pizza shop owners looked at me quizzically as I returned over multiple days for enough food to feed a small army. The cake was, of course, Stitch-themed, with blue and white sprinkles and a mini Stitch figure celebrating in the middle of the fun.

Dave rose to the challenge of Games Master again, running the basketball games with all the kids and mildly tiring them out. Unfortunately the venue couldn’t free up the expansive multi-purpose room with a handy kitchn, so we crammed into a smaller room with what felt like one hundred loud children when it was time to eat. After being entertained by what must have been the world’s loudest rendition of (screaming) Happy Birthday, Ivy blew out the candles and we served out the cake. Clearly all of her friends know her tastes exceedingly well, if the small mountain of Stitch-themed gifts were anything to go by. It is fair to say she thought the party was a success.

The past year for Ivy involved a lot of growth and challenges. She excelled at school, gaining both the ‘Best in School’ award for the Maths Competition and an Academic Achievement Award for Grade 3. She threw herself into basketball (even making it to State Finals with her mixed Hoop Time team) and has a insatiable love of reading and pandas. Ivy’s wit and sense of humour are quick and she has plenty of practice using both against her brothers. We cannot wait to see what this year brings!

…

Dear Ivy,

You are a whirl of passion and creativity, paper scraps and pencil shavings. You see life in colour, add your own and throw in a dash of glitter. Your room is a constant hub of artistic activity, with piles of paper and sketches, paint splatters, and projects on the go.

You feel things deeply, wearing a huge heart of empathy on your sleeve. The pain of others impacts you and you pick up on nuance, often asking questions far beyond your years in the quiet hours of the night. Guard your heart, dear one, but keep it soft. The world is a complex, layered place and is laced with pain, but there is so much good. Follow the lighted path and keep your mind on things of beauty, of nobility, of truth. Ask God to help you make sense of it all. He surely will.

Much has been gifted to you and much will be required, but the path of service to His will is one of depth, fulfillment and satisfaction. Trust that God will guide you through this life and surrender all you have to Him. It is the only path that protects against the incessant Cerberus-like burdens of anxiety, ego and self-recrimination.

May you ever know the wonder of His love, the peace that surpasses all understanding and the light that shines on both the righteous and unrighteous. Ivy Olivia, your name is faithful and your character is too. We are in awe of the girl you are and the one you are becoming. May you never doubt our love and acceptance.

The coming years will offer many challenges and temptations, but you have everything you need to stand strong and be of good character.

With abundant love,

Mum and Dad