On our son's 7th birthday, dh and I took him on a date to the Michael W. Smith/Mercy Me/David Crowder Band One Nation concert. It was a rare treat; the first time in a long time that the two of us had been alone with just him. We thought it would make a fun tradition, but our eldest daughter's 7th and 8th birthdays came and went with no concert date night or any other date night with Mommy and Daddy. So, when dh got concert tickets for his birthday, we decided it was a good chance to take her on her own date night.
Although the calendar read October, it felt more like August, and I'm far to stubborn to turn on the air conditioner in October; hence, this sweaty picture.
We went to see Steven Curtis Chapman performing at Anderson University. Steven Curtis Chapman is an Anderson alumni, and it is was there that he met his wife Mary Beth. The audience was full of personal friends and family. It was fun to hear him reminiscing about his college days. He was even more real and personal at this concert than at the other two we'd been fortunate to attend in prior years. Another special treat was to see him on stage with his two sons! One is a fabulous drummer; the other plays electric guitar and sings back-up. Steven was such a proud daddy, introducing his sons as band members; t'was enough to make this mommy verklempt. Of course there were many other moments where I became verklempt:
- as he sang the familiar words from I Will Be Here, reminding me of my husband's solo of the same at a dear friend's wedding last September
- as he shared testimonies of the adoption of three of his girls
- as video clips from other adoptive families and pictures of orphans around the world were shown
- as his wife Mary Beth joined him on stage for a special presentation from the President of the college
- as I sang along with him "you are covered with the fingertips of God," into my own sweet daughter's ears
- as he revealed the heart of a father debuting a poignant new song about making the most of every day we have with our children since they fly by so quickly and I joined him in singing, "I will dance with Cinderella..."
- as he presented a generous check to a local family in the process of adopting, a gift from the audience and an annonymous matching donor,
- and of course, as the words that resonate so deeply with my heart rang out so melodiously, "We will abandon it all For the Sake of the Call..."
Yes, it was a night filled with tears. Good tears. But it was also a delightful night with our eldest daughter. Dinner at Perkins was better than tea at the Ritz Carlton (I know because I've been there), and it was so wonderful to shower our sweet girl with our affection as we gave her our undivided attention. We also had fun taking pictures with Daddy's phone. :)
It's hard enough to get one-on-one time with your kids when you have more than one, but even more difficult is giving them time with both parents and no siblings. We've been able to pull it off twice now in the past 8 years. Each time has been priceless!
"I will dance with Cinderella
While she's here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone."
Chorus: Cinderella, Steven Curtis Chapman- This Moment CD
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