Brendan's Birthday and Mabon

On the 25th of September, 2011, we celebrated my youngest child's 3rd birthday. It was fun and heartbreaking at the same time. He's my youngest, my baby and now he's three. He's growing up fast and soon he'll be in school. Where does the time go? I'm thankful for all the time I get with kids, including the bad, but it all seems to be slipping by way to fast. We invited Glenn's family over for his birthday. We grilled out. The kids had a blast playing outside while the guys grilled and played horseshoes. I ran around inside like a crazy person getting the rest of the food ready and set up, in between watching my favorite liberal shows and reading through the news of course. We all ate and relaxed a few min. after the meal, then gathered in the kitchen to sing Brendan happy birthday. He refused to blow out the candles on his cake, so his dad helped. I took pictures while my husband passed gifts to him to open. He was having fun until he got to the clothes and he got mad and started pouting. I couldn't help but laugh, because I thought it was cute. When Brendan finished opening gifts, we dished out cake and ice cream to everyone and that was pretty much our night. The boys of course still have a trip to the Dinosaur Museum coming up too. My husband I haven't decided when to do that yet. We have another birthday to celebrate in a little over 4 weeks. Hailey, my oldest child, has a birthday on October 31st, 2011. That's right, she's a Halloween/Samhain baby.

This year I have been getting back to my Pagan ways and celebrating the Pagan holidays this year. The 23rd of September, 2011 was one of those holidays called Mabon. Mabon is also known as Fall Equinox. It is a fall celebration of the harvest and the changing of seasons. It is a time to give thanks and is similar to the American Thanksgiving. It is a time to be thankful for what you have and food from the harvest. It's a time to celebrate life and family. Of course the celebration wouldn't be complete without a feast. Most Pagans try to use plenty of harvest foods in their meal such as fruits, grains, and vegetables. I made a ham, mixed veggies, shells and cheese, dinner rolls, mixed fruit bowl, and pumpkin spice bread. We also had fall decorated cupcakes for desert. It probably wasn't all traditional foods, but it was still a good meal and most Pagans celebrate in their own way. I can't wait for the upcoming holidays. It's a lot to look forward to.