Dakota gets his wish.

Ohhhh man, if ever I have been on the verge of tears in giving a gift, last night was it.

My sweet Dakota turned 11 years old yesterday. He's a very special guy. I have grown up with him. Everything I am today is because God put him in my belly at the time that he did. He has challenged me and brought out the best and worst in me. I became a mother at just barely 21 (12 days after, to be exact), and he rode the rocky road of my twenties with me. Let me tell you, they were oh-so rocky.

Somehow, Dakota has emerged and is still as tender, still and loyal, still as innocently seeking of my love and affection... still so desperately looking to be accepted, loved, approved of and rewarded. We share the same love language - in fact, it's so interesting... Dakota's love languages are both my husband's and my love languages... fix the kid some bacon and some kind of sweet thing that he's been dying for, and he thinks that you are the BEST thing that walked the Earth. Give him a snuggle and he is as happy as he can be. The one thing that Asperger's does for him that I absolutely am thankful for is that it seemingly has kept him innocent. He's walked down some paths already that have broken our hearts, but somehow he's rebounded and maintains this brightness in his eyes and overall naivete that warms my heart.

And he's SOOOO handsome. And a GREAT dancer. And SOOO smart - when we're alone... you know what he asks me about? Nuclear energy and Hitler's WWII strategy and what led to him losing the war. Truly.

So it's no skin off my back to try my darndest to give him everything he could ever have wanted or hoped for in this life. Including the XBOX 360 and Kinect console that he'd been asking for since before Christmas last year. That's all he wanted. He begged. He cried when he realized our financial situation would not allow us to afford anything like that for his birthday. He sucked it up and moved on, trying to be brave, and figure out how to be happy with his circumstances in spite of the fact that he really didn't want anything but that. He has very narrow interests... and gaming is one of them.

We were able to get enough money together by reaching out to all the family who would have bought him a gift and asking them to contribute to getting him and XBOX. We found an amazing deal on the 250GB console and the Kinect console plus four games.

To make this a fun birthday for him, we decided to make the whole evening a surprise. In conjunction with taking him out for pizza and Menchie's (fro-yo), we devised a fun scavenger hunt of sorts and coordinate with the waitress and cashier respectively to hand him his clues. The clues were to eventually lead him to his gift.

We loaded up all the younguns and picked him up from school... he didn't know where we were going until we pulled into the parking lot of the Mellow Mushroom. My mom and stepdad met us there to join in the surprise. MM is the only place we know of that serves a gluten free pizza crust and it's gooooood! :)
When we received the check the cashier delivered his first clue... (which I had given to her upon arrival)... he was dumbfounded and confused, but very serious about it...

The first clue read...

"Secret Agent DeJesus 011: Here is your mission-
As you know, our agent 009 had found secret alien codes and a legend that will unlock the meaning behind the codes. Agent 009 was captured but not before he sent one last transmission. He told us the legend will point us to a secret alien weapon hidden on Earth. Its power can either bring balance or destroy the world as we know it. We need you, Agent 011, to find this legend and then find this alien weapon. Do not leave one stone unturned. You must collect the codes Agent 009 hid to help you find the legend and the weapon. Keep on guard. Pay attention to clues along the way. Agent 009 said you were the only one who could do this...."


and on the back it had a three letter code...

Next stop was also a surprise. We went to Menchie's and once again, a clue was waiting for him behind the counter.

Shiloh and Dakota

trying to decipher the code...

This clue reads...

"Agent 011: This is Agent 009. I know the enemy is watching my every move. I had to hide the codes and legend separately. Use my clues to collect the codes and find the legend. The legend should point you to the weapon. Let us pray the enemy has not gotten there first. Godspeed - Agent 009" 


and on the back... a five letter code, plus this...

"When you get home - go to the little black box with the red flag. It sits on a wooden pole. A man in a white van drops letters off here. Sometimes he even leaves catalogs, birthday cards and letters."


Needless to say, there was a clue in the mailbox...

This clue reads...

"Agent 011: What is your stepdad's favorite thing other than Jesus and dogs? You were riding in it earlier... In the back is a blue box. Hopefully the enemy has not discovered the clue before you..."


...and on the back, another three letter code...

The answer to the clue was our old Suburban... he retrieved the clue. In the envelope was a key and the legend for the code. Next step was for him to crack the code by referencing the legend for the final clue to the location of the "alien weapon"... hee hee!

Dakota cracking the code...

The answer to the code was BIG BLACK BOX.

Which led him to the garage... it didn't take him long to figure out what we were talking about... and inside this black box was his gift... wrapped up, ready for my sweet boy to open!

...and the rest is history.

this face.... brings me to tears!!!

can you see that he's off the ground??

“If you... know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 NIV)

:)