Jake Szasz, Bar Mitzvah! 12-19-2009

Jake had his Bar Mitzvah service ON his birthday! How lucky is that! For his project, he did the fronts of these pillows. He did the loops by hand. I helped him by sewing on the backs and making them into pillows (also by hand.)

It was his idea to hand deliver them
to the Ronald McDonald House. He wasn't thrilled to be having his photo taken, but I didn't care.
I liked this cross stitch of Ronald himself, so Jake stood by it. Thanks Jake! We waited for some other kids to deliver some gifts to the families who have to stay here to be near their sick kids, then Jake gave the volunteer his creations. The lady was so impressed and so thankful!
She took us inside to look at a Christmas village.
The boys loved the details of it. Then it was the big day! Jake did sooooo well when he was teaching and reading from the Torah. He didn't seem nervous. His big brother Marc and he were the best readers if you ask me! It was a 2 hour service, so we brought a babysitter to go hang out in a room with Dylan and Isaac especially since Steven and I had the honor of opening the Arc of the Covenant when they were putting the Torah back. It was a beautiful service.

There was a professional photographer there, so I didn't take many photos at all. I did get a photo of Jake who was beaming with pride! And of the thoughtful cool candy cake that Jake's dad made for him. He made it from scratch, building the form and gluing every piece of candy on it. (Man I'm in the mood for some Hershey's Cookies n Creme candy right now!)
After everybody sat down with their delicious food, we started the slide show. That thing took hours of sweat and labor from Jake's mom and me finding the photos, Marc, Jake, and Bonnie getting the music together, then me putting it all together. I wish there was a way for me to put it on here, but it's over 20 min long, and unless you know Jake, you may not appreciate it. I do though! I love that all of the "uncles" as Dylan called them sat down in the front to watch it.
How come Dylan looks so much smaller than Jake in the next silly family photo? (I think of these boys as family.) We were all coordinating in black/white and grey and light blue. I love it.

I actually have good up to date wallet photos of them, my boys, and of Noah and Malia in my wallet. I heard that most parents/caregivers don't have up to date photos of their kids, and that's a big problem if one gets lost at a theme park or something. Instead of paying for a crappy ID card, I keep their photos with me, and of course I know their eye color, and hair color, DOBs, and know where their dental records are. I also give good wallet photos to people who are care givers to my kids. After all, I recommend everybody have photos of my kids! Here's the main photo I took of him. I ordered a huge print of it that went on his big sign-in board. Such a handsome grown up little man that I love so much!Mazel tov, Jake!