Another birthday???

Yes, my birthday was coming, and the kids were counting down the days with eagerness. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about having a birthday at all! I'm really enjoying my thirties, and not anxious to enter the 40's. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am SO thankful to be where I'm at in life, and certainly wouldn't want to go backwards! My birthday celebrations actually started a day early. I woke up at my usual time, and heard lots of commotion coming from the dining room. I peeked in there, and saw all four of my kids busy at work, making birthday cards for me at the table. My oldest son, Travis, woke up the other kids to make cards while I was still sleeping. When they saw me, Dylan showed me his card with great pride. "Mom, read this!" The card was actually a small booklet, with a sweet picture and note on the outside. Because my son Dylan is very affectionate and loving, and is constantly giving me hugs and kisses, I geared myself up for a wonderfully sweet card from him. On the inside I found a poem. Recently Dylan has been writing cute, witty little poems, so I was anxious to see what he had come up with for my birthday. Here is his poem: I thought I'd buy a card, With hearts of pink and red, But then I thought I'd rather Spend the money on me instead. It's hard to buy something When one's allowance is so small So I guess you're pretty lucky I got you anything at all. Happy birthday to you There I said it, now I'm done So how 'bout getting out of bed And cooking breakfast for your son? I must admit that when I read this poem I stood in shock for a second, and then felt a little sadness that this was the poem that my son had written me. My oldest son Travis was laughing, and Dylan noticed that I wasn't laughing. He quickly said, "Turn it upside down! I found the poem in Calvin and Hobbes! I'm gonna make you another card that's really nice!" :) Travis said, "We just wanted to see if you reacted like Calvin's mom did!" What a start to the morning! :) Last night we went to my parents' house for supper, and my mom made my favorite cake- pineapple upside-down cake. We watched the movie "Tangled", and enjoyed time with Mike, Michelle and kids as well. Travis and Emma took lots of turns holding baby Tahlia. Brady took the kids out shopping this afternoon for my birthday presents, and I enjoyed a few hours of peace and quiet in the house. That is a birthday present in itself! They made me stay upstairs when they got home until they had arranged my presents on the table. Travis played "Happy birthday" on the piano and they sang to me, and gave me sweet little gifts. Emma had picked out hot pink flowers, and Ashleigh gave me a necklace that said, "Mom" with matching earrings. Travis gave me my favorite movie, "Beauty and the Beast," and Dylan got me white chocolate. YUM! And they brought home an ice cream cake, to top it all off! My neighbor made me a cake and sent ice cream over as well, so I've been very spoiled today. :) My birthday card from Ashleigh, my six year old daughter, is especially sweet. She made a little booklet, with lots of stick figures of the two of us together. "I love my mom becus she is nice," "I love my mom becus she is beutifil", "My mom is specil,".... She wrote all kinds of little notes to me. She is such a sweetheart! Emma and Travis made cute cards, too. This has been a wonderful day, and a GREAT birthday!!!

The Great Adventure

Have you ever heard Steven Curtis Chapman's song "The Great Adventure"? It's one of my favorites, and it has really great lyrics. I'll share some of them with you:

Come on get ready for the ride of your life,
Gonna leave long faced religion in a cloud of dust behind,
And discover new horizons just waiting to be explored,
This is what we were created for.

Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze
Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace.
Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown
This is a life like no other, this is the Great Adventure!

Our "Great Adventure" as a family is taking us to Johannesburg, South Africa in the fall of 2011, and we are so excited to see what God has in store for us!!!