My 36th Birthday

 My birthday seemed particularly significant this year.  Maybe because it is because I am now officially on the downswing of the 30s, or maybe because I am expecting a baby any day now and thinking lots about birth...but for whatever reason, I was really thankful to be able to spend some time celebrating with my family and reflecting on God's faithfulness through my 36 years.  The specialness of the day actually began  the night before with the best birthday present I could have asked for--my dad sent me an email!!!!  If you've been following his story at all, you know that this is a big deal.  It has been almost 16 months since he has done this, and the email sounded just like him, with some reminiscing about the day I was born, special words of love, and even a sports report on the Twins!  I feel like our family has been given a miracle...the situation with my dad has turned around so drastically.  Praise the Lord!  I cried tears of joy to read his words and know that he has improved so much.

My birthday morning started with a special birthday breakfast--I had dough for cinnamon rolls in the frig, and made those up along with bacon, cheesy scrambled eggs, and fresh hot coffee.  Yummy!  It was worth the effort to have a great breakfast!  We ended up eating more like at brunch time, so that was helpful too--we just skipped lunch!

The girls came up with their own ideas for celebrating my birthday.  First, they spent at least two hours by themselves in the basement preparing their gifts for me--including several mosaics and a button necklace.  Then, Clara Anne convinced the other two that they should all take a shower and get dressed in fancy dresses, with jewelry, lip gloss and all, and even laid out a special dress for me to wear, so that we could have a tea party.  That is what we are doing in the picture above.  It was lovely and sweet!  I was really touched that they wanted to dress up and make such a big deal out of my birthday!  Then, they put on a performance for me...Clara Anne played the piano and Chloe sang while Christin danced to "Floating in the Water" (those of you with early piano students in the Hal Leonard method will know that one!).

 The lovely performers.

 We also took some pictures of baby girl Wind...as clearly as we can see her right now...39 weeks!

 LARGE is what I would call this...but the girls are so excited and there's plenty of belly to kiss!

 Performing and taking a curtsy...

 Thankful for these three.  They give us so much joy!

 Opening gifts from the girls.

 Chloe, pointing out various parts of her drawing so that I would know what they were.

 Clara Anne gave me this lovely handmade picture.  Thanks girls for making my birthday so special!

John then took us all out...we went first to a doctors' appointment for me ("no real progress"), then to a bookstore where we had some credit to spend, and finally out for dinner to this fun, fresh Mexican place.  We enjoyed our special meal out!  Chips and salsa are my love language!

The plan originally was for me to spend some evening time at a coffeeshop, reflecting on these questions
http://lansingbible.org/newyear.pdf, but we ran out of time and so I spent a little time the next day doing that instead.  That evening some friends surprised me with a fun girls' night and made me feel so special!  So, all in all, it was a wonderful birthday and I am so thankful for the Lord's blessings to me!  I pray that I will use the next year for His glory!