30 Years

December 14th

I figured before I fell guilty of doing what seems so easy to do this time of year, that I would take the time to count the blessings of my 30th birthday. With winter here and Christmas knocking at everyone's doors it is hard for others to be able to find the leisure time to meet for a birthday celebration, other than that of our Lord on Christmas. With this in mind, my wonderful husband and mom decided they were going to celebrate my birthday early. These are the pictures of said gathering. (Notice the shorts on the baby, the short sleeve, and better yet, the green grass they are sitting upon.)

I've heard of Christmas in July so why not my birthday in JULY?! It was such a wonderful display of love. Although strange to be celebrating my day in my bathing suit (notice no pictures of that) I would have to say the best part was to watch 9 children celebrate my birthday in our swimming pool. It was such a nice reminder of how blessed we are to have family and friends and to be able to share our blessings right there at our home with them.

(No, that little girl in the middle of the pool with her face down in the water is not drowning...that is Skylar, she likes to practice holding her breath under the water. Then she likes to flip her long, wet hair back and listen to it splash. "Because it's so long, mommy.") My mom had come down and planned on a 'mother/daughter' day. That was not unusual considering I needed some time for adult conversation which she is so frequently telling me. So we went to breakfast, and planned to go to this new store. Adam was supposedly home getting the kids ready to go to the library to meet the mascot for the Wildcats baseball team. I frequently asked how he was doing getting them ready. See I already had them dressed to go but it was that little girls long beautiful hair that scares that strong man. It is like a wild beast sometimes and taming that animal is just not in Adam's job description. I could not believe that it took him 20 minutes to do those piggies. Just teasing.

I did not catch wind of anything suspicious happening on that day until my mom was receiving phone calls and rushing me out of this amazing store. Friends and family were now waiting in the driveway for us. (Sorry, for the details on this one. You know who you are. I just want to recall the day how it was.)

My December birthday was not quite as eventful, though nice and calm for what it was, a December birthday. I dropped the kids off at school, did some laundry, then went to get Skylar and bring her to the Buckland Mall to make Dustin's Christmas present. I packed a lunch, parked under the food court so we could see the van from the second floor window, and headed inside. The excitement that came over Skylar, who does not get to see the mall, was priceless. She was amazed with the size of the building, the glass elevator we got to ride in, the tall Christmas trees inside, and even just being on the second floor and watching people walk under us.

The indoor fountain...
Then to top it off we got to ride the carousel. "Mommy, can we just sit on it and pretend." Feeling generous on my day, I splurged and spent the two dollars and let them ride it. Skylar totally enjoyed it. Kamden not so much, though tolerant in my arms. Then to be able to make a Build-A-Bear to give to Dustin was the highlight of her trip. This camouflage bear screams Dustin. There was one casualty of the day... (can't figure out how to turn this counterclockwise, so tilt you head to the right. He is running himself over with the stroller.) We grabbed my birthday dinner and ice cream at Big Y then headed home to get Dustin. Dinner was good but birthday ice cream is better. Thanks all.
(Thanks for the picture, Dustin. He is our little birthday, king. Everyone has to have a wonderful birthday and he is sure to try to make it as wonderful as he can on your special day.)