They say it's your birthday...

...It's my birthday, too! And what a fun day it's been! My sweet father-in-law made me breakfast this morning: biscuits and sausage and fresh-squeezed orange juice. I have received a ton of love via Facebook, e-mail, snail mail and phone. Max made a minimalistic drawing of some dolphins for me. Weston wanted badly to give me a savings bond (like he often gets for his birthday) but, when told by Jeff that it probably wouldn't work out to get me one, decided to give me one of his dollar bills, a few candies and a sweet, sweet drawing of him and me holding hands. Ruth made homemade pineapple bread pudding for me last night, and then gave me a handmade ribbon necklace, a lei, a pink pen (with pink ink!) and the cherry out of her Cherry Limeade today. My in-laws gave me a beautiful wooden bowl and a couple of cute signs to hang up in the new house, and my father-in-law had a dolled up bottle of Bailey's for me. My awesome sister, brother-in-law and nieces/nephew? sent me a Sonic gift card. I also got some cash from Jeff's grandmother and from my grandparents, and some new straps for my Switch Flops from some other sweet relatives. And the Lord sent a nice little rain and a beautiful sunset, which were true blessings. Dinner was eaten at River City Grill, with extended family, overlooking Lake Marble Falls. And another party is planned for the weekend at my parents' house.

And my crazy, creative and super-sweet hubby gave me a mystery gift that promises to keep on giving (wrapped in an old copy of our house plan)! He gave me a child's magnetic calendar (you know, the ones with all the picture magnets, depicting holidays, special occasions and other interesting things). Then, he gave me twelve envelopes, each marked with a month, and instructions to open each envelope on the first day of the month specified--and not before! (Super-fun, but also a bit maddening)! Apparently, he has taken some of the magnets from the calendar and put them with homemade coupons, so that there is something special for each month, until my next birthday. I was allowed to open the "August" envelope today, which contained an "It's my birthday" magnet for the calendar and a hand-written coupon good for a kid-free date night at the time of my choosing! I can't wait to see what the other envelopes contain!!

I didn't really mean for this post to be about all the things I got for my birthday, though I do truly appreciate them all. I just feel so incredibly blessed to have so many people in my life who love me and care about me. I was made to feel truly special today, and my heart is so very happy! Thank you all for making these 34 years so wonderful!