Feelin' Special

I've been feelin' pretty special all week long because of the way my friends and family have helped me celebrate my birthday. So first of all, THANK YOU! My sweet sisters took me out to dinner to Pizza/Pasta Factory a few days prior to my birthday since Margaret would be flying to Ohio the day of my birthday. Ruthanne gave me a scrapbook calendar, with pre-designed pages for each month. I just have to post some pictures on it, and it'll be darling. I'm excited! And Margaret gave me some adhesive tape for scrapbooking. We had such a fun time just talking and laughing. I love my sisters.

On Thursday morning, I woke up to Emily and Jon (with help from daddy) singing "Happy Birthday" to me. Then Wade made us all Fruit Smoothies for breakfast. Mmmm! And later when I checked my email/blog, I saw that Wade had surprised me with the beautiful post prior to this one. I cried as a I read it. It was incredibly thoughtful, and I feel lucky to have Wade as my husband. I was also so happy to read all of your sweet comments on my blog and receive emails, texts, letters in the mail, and phone calls. It brightened my whole week. :) Thank you.

When I returned home from grocery shopping at noon, Wade had a bouquet of flowers, a pork burrito from Cafe Rio for us to share, and a homemade chocolate cake waiting for me, again another surprise. It was wonderful! Thanks so much honey. That night, I blew out my candles and we enjoyed cake and ice-cream as a family.

Friday morning, Melissa Sevy and I drove to Syracuse together to visit Suzanne, Matt, and Ali Miller, the children with Down Syndrome we used to nanny for. Their mother recently lost her battle with cancer and passed away. She was such an incredible woman. Their dad is trying his best to raise these 3 children with special needs, by himself. They have a few nannies to help, but without her mother's positive influence, I'm afraid Suzanne has put on a lot of weight and just doesn't seem quite as happy. It breaks my heart, and I'm grateful Melissa and I could make that trip and spend some time with them. I still love them and feel an undeniable connection with each of them. The whole drive, Melissa and I discussed what an amazing experience it was to care for these children for all those years. It really prepared me for motherhood in more than just getting practice at bathing, feeding, and changing diapers. I learned about sacrifice, patience, and unconditional love, the kind they showed me.
That night, I had a Girls Night Out Birthday Party. It was such a blast! This is me with a big cheeser on my face because I'm thrilled Kim brought an Oreo ice-cream cake. Wahoo! Thanks again, Kim.

I blew out my one candle in just one breath. Proud of me? (We didn't want to ruin this beautiful cake by putting 26 whole candles in it.)

My new friend, Christine Gibb, and one of my old and dear friends, Becky Bruso. They look and act so much alike, it's uncanny.

da girls...watching Mama Mia and just relaxin'. The party started at 6pm, and we didn't even start the movie until 8pm, because we were having such a good time talking. L to R: Becky, Ruthanne, Kristine, Traci, Alix, Kim, Darci, and Kristal on the floor. I took this real quick in the dark, so I didn't realize until now that the picture cut off Cynthia. I still love you, friend. And Michelle was there, but needed to go home after we had dinner, to feed her baby. Thanks again everyone for coming! What an awesome night! I might just make it a tradition. ;)

After the party, Wade snapped a picture of me with the flowers I received from my mom and dad and from him. Can you tell I'm a little tired? But yet I can't stop smiling. What a happy week!