One year older.....

Well I guess my address for this blog is all wrong now since I turned 50 yesterday. Oh well I think I will be on a holding pattern from here on out. :-) Yesterday was truly a great day. Before 9 a.m. I had heard from each of my three kiddos. I even got to talk to some of the grand kids for a while. My mom called too but she had forgotten it was my day. Oh well that is okay....someday I will forget her day as well. That's what happens when you get older. Ha!

I love birthdays! I love celebrating life actually. I love giving gifts too. Any excuse is a good excuse to gift someone with love....it tells them they were thought about and loved. I think I am a much better giver then a receiver. Ha! I always feel awkward saying thanks because I am overwhelmed first of all that they thought of me. Yesterday my family and friends outdid themselves. Between face book posts, emails, texts, and phone calls as well as gifts........I felt the love that everyone has for me. It was humbling.

I don't feel I should warrant that kind of affection. After all I am just a human with human failings. I let people see what I want them to see about me. Actually I am not even a nice person inside. That was tough realization for me but it is true. I realize though that Jesus has changed that part in me that was not nice. Nice thoughts, feelings, actions come more readily these days. Praise God for that! So I think when others celebrate me........they really are celebrating the good in me and that is pure Jesus! :-) How cool is that?

Let me tell you about my day...it started the night before really. I have a group of craft gals that meet with me every Monday night to catch up on life and just share in our craftiness. Plus we get a lot of forgotten projects done. This Monday the gals had gotten together and threw me a mini party. There was a pretty cake one of them brought. Plus one of them sent flowers. One girl brought me a huge bag of bias tape she had gotten super cheap when a blanket factory went out of business..............to me this is just too cool! I love things I can make something out of. I am a true crafter I guess. One girl made a broach using felt and buttons that I just adored. Two of the girls gave me special things that they knew I would treasure and I do. We had a nice time celebrating my pre-birthdate. Then that night as I was trying to fall asleep my sweet hubby was making enough racket to wake me. Ha! He thought I couldn't hear him. Who can't hear a 180 pound man putting together a craft table upstairs when our bedroom is below. Ha! I got up to check on what he was doing and he looked so sheepish and sweet. He was trying to surprise me. He knows that every morning before I go walking I get on the computer. So the table was set up where I would see it as I walked up the stairs. I was very touched first for his thoughtful-ness.....I had mentioned to him weeks before that I needed a new sewing table for my machine. Secondly I was touched that he was trying to surprise me. I went to sleep with a smile on my face. :-)

My birthday began really early. It hit me that I was really 50...this was no dress rehearsal but the real thing. Ha! Troy had a very sweet card waiting for me on my dresser and had written sweet words that this wife of his loved. The phone started ringing about 9 and didn't stop till late that night. I talked to each of my kiddos, my daughter Kari plus the grandkids. They were all so sweet. They were hopeful I had received their gift in the mail but at that point I had not. So it was on to cleaning the upstairs craft room cuz I had to make room for the new table. Now that's my idea of a fun morning. After much moving and rearranging the table looks great in there. I feel like I have a new room. Then it was on to the church for our bi-montly staff meeting. One of the gals had a made a huge sombrero cake. I can't remember the actual wording but it had something to do with being over the hill. The cake was in honor of several birthdays not just mine. We had five staff members with b-days in April. Lunch was brought by J.R.'s here in town. It was so yummy! A couple other staff friends gave me a funny purple cane that was a huge joke with a horn on it, old man repellant spray bottle etc. Plus they gave me bran flakes and pudding. Ha! Soon the meeting was over and I was homebound to read more emails, Face book wall posts and open packages. I even had a present all wrapped in pretty pink paper on my back porch from a dear friend. She gave me the nicest Pampered Chef bowl and spoons. It was awesome. Yes I got the package my kiddos sent. Inside was a card from each of them plus this HUGE banner that stretched across the length of my living room and part of my dining area. They made a poster celebrating 50 things they love about me. I laughed and laughed but by the time I got to the end.....this grammy was crying. I was so touched. All four grand kids had put their special handy work to this banner. They all had input into the things they love about their grammy. I have taken pictures and will post them after this post if I still remember how.

Last but not least we had our young couples small group meeting last night. There were only supposed to be four of the couples there as we have birthed off a new group .Well the new group came and marked out front of the house so I didn't know they were all there. When we arrived LATE which was on purpose....Troy did that and I hate being late.....Troy practically pushed me in the door. When i walked in they all yelled surprise. They were ALL there. So touching and sweet. They had cards and gifts for me plus a homemade cake by one of the young gals who told me she DOES not bake. It was all wonderful. We made it home around 9ish and there was a birthday message from my other daugther Becky. Awe.........a perfect ending to a perfect day.

So I am one year older. I don't feel older at this moment but there are times when I realize wow I can't do that anymore. God has blessed me so much. He has given me a wonderful family and tons of friends who love me dearly. My cup runneth over.....until next time be blessed.