Sunday, March 6, 2011

A Week of Birthday

I have to say, I think this is the best birthday I've had in several years. I'm not sure what made all the difference, but I definitely felt loved this year. My birthday week started last Thursday with dinner with my gal pals Mandy and Amy.

I have been friends with these girls for the past 10 years and I love them dearly. We had a great dinner together and they spoiled me with gifts, even though i begged them not to!

Wednesday was my actual birthday and I was flooded with Happy Birthday wishes via, facebook, text messages and phone calls. When I got to work I had a very sweet surprise!


My good friend Amanda sent me these beautiful flowers to work! I love flowers so I was thrilled. At work they treated me to Ichiban for lunch and it was SOO good! I was really looking forward to getting to church on Wednesday night because I share a birthday with one of the girls in my group.


This is Larissa. She is one of the sweetest girls and I love her so much. We share the same birthday and the same favorite color! I truly believe we are soul sisters! I always make cupcakes for whoever has a birthday in our group. Today we both got yellow cupcakes for our birthdays.


I got to catch up with a good friend after church and spent a couple of hours chatting. By the time I finally got home about 10:00 I was starving. I went to the fridge to see if I even had anything to eat and I found this . . .


One of my best friends and former roommates, Becky, had come and left me a cheesecake! This is my favorite dessert and I could not have been more thrilled. Notice, I had already eaten a piece before stopping to take a picture! I was so tickled. I love surprises!

Last night I was able to celebrate at P.F. Chang with another great group of friends. It rained all night long, but we didn't let that stop us from having a really great time. There is never a short supply of laughter when we are together.

I'm not sure if laughing while behind the wheel is the best option . . but we'll go with it. No night would be complete for us without a trip to Cold Stone Creamery. It;s amazing how full you can be, yet still make room for ice cream!


Our attempt to take a good picture failed us. It's hard to get one of the three of us where someone isn't doing something they wished they weren't in front of the camera. So, I will wrap up our night with this photo that I feel captures our true personalities! I love these two and am so blessed to have them in my life. They too, spoiled me this year!


I finally got to celebrate with my family today at lunch. Unfortunately I left my camera at home and wasn't able to document the party. I think my mom might have taken some pics of some of the activities so I will try to steal some from her. We had the best lunch. Grilled chicken, twice baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and of course cake and ice cream!! I received some great gifts as well! I can't believe I am 29 years old! God has blessed those years beyond measure. I feel so blessed that He hand picked my family for me before I was even born. I just can't imagine life getting much better. Thank you to everyone who made this birthday the best ever!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Praise Report




This is my happy face! We got the most amazing news on Monday! My mom is cancer free! The PET scan came back clear! She has been released for the next 6 months! What an amazing feeling. Not that we haven't stood firm on God's promise of healing, but there is just nothing like hearing it in the flesh. Just this morning I read the "faith chapter" in Hebrews (ch11), and was reminded that so many faithful men and women never actually saw their promises fulfilled, but only had a glipse of them. Yet, they remained faithful at every turn. And the Lord called them righteous! How sweet it is that He allowed us to witness a miracle in it's fullness! I can't thank all of you enough for the prayers and love you have given our family the past 9 months. Please continue to pray. And know that this miracle wasn't just for mom, it was to show His glory. That promise is true for all of us. We need to believe God to be big in our lives ,not matter what circumstance we are presented with! I can't wait to start our new ladies bible study next week. It's all about Believing God!