Mom's Birthday

My 35th birthday was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time!

The first thing Mike said to me when I woke up was "happy birthday." And when the girls came in to wake us up, he asked them to sing to me. Lauren became upset because she didn't know the song so she and I cuddled for a while and enjoyed our morning together.

We went church with a friend of mine from work, Lisa, and her husband, Steve. The pastor (also Steve), was loud and passionate in his speech. Early into the sermon, Morgan turned to me and said, "Why does that man talk so mean?" I said, "He's not talking mean, honey, he's just excited." We attended a reception to meet the pastor after the service.....and found him to be a very nice person. I turned to him and said softly, "Morgan thinks you were talking mean." He looked at me kind of hurt for a moment, then he turned to Morgan, leaned down to her level and said, "I wasn't talking mean sweetie, I just get excited about God and get loud. Do you understand?" Morgan smiled and nodded her head. I was impressed with that, and with the children's program there....we will be returning!

After church Lisa and Steve treated us to lunch at Pizza Hut. They gave us a beautiful photo frame and took a family portrait on their digital camera to print for the frame. We had a great time getting to know each other better, and Lauren, much to my surprise, warmed right up to them...she tends to be pretty shy lately. She especially loved it when Steve was the "pizza monster" and pretended to eat her food.

We went home and had a long delicious nap, and then Mike took the kids to the store to get my cake. It was great to have a few hours of solitude, and when they returned, they had a good old time decorating the cake and conspiring to surprise me with the cake and gifts. This time Lauren knew the song and came prancing into the room hopping and excited to sing to me...which they all did. I tried to get her to help me blow out the candles, but the flame made her nervous and she didnt do it.

So, as you can see, it was a great birthday thanks to Mike and I had a wonderful time enjoying my family.