Thirty

Well, I've entered into a new decade of my life, and officially joined the 30+ club.  And I have to say, it was probably the best birthday I've ever had.  Arthur spent two days cleaning the house spotless as one of my birthday gifts, took me out to dinner the night of my birthday and when we got back, our house was full of friends to surprise me!  I was so overwhelmed, I think I turned the color of that pink flower on my cake!  I had such a fun time with all those friends, and it just made me feel very special and loved that they would get together to do that for me.  

Me, holding my cake

Erin and Russ lighting all 30 candles, which, to my consolation, didn't really seem like all that many.

Beaming as my friends are singing happy birthday to me.

Blowing out the candles.  I got all but 4 in the first try.  

Maybe that means I'm 26 at heart?

Or maybe it just means that this little girl in my belly is limiting my candle blowing skills.

friends

Thanks so much to my friend Amber and Arthur for organizing such a fun party for me, and to all the friends who came to help me blow out my candles.  :)

After all the grown-ups left, we went to pick up the kids who were playing at the McEntire's house around the corner.  It was late, but they wouldn't have believed I'd actually had a birthday without cake and presents, so I blew out a few more candles, and had 2nds on cake with the kids.

This is my favorite picture.  This is what happens when a 2-year-old boy has frosting at 10 p.m.

He was on such a sugar high!  I can tell you that bed time was not pretty.

Arthur had another surprise for me that arrived on Monday.  I know he spent a lot of time on this coordinating with everyone who wrote gracious things about me, and then laying it out in this book.  (In fact, he stayed up all night getting it all put together to submit for publishing!)  Of course, I cried when I opened it, and when I read it.  :)  It's a book with notes from my parents and grandparents and all my siblings, and lots of friends, with pictures of them and me.  Arthur did a great job putting it all together in this beautiful hardbound book.  And it was so fun for me to read what everyone had said--Some of the memories my siblings shared, I didn't remember at all--(I'm glad I could help you wash that bird poop off your leg when you were little, Emma!)

Again, I was completely overwhelmed!  Thanks so much to everyone who submitted kind thoughts and memories about me.  I will read it whenever I am having a bad day, or if I need a reward for folding the laundry, or if I need an excuse to procrastinate doing my laundry . . .  :)  And thank-you Arthur for being such a thoughtful, wonderful guy.  I think I might be the luckiest girl in the world to have won your heart.  Can't wait for what the next 30 years will bring!