Happiness Is ...

My birthday! Everyone really outdid themselves. Johnette started my day off perfectly by cleaning the ENTIRE house the night before. Anneli helped her with it; the boys were not quite so receptive to the idea. So, the morning of my birthday, when I stumbled out of bed to wake the children for school, I did not step on one single item! It was heavenly. I looked around the loft, and the tidiness made me smile.

I got lots of "Happy Birthday" wishes as the kids came in for morning family prayers. After prayer, they broke out in a spontaneous rendition of "Happy Birthday" for me.

I think one of the worst parts about being a mom is having to bake your own birthday cake. It just seems wrong! Well, I definitely didn't have to worry about that this year! My dear friend, Josie, came by after lunch with one of her world class cakes. It was a cinnamon bundt cake with heart shapes around the top. This is Gabriel's all time favorite cake. He thinks Josie should go into business. Sadly, the cake didn't last long enough for me to get a picture of it.

Later that afternoon, my other dear friend, Lisa, brought me a birthday cake, also! This one was a triple decker chocolate fudge cake layered with fudge frosting and marshmallows. It was so tall, I asked, "How am I going to be able to eat this?" Romney then replied, "Like this!" He then took a huge bite out of my beautiful cake! Needless to say, that ended up his piece of cake.

I received some lovely cards from thoughtful friends. My parents sent me the most wonderful book through the mail ... and it arrived right on time!

My husband surprised me with a card and lots of chocolate. OK, it wasn't really a surprise. A card and lots of chocolate are actually required on my birthday. He then took me out to dinner at Benjarong, our very favorite Thai restaurant in Redlands. It was super delish!

I don't often enjoy my birthdays, but this time, I just had a very happy, content feeling all day long. Thank you to my wonderful, loving, thoughtful friends and family for making my day so fantastic!