My Birthday

            I started celebrating my birthday the whole week before by being excited by all the secrets being kept from me, practicing thinking that I was my new age, and smashing Oreos on my birthday eve.

            No, smashing Oreos isn't my yearly tradition (though it should be one), I was actually making homemade ice cream. I made a big and yummy mess, and even had the privilege of snitching some Oreos. : ) This whole time Mom was making a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and various siblings were shut in a bedroom working on a pet plan.

            It was a very excited me that went to bed that night wondering, and hoping, and praying over being the next age—a big landmark for me. As all nights do, that one came to an end, and it was very fortunately the morning.

            When I got up Dad was making pancakes. They weren't just any pancakes—these were Dad's pancakes. The melt-in-your-mouth-buttery-thin-and-soft kind. Add more butter and some maple syrup and you have the ultimate birthday breakfast.

            This birthday was different from all the others in that it fell on science co-op day. Mom and Dad asked me if I wanted to go through with it, and I'm surely glad I did. It was a beautiful day for going hiking, and the fact that we took good friends along made it even better. On that hike I fell twice, almost fell another half dozen times, indulged in pleasant conversation, and heard more songbirds than I ever have at one time. Two birds in particular seemed to be having a conversation; and it was very interesting to try to pinpoint where their chirps were coming from.

            After lunch and more good conversation, our family celebrated my birthday with cake and ice cream. (Just between you and me—that Oreo ice cream was the best part of the day.)

            Gifts came next. The little girls showered me with pictures and lovely wishes. Betsy Bea even gave me a book she had typed on the computer complete with an author's picture. The cover had a picture she drew of us holding hands with a heart between us. I couldn't read the writing because it was in kindergartener code, but I have my guesses that it was the story of us.

            The eppy-guys (that is the code word for all of us siblings) gifted me with an awesome, really bright flashlight (necessity in this land of power outages) and glycerin soap to melt and mold to my heart's content. The aunts sent me birthday money for books and whatever other happy things I can think of. I have It's Not [That] Complicated and A Man Called Peter coming in the mail!!! I also bought a beautiful red journal to add to my stash, mint green yarn, and a wonderful, wonderful song.

            Dad and Mom absolutely spoiled me with Breezy Brookshire's Family Treasure Coloring Book (It's so well done and adorable!), Large Family Logistics ('bout as interesting as a novel!), and fabric and a pattern for the ultimate denim skirt. This may sound like extremely practical things, but they are very enjoyable all the same. I'm excited about getting to sewing. : )

            After I had torn open all the wonderful packages, Aimee and Anna surprised me with that wonderful surprise they had been preparing all the day before. Aimee handed me a small, adorably wrapped package with a gold number one on it. It was the beginning of a scavenger hunt looking for seventeen-and-one-to-grown-on of these packages. Each one was wrapped so cutely in a Shabby Chic sort of way (Mom dubbed Anna and Aimee "Martha" and "Stewart"), and it was so fun looking for them! The hardest ones to     find were the ones in the most obvious places (like on top of the thermostat at my eye level), and my on-looking siblings were in stitches. (BTW- the contents were Kit-Kats… Mmm…)

            Aimee and I had started watching Fireproof the night before, so we finished it between the party and dinner. I love that movie!!!

            Mommy blessed me with the gift of homemade pizza with fresh tomatoes for dinner. I could tell she was really tired, but she made this yummy dinner for me anyway. Daddy offered his own gift in the form of a prayer that God would bless me and give me a servant's heart.

            Altogether, it was a wonderful birthday filled with blessings and joy. I can't wait to see what God brings me this year!