Another Year of Grace

Saturday, August 31 marked another year of God's grace in my and Kathy's lives.  Our birthday festivities actually began early that morning at 12 a.m. since we both had yet to retire for the evening, and upon realizing that the big day had already dawned, we greeted one another while on the way to bed with a hearty, "Happy Birthday!"

Since cake is my absolute favorite dessert, I had decided several weeks ago that I wanted to bake a two-layer white cake and ice it with our famous chocolate-fudge frosting.  Pure yumminess!  Kathy's contributions were the decorations, which we soon discovered were Hannah's favorite part of the cake.

Given that we have been extremely busy the last month, we did not give a whole lot of thought to party decorations.  So Saturday late afternoon found me and Kathy going through our specialty-occasion paper plate and napkins stash to see what we could use to make it fun for all the adorable children coming over soon.  Believe it or not, this simple task made our opposite personalities and likes and dislikes come out even more!  After numerous discussions and a couple of "rejects" from Jenny coupled with lots of smiles and laughter, we finally settled on something we BOTH liked, using what we had. :)

As usual for all our birthdays, Laura and the family came over for the evening.  Those precious little ones make parties that much more fun and enjoyable!  One of their favorite things to do is put the appropriate number of candles on the dessert and help blow them all out.  Their expressions of sheer delight and excitement make it something you won't forget!

Getting ready to blow them out... (Sorry for the blurry pictures, but you get the point!)

Since we had so much going on in our lives at the beginning of August with flooring installation and an out-of-town vacation, we never completed celebrating Mom's birthday.  So this evening was a combined party, and we finally gave Mom her birthday gifts.

An added birthday activity for me this year was spending Friday evening with a very special friend of mine.  We enjoyed dinner at PF Changs downtown and a leisurely walk along the canal.  An added bonus was watching the fireworks show following the conclusion of the Indian's game that night.  I couldn't help but think that they were in honor of our special day. :)

As we reflect on the last year, both Kathy and I recognize that we have so much to be grateful for:  the family and friends God has placed in our lives, the ministries He's given us, the abilities and interests He's blessed us with in order to pursue the opportunities He puts before us, etc.  We look to the future with hearts that praise Him for all He's done and a confidence that He will complete that good work which He has begun.