Birthdays!

This week I turned 40 and Aaron turned 9. Peter spoiled me completely, with seven days of surprises -- including lunch with my high school best friend, dessert with some of my grown-up pals, a drive to Chicago to spend time with my best college friends, our parents/family having pizza and cake, lunch with some good friends from church, and lunch with two dear former co-workers . . . I joked with him that I would be gaining 40 pounds to celebrate my 40th birthday!

And then came the big surprise: a freebie 2-night jaunt to Seattle, courtesy of our frequent flier miles! Wow!! We love Seattle since we honeymooned there, and we made sure to have dinner at a seafood restaurant where we ate on our 2nd night as a married couple. This time, we stayed with a good college friend and his wife, whom we haven't seen since Peter officiated at their wedding 4 years ago. Peter is so thoughtful: I am a little bit of an introvert, and would've been overwhelmed by a big surprise party . . . so Peter just spread the party out into little groups over an entire week. He knows me so well, and is an amazing man. I am so grateful that God joined our lives together.

On a totally different note, one of the kids' gifts to me was a ShamWow . . . totally cracked me up! Nathan has only seen two infomercials in his life, one for the ShamWow and one for the Little Giant ladder. He must be their target audience or something, because he was completely fished in by them both. (Thankfully, he didn't try to talk Peter into the ladder!)

We celebrated Aaron's birthday today with his friends at a local planetarium. He had a space theme, of course, complete with a rocket cake and activities such as the Moon Rock Relay, building spacecrafts out of marshmallows and toothpicks, and seeing a show in the planetarium. He was so excited all morning, and kept asking what time the party would start. We do a "friend" party every other year for the boys, so it's really a special occasion for them.

This year, Aaron had chosen to ask for pet food for our local humane society, so we will have the fun of delivering bags of dog and cat chow to the shelter tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night we will celebrate with the grandparents. More cake!!

Aaron, we love your character and can't wait to see how you will make an impact on the world as you become a young man. Your love for God, your sweet nature, your consideration for others, your desire to learn, and your great sense of humor . . . these are just a few of the things that make you a remarkable boy. We have been so blessed to be your parents for nine years, and we love you always. Happy birthday!