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Sunday Update: 01/29/06

Blessings:
My family, friends, and co-workers who helped me celebrate my 30th birthday last week!

On January 26th, I turned the big 3-0. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, especially because I knew this year it would be hard to plan anything really fun. I know now is not the time to worry about trivial things, like a birthday…but I’ve always been sentimental about them…and I’ll admit it…a big baby. Usually, I like to spend my birthdays with my parents…in fact, in 30 years there has only been 1 birthday that I can remember in which I didn’t celebrate on my birthday with them! So, I was a little bummed thinking I wouldn’t see my parents this year, or plan a fun party or anything. But, as it turns out, my mom decided to come up for a visit this past week! So, we got to go out to dinner with my sister, brother in law, niece, and mom on my birthday! It was wonderful! We went to our favorite restaurant and had us some yummy steaks! Earlier that day, I was surprised several times by the warmth and support of my friends and co-workers. I received a cute little cookie bouquet from a group of girlfriends delivered to my door in the morning! (I’m enjoying one of them right now!) Also, it is a tradition at Principal to decorate one’s office for milestone birthdays. My friend, and co-worker, Gina had just turned 30 on the 20th of January, and I had snuck in to work the night before to decorate her office with the traditional streamers, balloons, and banners. Of course, I also put together a nice little flyer of goofy pictures and distributed them among several floors of our building! (he he he) Well, she (and my other co-workers) couldn’t let my big day pass without returning the favor…and one-upping me in the process! I was pretty sure they’d do something to my office, but I had no idea what I was in for when I went to work that day!

Apparently, a ‘team’ of decorators took over my office the morning of my birthday and decided to cover nearly every surface of it in post-it notes…along with an array of balloons, streamers, and banners…and yes, Gina made a cute little flyer with goofy pictures of me as well! I couldn’t get over it!!! They were all quite pleased with themselves and we all got a good laugh.

It is also tradition at work, to bring treats in and have a food day for team birthdays. Well, since I am working at the office only half days, they decided to change it up a bit for me. Gina had arranged for several people to make or bring in a meal for me to take home and put in the freezer to fix whenever convenient!!! I couldn’t believe it, when all these people showed up and Gina walked in with a cooler full of food. (Homemade chicken and noodles, tater tot casserole, lasagna, frozen pizzas, homemade macaroni and cheese…etc.) I was so touched at the thoughtfulness of these people! And I had just written about how sweet and loving it is to bring a meal to someone…it meant so very much to me and moved me to tears. I am so thankful for my job, and the tremendous amount of love and support I continue to receive from them on a daily basis. I don’t know where we would be if I didn’t have this wonderful job, filled with such giving and gracious people. I know this is a rarity in today’s world, and I am so blessed by them.

I was also surprised by Gina and my sister Hope on Friday night…when they showed up in my front yard with a group of friends to throw me a birthday party! I opened the door and there they all were with a huge Happy Birthday banner! It was priceless…I turned to look at Matt, who had a very sheepish smile on his face. Apparently Gina had also conspired with Matt to be sure she had his approval! He was pretty pleased that they had pulled it off. They came in and set everything up with munchies, margaritas, and even a cake! It was so sweet! I had to go around the room and give everyone a hug…it was so special to me! We spent the evening listening to music, talking, and playing a game. (The girls TOTALLY beat the boys!) HA!

Overall, I can’t believe how good my 30th birthday was. I was so sure it was just going to be low key and not a big deal…that I was just going to enjoy a nice meal with Matt. I did enjoy a nice meal with Matt, but it was so great to also share it with my family. I couldn’t have asked for more. My friends, my family, even my co-workers continue to bless me. I am so very lucky to have them all in my life.

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