A Great Birthday

Wednesday I turned 28. So now I am offically in my "late" 20s. That is not so exciting to me. However, I did have a great birthday. Tuesday night Brandon let LifeGroup celebrate with us as we all enjoyed the TWO cakes he baked. That's right two. He wanted to make sure everyone had plenty and that I had both a strawberry and chocolate cake for my birthday. Needless to say, there was plenty and we are still eating cake.
Thanks to all the friends and family who called and emailed. Some even decided to sing, most of which, probably should have not made that decision. My dad came out for a quick visit and took me and the boys to lunch, all of which was a surprise to me. And, because Brandon was at work and not here to give me my gift he decided to hide it in the house and write out clues which eventually led me to the prize. Here's how the game went...

The first clue was a "give-me" on the front of the fridge which read:
I know it's your birthday...
This will be a breeze.
To find the gift we got you,
You first have to sneeze.
(Which led me to the tissue box in the hall closet).

And there I found:
They're going to get harder now,
You should just give up and quit.
The next clue is hidden
In the only thing that makes Rylie sit.
(This took a minute, but I knew it had something to do Cars...the movie...it was on the inside of the DVD case).

In there I found the next one:
This place looks familiar,
You've seen it once or twice.
The next clue is in the place
Where you thought you heard some mice.
(Down in Rylie's legos bag. And no there was no mouse. Just legos shifting around).

Under the legos:
I cannot leave out Reese bug,
That would be unfair.
Look in the place we keep cream
For his little hiney-bo care.
(This one was harder since I recently switched the place we keep the cream and didn't tell Brandon...and didn't realize I didn't tell him...but I got it).

Where we used to keep the cream I found:
I am sure you're tired of playing,
But that's just too darn bad.
Next, you should go look
Where you tend to go when mad.
(Easy...I always run to the bathroom and close the door).

There I found:
That one was a bit tricky,
I'm sure you did just fine.
Look under the kind of soap that
"only you do all the time."
(This was not so easy, although looking back I should have gotten it right away. Laundry soap...I always say "I am the only one who ever does laundry." So that was my clever husband being a smarting pants).

Under the soap:
Some say three's a crowd,
Rylie would disagree.
Look in the light brown cloth bag
Where at night he will usually be.
(Easy one again...Brandon's pillow case).

In the pillow case:
Alas you found the last clue.
Yes, this is almost all.
Your prize is behind the most important thing,
And on our living room wall.
(This one was hard. I thought it should be behind the picture of the boys, since they are the most important and the picture was hanging on the wall, but no. So Brandon had to help me out...he always says FAMILY is the most important thing in the world. And we just so happen to have a sign on the living room wall that reads FAMILY. So there hanging on the sign with a piece of string was a beautiful card and inside a gift card to Olive Garden...my very favorite restaurant...and one last pink piece of paper...

You finally get to stop,
I'm sure you're tired of lookin'
Tonight, dinner's on me.
So don't worry about cookin'.
Happy Birthday Angel.

Have I said lately how much I love my husband. The game was fun and all the clues were so cute. He is the most creative person I've ever met. I just love him. And on top of all that, he had saved up some coke money (money that he usually takes to work to buy sodas during the week) and bought me a digital photo frame, which is something I've been wanting for a very long time. All of this is even more special to me because I know the details of our finances and the amount of effort he had to put forth since we don't readily have money available for birthday gifts.
And finally, one more surprise! Our dear friends offered to watch the boys while we went to dinner. A very gracious offer considering we have two wonderful but very active boys. Thank you to that friend...it was a huge blessing and there are not words to express the amount of thanks I have in my heart.
It was a wonderful birthday and besides turning 28 I would not have changed anything. 28 is just a scary number, it's seems like just a few years ago I thought 30 was old. Not now...now that I am knocking on the door of 30 myself. Oh well, that's the way it works, right? We all get older, all of the time. At least family and friends can make it more enjoyable. Thanks again to everyone. Love you all.