Egg Hunts & Birthdays

Before life gets completely crazy around here pending the upcoming move, I thought I'd try to get at least one more update in.  I still haven't covered last Thanksgiving or Easter, but maybe I can get ahead with our most recent events and catch up later.

Happy Birthday, Bop!

We had a busy weekend!

Possibly the best birthday gift ever!

I got to share birthday weekend with Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Stephanie (same day!) and Bop this year. I share the month with a couple sweet friends who won't be so far away in just a little while, another sis-in-law (Aunt CeCe), and my niece, Haley. A few days after the calendar turns, Aunt Cyndi will have her birthday. My great-grandaddy was a March baby as are my sweet Aunts Lou and Cheryl.

Happy birthday everyone!

A couple of the things I cherish about having a birthday at the end of March... it falls on Easter once in a while, and in Texas at least, it's when spring really springs. This has been a glorious weekend.

 It's a mystery to me. Occasionally the bottom drops out. I suppose it happens more than once in every life. Maybe it's a requirement for the privilege of being human. And even though it doesn't feel that way in the beginning, what falls away is exactly what needed to go. But what begins slowly, almost imperceptibly, to fill the empty space is so lovely. Never in my life have I experienced such valuable friendship on so many levels. It humbles me as much as it challenges me to look deeper into the desires of the hearts around me; to try to help fulfill those desires in some small way by listening and accepting and loving better. 

But it also encourages me to love and accept how I was made.  Introversion & quiet always felt equal, in my own mind, to selfishness. I've fought so hard against those innate qualities in me all my life, only to find that, maybe I was wrong. 

This birthday was characterized by quiet, intimate gatherings (my favorite kind) with some of the people most dear to us. Birthday eve, neighbors/friends shared our favorite meal with us. Birthday morning brought a lovely breakfast with friends from Bible/book study group. Birthday lunch was Allen celebration time. And birthday dinner brought more time with close friends and a chance meeting with folks from church.

 Getting older is really nicer in a lot of ways. Life seems to make more sense. People start to make more sense. Priorities come into sharper focus and everything else just doesn't really matter anymore.

Each year is a gift of growth.

Birthday cake for Jason & the kids. Kale chips for Mommy.

The candle fairies. When all your wishes are true, you don't really need to blow out the
candles anymore, right!?!?

Ice cream mustache

 We attended an egg hunt at our church on Saturday morning. We were all a little wrung out, but it was such a lovely morning that we lingered on the grounds long after most of the other hunters had returned home. The kids did a fine job after all the time spent practicing in our yard this week. Jonathan's favorite find was a piece of prickly pear that wasn't so prickly.

Prickly Pear

 Saturday afternoon, I was able to round out the weekend with another, very close/ like-minded friend. We talked for almost three hours in a small space at the library... a very apt place for the pair of us I think. Those hours seemed like just a few minutes. I am going to miss her... a lot. I was reminded recently that, among believers, the phrase "good-bye" is not needed. We have the privilege to leave it at "See you later".