Best Birthday Ever!!

I LOVE other people's birthdays. I love watching them open presents, blow out candles and enjoy their day. However, I don't enjoy my birthday. I dislike the fact the I'm another year older--although the alternative isn't too appealing either! I would just rather the day pass without a lot of fanfare.This year was no different, but my family did an awesome job celebrating my birthday and making me feel loved without all the fanfare. On my actual birth date, I got to have a surprise photo shoot with two of my favorite people--Delainey and Sallie! Sarah did a fantastic job!! (Now if she would just use her photo shop to erase some of the wrinkles!!) Here are just a few of my favorites....




On Sunday we had a family dinner to celebrate all our October birthdays (Erik, Jamie and me). I received some great gifts but the evening was topped of by THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!!!

You don't know what it is?
Neither did I!!

Inside are memories that we have shared and items that each person remembers or likes about me. Some made me laugh, some made me cry, some were memories that I didn't even remember until reminded. I've read them all once, but every day I pull out a couple to look at them again. I love it!! I love that we all share some of the same memories and I love that there are some memories that only two of us share. I love that we have a bond and a connection that can never be broken. I love that my family thought to do this for me and that they put forth the time and effort to put it together. It is my precious physical possession. Now I can really say--"Thanks for the memories!"

Jamie's birthday

Lately I've just been extremely lax about taking pictures. We celebrated Jamie's birthday last week and I didn't take one single picture. However, this picture of Jamie was taken a few years ago.

As you can see, Jamie is a beautiful young woman. She is just as beautiful inside. She is smart and talented. She and I both share a love of reading and I have enjoyed reading the same books with her and discussing them. (I haven't loved not being able to find the book because she stole it away when my back was turned....) Jamie and I share many of the same qualities which can make for some fun moments together and some not-so-fun moments. Jamie has been the adventurous one in the family. She spent a semester during college in Spain and then traveled through Europe before returning home.


I have enjoyed watching her grow up and watching her use her many talents throughout the years. Happy (belated) Birthday, Jamie!!

Best Saturday Ever!!

Nothing beats going to the park with three of my favorite people...

This morning Devin called and Sarah was going to be busy taking pictures all day so we decided to go to the park together. We played on the playgrounds and Delainey rode her bike. (No, Sallie was not in her bumbo--that was just a cute picture.) Sallie slept for a while and then chewed on her hand and her blanket for the rest of the time. :-)

Thanks for making my day!!

In case you haven't heard...

In case you haven't heard....

This girl
is happily engaged to Will Lewis.

Wedding on December 18, 2010.(pictures courtesy of Sarah)
and
www.elainebellaphotography.blogspot.com

Phone Call!!

I just got done talking to this guy....

Today he left the MTC in Provo, Utah to head to El Salvador. He left the SLC airport at 8:25am this morning and flew to Dallas, TX. He arrived there at 12:05pm. After a 3-and-a-half hour layover, he boarded a plane for El Salvador at 4:40pm. He will arrive in El Salvador this evening at 6:05pm. And then his "new life" will start. I'm excited to hear from him over the next 22 months as he serves in different areas in El Salvador. He'll have many different experiences--some hard and some great--and I hope he'll share many of those with us. If you want to follow his experiences, check out the link for "A Tar Heel in El Salvador" on the right side of this blog.

He sounded good. He sounded happy. He is excited to get to El Salvador. He says his Spanish is pretty good--but he knows that he'll struggle with the native speakers for a while. He was excited to have a double cheeseburger at McDonald's in Dallas. I LOVED talking to him. It was hard to hang up the phone--but easier than I thought it would be since he seemed so happy and so excited. I can't wait to see what the next 22 months hold for him. :-)

Soccer!!

A weekend or so ago, our friends, the Clawsons, went out of town and left their 7-year-old (Ethan) with us over night and their 5-year-old (Bronwen) with us for the weekend. We had a great time. You've probably seen Bronwen on here before. We like to think she's one of us. In fact, for a long time we had her believing that her name was "Bronwen Amelia Clawson Gilreath". :-)

Anyway, on Saturday, we got to take them to their soccer games. It's been a long time since we've been to a youth soccer game and it was a great two hours. Bronwen played first and I wish I had a video of that game. It is just a mass of kids all trying to kick the ball. Occasionally you'd have a breakout play and those were always exciting. Bronwen did great and we so enjoyed watching her.Right after her game, Ethan had his game. These kids have played soccer for a couple more years so they are better at staying in position and kicking to other members of their team. Their game was actually like a real soccer game.(Why go get the ball--especially when you're the goalie?)

Thanks for sharing your children with us, Matt and Megan!! As always, we enjoyed them!!

Family dinner

We have a family dinner with everyone once a month. It started off with me doing all the cooking and the kids (Jamie and Devin) coming home from UNC so that we were all home at the same time at least once a month. As our family as grown, different members of the family have taken on different parts of the dinner so it's not so much work for any one person. Usually it's at our house, but sometimes it's at Devin and Sarah's home or Jenna and Erik's. This month it was at our home and Jamie had dessert. Will's surprise birthday party was the night before and she had gotten a chocolate mousse cake from Costco. It was a yummy cake--but more fun to play in than to eat...