Birthday celebrations

We have had a week-long celebration in our household. Our son turned two on the 14th of November, Shane turned 31 on the 17th of November, and I turned 31 on the 21st of November. It has been nice having a week of celebration.

Our son's birthday was fun. I did not plan a big birthday party this year. We decided we would celebrate here at home with our immediate family, and whoever wanted to stop by, could. Our birthday tradition for the children's birthday in our household, is to take the child to get their picture taken at the mall, let the kids ride the carousel, and then take the birthday child to the restaurant of their choice. Since our son is only 2, we kind of decided for him, but I think he was satisfied with our decision. We ate at one of our family's favorite Mexican restaurants here in Memphis, La Hacienda. My husband's parents surprised us and met us at the mall, so they were able to join us for lunch. That made the time especially nice.

That evening, we were surprised by Gram and Gramps, Shane's grandparents. They dropped by to visit our son and to bring him a gift. My son was very glad to see them.

After their departure, my Aunt Brenda (or Bone, according to my children), my brother, my sister, and my dad came by as well to give the birthday boy his birthday greetings. I think everything worked out well as everyone dropped by throughout the day. We were able to enjoy our company better.

To end the night, my son had his first real haircut. I asked Shane previously to please wait until his second birthday, before cutting our son's hair. I have enjoyed his loose curls. Now he has a buzzed haircut, though it is growing really fast. He went from being my little baby boy to my big boy. He looks so different with his hair cut short, but he looks really cute.

We celebrated Shane's birthday by having a special dinner. I cooked pot roast, which is one of his favorite things to eat. We also had a cake with Shaggy and Scooby decorated on the cake. Shane's nickname is Shaggy, so my children loved seeing a cake with Shaggy. My dad, sister, brother and Aunt Brenda came over as well. It was nice to have them celebrate with us.

Shane and I went out on the weekend between our birthdays. We had dinner at Ronnie Grisanti's. I think I had best eggplant parmigiana I have ever eaten. We enjoyed uninterrupted conversation and some good food.

I had a pleasant birthday. I received many sweet phone calls and cards from friends and family. My sweet husband brought dinner home and an ice cream cake. I had an icecream cake once, while growing up and have wanted one ever since, so I thought it was very thoughtful of him to get one for me. My dad, sister and brother also dropped by to give me a gift and a greeting.

Overall, I think we had a good week of celebration. It's interesting having a family with three birthdays in one week, but it's really fun as well.

Remembering Mommy

Mommy died 7 years ago this past week. I tried not to think about it too much. Every time I wrote the date down, November 8, or every time my little girl asked me what the date was for a work assignment, my heart dropped a little. I try not to think about her death too much. It was a really hard time for me. It was hard visiting the hospital daily, and seeing my mother in the state she was in. I really never thought that she would die there in the hospital. I remember the thought crossing my mind, but I didn't dwell on it. When she actually passed away, it was hard to believe for a while. My mother actually died. She actually died. It was like a dream. Actually, most of the time surrounding her death, before and after was like a dream.

It did make eternity much more real for me. I never thought about heaven as much as I did during that time. It was weird thinking that my mother was in our presence one moment, and ushered into the presence of God the next moment.

Fall has always been a wonderful time of the year for me. I love the fall. It is my favorite season, but since Mommy passed away, it now makes fall bittersweet. I still enjoy it, and look forward to it, but the change in the seasons also brings back to mind the emotions I felt during the time that my mother passed away.

My mother was 46 when she died.

Shane and I found out that we were expecting our first baby a month after my mother died. She never met any of her grandchildren. My children never met their grandmother. That has been a hard thing for me, but I am thankful for God's providence. He is sovereign.