Turning 50

I'm back! The last weeks have been filled with fun and meaningful events to celebrate. I've missed the time to write and hope to blog my little heart out in the coming weeks.

I turned 50 - and boy did we celebrate! I have to say that becoming 50 turned out to be a blast beyond belief!! From a surprise breakfast out with a special girlfriend, to a hot-pink manicure, to a surprise lunch with my parents, to shopping at the mall with mall bucks, to a huge surprise party with many girlfriends at a sweet cafe. Our table overlooked a pond surrounded by weeping willows - absolutely gorgeous. Sigh. I have never felt so loved and cared for and so spoiled. Their gifts were way over-the-top abundant with many red dishes and bowls and pitchers and such for my kitchen. They all know how much I love color!!

The evening was wrapped up at my home with my special family. The girls decorated the table with my new birthday dishes, pink balloons, and pink, peach, and yellow tulips. They made homemade cauliflower soup, homemade garlic-rosemary bread, salad, and to top it off, a world-class Russian creme with raspberries. Num. Food centers large in any family event in our home! Did you notice I ate my way through the whole day? ;O] And I opened my traditional family gifts - perfume and candles. Ahhhh. Supplies replenished.

Then my oldest daughter graduated from nursing school. Wow! What fun celebrations!! There was the award breakfast, the pinning ceremony, and finally the graduation itself. She was the one down front with the huge grin on her face! We were the crowd at the very back hooting and hollering and waving with all arms and blowing kisses. All graduation weekend I felt overwhelmed with gratefulness to the Lord for His faithful mercy and grace as He carried her through four years of the most trying and painful trials of her life. Most of that time she struggled with seriously debilitating health issues that made us wonder if she'd even be able to make it. God is so good - and He sure has been good to her. Because of Him she is now a graduated nursing student! We know exactly Who to thank! Next comes her nursing board exam - one week away.

To continue the graduation theme, we celebrated with an open house this weekend. The Lord gave sunshine and blooming flowers. It was a fun time with very special family and friends. Thank you all!

Oh, and one weekend in the midst of all this hoopla, several of us in the family headed to the coast where my daughter shot a wedding. Since I grew up in this town and still have family and friends there, I piggybacked along. I had a blast with a wonderfully special girlfriend - we've been friends since the 8th grade. (You do the math.) Our birthdays are only one day apart and we found out early in our friendship that we had been born in the same hospital as consecutive babies. Then didn't meet for 13 years. AND, I actually reconnected with another friend I'd grown up with and hadn't seen since 7th grade. Such joys.

So I'm done gallivanting around for a wee bit. I intend to stay around and chat. I look forward to it. See ya -