And Many More!

My birthday was wonderful. It was so fun to have my sister here to share it with. She, my mom and I went out to lunch together and then SHOPPING! Like REAL shopping. At South Coast Plaza, took our time, tried on lots of stuff, all squeezed into one dressing room, laughed and laughed, bought it off the rack, paid full price! I haven't been shopping like that in over a year. It's been all Maternity or Target. My mom was too generous and bought me like 5 new outfits. OUTFITS! Tops and bottoms that all mix and match - and are way cuter than the sweats I usually wear at home all day. Now I just have to have places, or events, to wear them all to. Here are two of them:

I got to wear one that night when Matt took me out for apps and drinks at The Ritz. The kids stayed with my parents and my sister and just the two of us got a few hours to enjoy each others' company. It was really nice. Then we hurried back for dessert - my Mom had bought a Lemon Raspberry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (my favorite) and the girls wanted to help me blow out the candles.

I received so many nice gifts for my birthday. Flowers for my garden from my mom and dad, cute stationery from my brother and Adrie, the sweetest of handmade pictures and drawings from the girls.

My sister gave me a FEED Bag. I love it. The FEED project was started by Lauren Bush in cooperation with the UN World Food Program. WFP school feeding programs are designed to fight chronic child hunger while promoting education in some of the world's poorest countries. Hungry children receive nutritious meals when they attend school. Enrollment, attendance rates, and academic performance increase dramatically. The bag is modeled after the woven WFP grain bags in schools, trucks, and emergency response efforts in these countries. It's completely reversible with burlap on one side and white canvas on the other. It's stamped with the words "FEED the children of the World" and the number "1" because the purchase of one FEED bag feeds one child in school for one year. Awesome gift Katherine, Thank you!

Matthew hit it out of the park in the gift department. A few weeks back, unbeknownst to me, he ran across a box in the garage that contained a bunch of old pictures from when we were dating along with every email he had sent to me when he went to college in New York. (I had printed them all out years ago.) He turned them all into a hardcover book on Blurb. He knows how much I love stuff like that - saving, documenting, cherishing memories. It is one of the best presents he has ever given me. I absolutely love it. Thanks to my new scanner - here's a few pics of us, young and in love. As you can see - I used to change my hair color just about every other month! These are all from 1996. We were both 20 years old.

Another gift that made me smile was a children's book that my girlfriend Libby gave me. It's titled "You're All My Favorites" and is a story about a Daddy bear, Mommy bear and three little Baby bears. Every night, while tucking in their three cubs, Mommy and Daddy Bear tell them they're the most wonderful baby bears in the whole wide world. But one day the three little bears start to wonder how their Mommy and Daddy know this is true? And even more worrisome, what if their parents like one brother or sister better than another? But the Daddy and Mommy take turns explaining to them why each of them is special and how very much each one is loved. They eventually convince the three worried cubs that there's plenty of love to go around. The three baby bears are able to fall asleep happy and content again. Having three of the cutest baby bears of my own, this story really touched my heart.

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special. I love birthdays and always make a big deal out of everyone else's. So it was fun to be the recipient of all the good cheer, happy wishes, and fun love from everyone! I made on super huge wish when I blew out my candles this year. I'll let you know when it comes true!