Birthday/Labor Day Weekend

I awoke around 6:30am on my birthday to Anna freaking out because she'd "had an accident," meaning she peed in her bed. I turned to my side to look for Tyler-but he was gone. "Good," I thought, he's awake--he can take care of it. I called the home phone from my cell phone. No answer. I called his cell phone. He answered, but he wasn't home. HUH?! Where are you??? He was out buying my birthday presents and was trying to do it while I was sleeping. In fact, he woke up at 5:30am to sneak away so I wouldn't notice. I told him that he could have left at 8am and I would have slept through it...anyhow, his surprise was ruined because of the little accident. And yes, I cleaned it up.


I came downstairs to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my sweet husband. Plus he gave me a present early--some splatter shields for the kitchen! So handy! Dad, Suzanne, & Alleigh showed up around 11am. We ate a late breakfast and then spent the day indoors. It was lovely. We talked, relaxed, played games, & took naps while Anna & Alleigh played NON-STOP the whole time. For my birthday dinner we had flank steak, fresh corn on the cob, fresh beets (from our garden), rainbow jello (sugar-free), & chocolate zucchini cake for dessert (almost completely sugar-free). Tyler also bought me a set of sheets--400 count egyptian cotton gold-colored sheets. They are so soft! Plus Dad, Suzanne, & Alleigh bought me some cloth napkins for the dinner table--they are gold with leaf prints on them--perfect! I felt so blessed to have my family with me on my birthday--it was a lot of fun! We played carcassonne & settlers of catan. We tried to make every moment count since we only had about 2 days to be together.


Sunday was fast Sunday. I sang FOR ME ALONE (by Sally Deford) for prelude. It's such a powerful song. I had been planning to bear my testimony. I wanted to tell my parents how much I appreciate them for teaching me the gospel. Before I could go up-Tyler bore his testimony. I bore my testimony and cried (which I didn't completely expect) and then my Dad bore his testimony. It was a lovely meeting. I fasted about my going back to school. I had mixed feelings about it--should I be in school, wouldn't it be better to be at home, how can I spend enough time for my classes plus take care of my family, etc...during the sacrament, a thought came to me that it was a blessing that I could have this opportunity to go back to school and that many women would like to have such an opportunity as this. I immediately felt grateful that I could go to school and grateful for another confirmation from the Lord that I should be going to school. Another thought was that I should be teachable, that I should try to soak up all I could learn at school.


We came home and had Crock Pot Au Jus Roast with carrots & onions, broccoli with cheese, whole wheat rolls & rainbow jello. I made a sugar-free whole wheat crust cherry pie--it was quite tasy! I had choir practice--which went quite well. We came home & my dad gave both Tyler & I blessings for the next school year. Many of the words in the blessing were just what I was needing to hear while other things surprised me. It will be fun to see those things come to pass in my future.


This morning my Dad took me shopping for my birthday. He bought me a watch, a whisk, & a new shower curtain--one like Heather's (white and very soft)--it was fun to just be with him and spend more time getting to know him. It seems that the more I know him-the more I find out who I am or notice similar traits. It's a fun self-discovery. :)


We drove to Cincinatti to see the Cincinatti Reds play the New York Mets. (professional baseball, in case you weren't sure) It was HOT HOT HOT! It was only 85 or 90 degrees, but we were sitting in full sun at 1pm and it was more than I could handle. We eventually found more shaded seating and were able to enjoy the game. Dad, Suzanne, & Alleigh left early and went back to Oklahoma. Anna was SO SAD! She kept asking why I wouldn't let her go too and wanted to know when we are moving back to Oklahoma...it was hard to see them go. We had such a wonderful visit and hope to see them soon! Here are some photos:

It seems that Alleigh likes Anna's style of taking silly pictures...

Isn't she cute??

This is how I look from Anna's height...
Tyler & Anna burning up at the Cincinatti Reds game...

Dad, Suzanne, & Alleigh trying to keep cool...

THANKS FOR COMING TO VISIT!!! WE HAD A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!