Ordinary and Extraordinary

I meant to write about my birthday before now because I'm sure I will forget things, but here's what I remember... some parts of the day were ordinary: Got the kids up and some of my children growled, whined, and/or frowned at me. Ate breakfast and took Joshua to school. Had lunch with Julia and Gray. Read a little during rest time. Changed diapers. Fixed lunches. Broke up fights. Played a game where I was the only participant that paid attention and didn't complain. Fussed, instructed, hugged, held, loved, etc. Normal everyday life doesn't stop for your birthday...even your 30th birthday!

But thankfully not all the day was ordinary! I got to go to women's Bible study and a few friends surprised me with flowers and cards. The whole group sang Happy Birthday to me. I got to talk to three of my favorite people in the world on the phone. Many people sent me Happy Birthday messages on the internet. I got to wear new clothes. Matt gave me gifts: some super good (but dairy, sugar, and gluten-free) chocolate cookies that I devoured, some new tennis shoes and socks, and a pretty workout shirt. But my favorite gift was a necklace from 147 million orphans. I have been so touched by the stories of a girl in Uganda who organized a group of terribly poor women to make these necklaces from recycled magazine paper beads. I had bought a few of the necklaces for others, but didn't have one myself and it meant a lot that Matt would pick a gift like this that he knew would be meaningful to me. For supper, we had some very good (but way too expensive) gluten-free pizza from Mellow Mushroom and then after the kids went to bed we watched a fairly entertaining movie that didn't have any adventure/blood and guts/etc in it. Now that is extraordinary! (To give Matt credit, he would let me pick movies at other times too, but since I know he doesn't like the "romantic comedy" genre, I usually don't feel right picking that type unless it's my birthday!)

So yes, it was a good day and I felt very thankful for all my loving family and friends!