Birthday Recap and the Blessing of Friends

Last week I celebrated a birthday. Want to see a bit of what the day was like for me?

The night before my birthday, I had a dream about being back at college with my friends. That is not so unusual, but in the dream, one of my friends said something really, really funny, and I was laughing so hard in my sleep that I woke myself up. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never woken up laughing out loud before! Even once I was awake, I just could not stop laughing. {Thinking about it later, it wasn’t really that funny! Guess it was just one of those middle-of-the-night things!}

So when I woke up on my birthday morning, I felt all sorts of funny. Like I’d missed out on something, just a feeling that my day felt pretty empty. And then suddenly, I realized what it was: my friends were missing. I found myself wanting more than anything to be surrounded by my friends again. And so, I started off the day a bit down in the dumps. :(

But my oh my, be careful what you wish for. :) By the end of the day, the Lord proved to me that I was surrounded by my friends...maybe not the exact friends I had been thinking, but a big circle of friends that love me. Let me explain…

Every Tuesday morning, I help with a Bible study at our local nursing home. The residents there surprised me with a birthday cake, a big gift basket, and a little party of our own! What a fun treat! I was not expecting that at all, but these dear residents made sure my morning was special.

Snagged this from my Facebook page...the leftover cake! See the clef signs?? So cute!

Later in the day, a friend of mine picked me up to go shopping, but little did I know she was an ally in a bigger plot! :) She got me to the Chinese resturant, where I was greeted by a whole roomful of ladies from both of my churches. What a surprise!!!

There were more ladies not in this picture!

There I was, literally surrounded by so many dear friends, and I realized: what more could I ask for on this birthday?

These ladies truly spoiled me. Besides the fun of going out for supper with all these friends, they had secretly worked with my mom to get me a ton of oh-so-practical things for gifts. Here is a peek at the things I received:

Some fabric and sewing supplies

Sweet stuff!

These ladies know me, lol!

Basket of random goodies...I got three huge baskets like this, plus other gifts!

This picture really takes the cake. This is all beauty supplies that I received! I'm not going to have to buy razors or shampoo again for a long, long time...what a blessing! I have to organize a whole cabinet just to make room for all of this!!

I am truly so, so blessed. In the three years of living here in Canada, I’ve made so many friendships that I value greatly. I have so much to be thankful for...and remembering this great birthday with curb any future down-in-the-dumps feelings I might be tempted to have. :)

Thank you to all of you who made my birthday a special day, either by your physical presence or the many virtual well-wishes I received. I am so blessed by each of you!


Oh, and one other thing...I had a super exciting moment when I found out my friend Andrea gave birth to her twins on my birthday! I’d been asking her to do that for months. :) You can read about her new life with four kids ages 3 and under on her blog!