My birthday...continued!

I rounded out my birthday weekend with tons more fun. Mom, Dad, Allie, Brad and I went to dinner at J. Alexander's Friday night and then celebrated at Mom and Dad's with cake, ice cream and all sorts of fun surprises!

Saturday I spent most of the day out and about with mom (and catching up on the phone with friends calling with sweet birthday wishes) and then some of our fantastic friends came over for dinner and more celebrating. Have I ever mentioned that I have the best friends in the world? I most definitely do. Sissy made me awesome funfetti cupcakes and there were all sorts of other yummy treats (Brad's still talking about Amy's cheese dip). Most importantly, Brad and I were able to really hang out with some of our friends that we don't get to see nearly enough (I think I saw Amy more when she lived in Florence) and some of our friends that we are fortunate to see most every day (they're our neighbors). It's nice to have the opportunity to celebrate with friends from all aspects of our lives. I had a great birthday and can't thank everyone enough for all of their thoughtfulness. I am eager to see what God has planned for my 24th year!

Me and Amy

Sissy showing that my Halloween decoration is also functional

Yes, he rocked the seminole shirt all night long, it was good luck

Let the celebrating begin!

If you know me at all you know that I absolutely love birthdays. You can't blame me though; for as long as I can remember my family has made a huge deal about celebrating the day we were born. I used to wake up to breakfast in a kitchen draped in streamers, or fun balloons, or anything else festive Mom could dream up. The festive-ness of birthdays has continued over the years (including the year I was in Mobile thanks to Melissa and Sissy) and my excitement over that hasn't weaned even in the least. While my actual birthday isn't until tomorrow the celebration has already begun and I couldn't be happier.

My celebrating began with lunch at Taziki's with Rachel. We really were getting together to catch up, but she brought me a super fun surprise and kicked off my weekend of celebrating! I left thinking... I can't wait until tonight when I get to celebrate some more... back to work, blah.

I was at my desk working away when the front desk called to let me know I had a delivery. My sweet husband sent me beautiful flowers (the picture doesn't do them justice) as a pre-birthday surprise--I was pumped, another tally for my "I love my birthday" list. Just as I was getting ready to head back to my desk to admire my lovely flowers, Holly told me she needed to talk to me in the kitchen (I panicked thinking something bad had happened); I was surprised yet again. Miranda (my cubicle neighbor) made me delicious funfetti cupcakes (yep, they picked up on my favorites already) and I celebrated with a sweet card and gift from my friends at work. I was completely shocked and incredibly grateful; I've only worked here for a month and I wasn't expecting anything at all. I am very fortunate to work with such kind and thoughtful people.

Birthdays aren't so much about the celebrating itself, but more so about the fun you get to have with the people in your life. That's why I love my birthday--I get to slow down a bit and hang out with the people that mean the most to me. Yay, for another year... let the celebration continue!