Project 3-6-5: Day 23

This man is special. He's a blessing to me. He is a gift for this lifetime, a companion, a friend, a protector and a leader. I pray that God would continue to bless him and work in him and through him this year, transforming his heart and mind to be more like Christ each day.

Happy Birthday, Babe! I love you!

Decade Number Three: Part Three

And to finish things off, we had a family dinner on Saturday night! The menu included Tomato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Corn on the Cob, Grilled Chicken, Watermelon, Munchies and a Carvel Ice Cream cake. YUM!

I had a great birthday week!

Decade Number Three: Part Two

Part Two covers my actual birth-day. My mom took me out to breakfast at Mimis Cafe. We both had their seasonal pancakes, Lemon Poppyseed, and they were SO good! She gave me a few more items to add to my baking collection. Oh darn! I guess I'll just have to make another batch of cupcakes soon! We ran a few errands while we were out. Although Matt couldn't get the day off like he tried, he did walk through our door a little early with beautiful flowers in hand! We made a pit stop at Yogurt Mountain before (yes, before) dinner. I signed up for their birthday club and received free frozen yogurt! Then we headed over to dinner at Noodles and Company. Normally, it would have been a small group night, so we just moved small group to a restaurant and didn't do a lesson. =) My parents and sister-in-law joined us, too. My parents came armed with an out-of-this-world cake from Whole Foods. The flavor was Oreo Cookie. In the middle of the cake, inside the frosting, were chunks of Oreo. The outside was beautifully decorated in black and white and my mom even found black and white candles to complete it. (I highly recommend cake from Whole Foods.)

The best part of the day had to be when Matt gave me my gift. He purchased concert tickets to Hillsong United in August! Now, that's really exciting, but here's the kicker: I bought him the same exact birthday gift to give him in less than four weeks! I debated on whether to show him what I bought for his birthday or to just wait, but I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to keep it in for another four weeks. So, I came out with it, and will just have to give him something else on his actual birthday! Turns out, we both thought we were being so slick about it too. After exchanging stories, we learned that both of us didn't want to say anything about Hillsong coming to North Carolina so that the idea to buy tickets wouldn't be stolen. Ha! Joke's on both of us, huh? (And I was so excited that I had already taken care of his gift!) We nearly bought in the same section, too! So, we laughed it off and are now holding an extra pair of tickets in our hands. Great minds do think alike, don't they?

Enjoy some photos from the day:

Thanks, everyone, for making my birthday so special!

Decade Number Three: Part One

If any of you out there is as lucky as I am, then your birthday might also have turned into a birthweek!

Sunday afternoon kicked off the week of celebrating my entering into a new decade of life. The twenties are in the rearview mirror and it's full speed ahead into the wiser, older, more mature years.

Um, yeah. Anyways.

Matt, along with the help of family and friends, planned out a surprise ice cream party at church. Ice cream happens to be my favorite food and who knows how long it has been since I had an ice cream party! A whole table filled with three buckets of ice cream, whip cream, caramel sauce, peanut butter sauce, chocolate sauce and a rainbow row of toppings to finish it off, complete with homemade cookie dough balls made by my good friend, Jennifer. (She can cook her tail off!) Need I say more? Are you drooling yet? And since no party would be complete without a cake, my friend Julie (who can also cook her tail off) baked a chocolate and vanilla sheet cake for those non-dairy lovers. Oh, and, she sent me home with a knock-your-socks-off plain cheesecake, my favorite dessert of hers that she makes. (The diet begins next week ;)

While everyone did a wonderful job keeping the party a secret, things on Sunday morning just didn't seem to fit together like normal. While I'll spare all the details, I guessed that there was a party we were headed to! But, Matt, being the cool, calm and collected cat that he is, didn't crack a smile the whole time I was asking him if I was right. He waited until we got back inside the church when everyone yelled "SURPRISE!" It all came together and what a blast it was!

Here are some photos from the day, courtesy of my friends and my Dad.

(I was unarmed with mine, of course!)

Turning 28

We celebrated Jer's 28th Birthday a couple of weeks ago...I know, so I'm behind in the blogging world, what else is new?!

Ahem.

We had a family dinner at the Fox and the Hound at North Hills on the opening night of the beach music on the green. After dinner, we hung out on the green for a little while listening to the band play. Then we headed to Erin's parent's house for cake, ice cream and gifts.