a sweet birthday indeed

This has been a most excellent birthday... much more mellow than my "quarter of a century birthday" last year when my dear husband went to heroic lengths to throw me the only surprise party I've ever had (I'm not one for surprises too often, so he was brave as well!). He thought that being a "quarter of a century" called for grand celebrating, and so we did - friends from here, and friends from all over came including my kindred spirit who FLEW from Kansas City, and my excellent friend Darcie who drove all the way from Nashville; such fun memories. Back to this birthday... without wanting to sound (or to be) materialistic the gifts I've received today have been so perfect for me, and I'm dying to share my excitement:

from Matt:
a mother's bracelet with Moriah's name... I don't rotate my jewelry often unless it's a really special occasion and I don't typically wear a bracelet (my last daily bracelet was broken on some crazy day at school), so this will be my daily bracelet from the web-site http://www.something2bragabout.com/
Here's a picture of the style I chose...


the book written by the Country Living magazine people called "Simple Country Wisdom: 501 Old Fashioned Ideas to Simplify Your Life"

I really love the Country Living magazine, and someday I might like to use more of their ideas in our home, for now I love collecting my ideas and stashing them away... this book is full of so many tips that are right up my alley, everything from de-cluttering your home, preparing a hospitable guest room, and even placing bird feeders in your yard strategically! wonderful, all wonderful :)

a keyboard, which we've been considering for awhile now, we found a great deal I think from Louisville's Doo Wop shop (what a clever name) - so it's set up, and I have my music from the Seminary Wives "Playing Hymns" class, now I just need to remember all I learned and start practicing again. When I took the class, I really enjoyed practicing on the keyboard I leant, it was a really relaxing hobby after work.

some candy... Matt never gives a gift without candy, so I have my fair share of m&m's and Reese's!

from my mom, Nancy:
we really enjoy giving gifts to one another that include lots of miscellaneous little "good things"... this time those included, Wallflower refills in a fresh cotton scent (think Spring!), a "L" charm for my charm bracelet (which I love adding to but don't wear nearly as often as I should because I'm a little self conscious of the clinging sounds it inevitably makes!), and a recipe box

the latest in Martha's encyclopedia series of sorts, "Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts"

I really look forward to learning all sorts of techniques for beautiful sewing that Martha shares including lovely embroidery... I'd like to embellish some little things for Moriah if I can learn how, and I wouldn't think of consulting any expert besides Martha These books also make great reference material, so someday I'll stop calling my mom multiple times daily to ask simple questions and start looking my answers up, for now I'm thankful that mom's patient and willing to answer her phone :)

a wonderful multi-purpose storage set from Rachel Ray that will let me carry foods to church events and keep them hot or cold... it's sort of like the Pyrex casserole dish storage sets that have a soft zip up case which carries your food, except this one also came with a deviled egg insert tray, and a veggie insert tray. So those things would travel well without a mess or you could take out both trays and use it for a casserole dish instead... amazing! I'm sure this will be used often in the Southern Baptist life we live, I'm already thinking of our little Turner's Station Thanksgiving pot luck! this was a great QVC find by my mom, the queen of QVC (I promise some of the best gifts she's ever given me have come from QVC, I used to make fun of it, but not any more!)

The BEST gift of all... celebrating the day with my sweet little girl Moriah! We've enjoyed lots of nice time together today, which I do cherish so much these days. We'll get to see Matt a bit earlier tonight as well, since the bank closes early today - an unexpected gift :) This weekend we have plans to celebrate at a little cafe we've noticed since moving here, but haven't ever tried... Cafe Classico near our apartment in the Clifton neighborhood (have any of our Louisville friends been there?), then we'll be off to dessert at the Sweet Surrender for something delicious I know!!!