Happy Birthday!

Today was a monumental day for us in many ways but specifically, it was the kids' birthday!  Every year on this day, I reflect back on the first few years of my kids' lives and sometimes I can hardly believe how far we've come.   This year was especially no exception.  On the contrary, we had so much more to celebrate this year and I found myself running the gamut of emotions almost all day long. 

We started the day by going to church and the kids brought doughnuts to youth church to celebrate with their friends there.  After church, we had lunch and then went to pick up the kids' birthday gifts:  NEW BIKES!!!  Little beach cruisers.  They were very surprised and excited.  It was so fun to watch the genuine thrill in their eyes and hear the enjoyment and adventure in their voices.  While at the bike store, I couldn't help thinking how devastating it would have been if Steve wouldn't have been there with us.  So then I was overwhelmed by a wave of gratitude for exactly what life is and exactly what it is not.  It's perfect, every triumph and every hurdle.

After the bike store, we picked up a cake and went home.  I cleaned Steve's pins and then the kids and I rode our bikes around a bit and enjoyed every minute.  After that I took a little break and then decided to start dinner which I decided was going to be one of Ryan's favorites, tuna casserole.  I asked the girls what they wanted for dinner but they didn't care what we had.  As I was preparing dinner, I got lost in my thoughts again.  I couldn't help thinking about how much Steve and I have accomplished together.  I was particularly thinking that we've created something so special, an amazing family.  These kids are shaping up to be remarkable little human beings, overflowing with love and compassion for others.

As I made dinner, I cried tears of joy thinking of the last seven years with the kids.  Steve walked in the kitchen as I was finishing putting the casserole in the dish to place in the oven.  For a split second I thought to myself that tuna casserole is so simple, not many ingredients, very quick and easy.  I thought, geez, I should make this more often.  I popped the casserole in the oven and voila!  Thirty minutes later dinner was ready.  Not too shabby for someone who doesn't get very creative in the kitchen.  We sat down to eat, the kids with tuna casserole and steamed broccoli on their plates, Steve with his soup, and I with my plant based version of a meal.  We said the blessing and of course, I cried again as we thanked God for our children, our perfect health, and all our blessings.  As we ate, I looked around and watched the kids picking at their food and then something dawned on me.  I started to laugh and laugh.  They all wanted to know what I was laughing about.  My lovely, perfectly simple-to-make tuna casserole was just casserole...I forgot to add the tuna.  Awww crap!  Well, at least the cake was perfectly store bought...