I am loved

I had a birthday this week. And may I just say that all the love that was poured out on me was most welcome and needed at this time for me. On the big day los niños made me breakfast in bed (yum). I had taken the day off work, so I then returned to sleep for a while. Luego pude jugar en el X-Box 360 sin que los niños comentaran ni dirigieran porque estaban ya en la escuela. Then my papi took my hubby and me out for a fantastic meal. We ate at the Tea House, and I believe it was the finest meal I have ever eaten. After lunch hubby and I went to the Animal Humane Society to pre-screen candidates for adopting - we've been planning on a cat for a while now. We found a super one year old bown and grey tabby, and I brought the niños back after school. ¡Adoptamos el gato! Es lindísimo. Along with the cat, we got the society's "starter kit," which set us up with food, litter, etc. Deliberamos tres o cuatro días en cuanto a su nombre. We've finally decided on Monty (after going through Smeagol, Baxter, Jester, and Tumnus, to name a few). He is a perfect fit for our family. Even the dog lover among us has been smitten. :-)

That night I attended a New Beginnings program at church, since five of my Achievement Day girls are moving up to the Young Women this year. Disfruté estar con ellas mientras se les presentó los ocho valores. It was an excellent program.

Besides the cat, I receives a Burt's Bees hand and feet pamper kit, a certificate for an hour massage, the promise of a set of acrylic nails, and some money to buy clothes. I sense a theme...

On Friday I had a date to go out to lunch with my dear friend Lori to celebrate my birthday. We've been planning this for a couple of months, and I've really been looking forward to it. She picked me up at my office and when we pulled into the Chili's parking lot I noticed two women from church at the curb. We slowed down and waved and said hello, then parked the car. Lori bopped ahead of me to get us a table because there was a big group of people heading into the restaurant. I caught up, and we were seated. Just as we were beginning to look over the menu, I looked up to see my lifelong friend Cathie. What a nice surprise! I introduced Lori and Cathie, who told us she had been at the music store next door and decided to grab some lunch. So we invited her to join us. I was really happy for this nice surprise, because I thought these two friends would really like each other. As we were rearranging coats and bags I looked up to see two more friends from church. We invited them to join as well. About now I was thinking we might need to move to a bigger table to accommodate the surprise joiners. The server said that would be fine. As we got up to move, around the corner came two more church friends. The light bulb clicked for me, and I said "This is no longer a coincidence. I just figured out what is going on!" So my quiet lunch with a friend turned out to be a lovely birthday lunch party of nine folks. My sister, who couldn't make it to the lunch, even checked in by way of a phone message. What a fantastic surprise, and I never suspected a thing!!! Apparently my hubby planted the seed of the idea with Lori, who also colluded with my mom on potential invitees.

I am blessed with many people who love and care for me.