January 11

Today, I turned 37. I've always rather enjoyed birthdays, but today felt a wee bit different, if only because 37 pushes me into my late 30s and I don't feel quite ready to be 40 just yet. Fortunately, I still have a few years to get there. :)

I got up late-ish and my sweet hunny headed out to Starbucks to fill my January tumbler with marvelous blonde roast coffee just for me. Then it was on to church, where two things happened. One, I was officially ordained a deacon, and two, the pastor presented me with a chocolate-chocolate chip muffin and the entire congregation sang happy birthday. (The first I knew about in advance. The second, I did not, but I didn't mind. Loved it, really, and immediately started mentally concocting plans for how I can celebrate every church member's birthday in like-ish fashion.)

In the afternoon, I spent some time alone watching TV and surfing the 'net while Adam and the kiddos took in the NFL playoff game upstairs before we all joined forces to go for a walk. It was an absolutely stunning day; mid-60s and so bright and lovely. Then it was off to dinner at Chevys, which was a less than stellar experience until the servers executed the perfect sombrero-plunking/birthday-song-singing by catching me (and Abby... see collage) 100% off-guard. At home, we did presents, and then had cake. And the kids were off to bed, leaving me to reflect on the day.

I could easily say that God was everywhere today, because He's everywhere every day. But in a practical sense, I felt Him at distinctive moments... during church, I felt Him speak to my heart and tell me that I'm valuable... and ask me why I'd ever think otherwise. He gave me reminders of Logan, too (or Logan gave them... I admit I have no idea how that works). At dinner, I wasn't paying much attention to the music until things got quiet for a split second and I caught the final bars of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." It seemed an appropriate message from my dance-loving Sunshine to me. Then as we rode home, Diamond Rio's "One More Day" played on the radio. In short, it talks about having just "one more day" with a loved one and how it would never actually be enough because that one more day would make you yearn for yet another and another. Goodness knows that's true. And it reminded me that though I won't have any more days with Logan in this life, we'll have many, many days in the next.

So for birthdays and for getting older (and hopefully wiser) and for memories of my sweet boy and for new memories with the rest of my wonderful family, I am thankful.