Well, Sunday was my birthday. I am another year older. 37 to be exact. Mark is 2.5 years my junior, and he said since we are one, I could have his age. I really appreciated the offer. But I guess I will have to own up to all of my 37 years.

I had a great birthday. First, my mother-in-law celebrated her birthday 11 days before mine and she and my father-in-law took our whole family out for lunch. They said it was to celebrate Mom’s birthday and to begin celebrating the “12 days of my birthday.” I like this concept. I am actually planning on using it on both sides of my birthday, making it actually “the 24 days of my birthday.”

On Sunday, my actual birthday, I had a nice day as well. The boys were so cute about it. Nevin, our 4-year-old, came into our room on Sunday morning and said, “Happy Birthday,” with no prompting from anyone. This was a first for him. Then after church, Mark’s parents came for lunch. They brought leftovers from their place, so I didn’t have to cook. They also brought a cake that Mom made. Very nice. Before we ate, the children and Mark were getting their presents together. Nevin kept saying, “I got a present for you, but it’s a secret.” Calvin would say things like, “Nevin, you’re not supposed to say anything.” Evangeline kept coming to the kitchen and grabbing my hand to take me to the living room to open my presents, even though they weren’t quite ready. When the moment finally arrived, they were thrilled. I was touched because they each picked out something when they went shopping with Daddy. The card Calvin gave me was the first one I got from him where he wrote all the words of greeting himself. It is fun to have a birthday just to watch the kids. Of course, the next day, Nevin said, “My birthday’s next, right?” Which, it is. But it is not until October. Evangeline came in on Monday and said, “Is Nevin’s birthday today?”

On Sunday night, Mom and Dad watched the kids after church, and Mark and I went out to dinner at Charleston’s. It’s a sort of nostalgic place to us. We used to go to a sister restaurant called Houston’s in Ft. Lauderdale before we were married. It was a nice way to close my actual birthday.

Keeping with the concept of “the 12 days of my birthday” my mother-in-law took me and my closest Minco friend out to lunch on Monday. We also dallied a bit at a nearby antique mall. It was a pleasant afternoon.

Today is sort of the “let-down” day, as I know I really can’t celebrate my birthday for 12 days after my birthday. But when I think about how much I enjoyed myself over the weekend and yesterday, I am really thankful for a wonderful family and for marrying a man with great parents to be my in-laws who treat me as if I am their real daughter.