This is My Birthday Song. It isn't very long.

Birthdays are incredible you know. I am awed by the wonderful people who I am privileged to call my friends. As I received birthday wish after birthday wish, phone calls, gifts, and meals galore I was impressed to realize that these treats were a mere expression of a love that I feel all of the time. Certainly, on this day those expressions were more concentrated, but there are incredible people in this world. People who make me feel like a million dollars on my worst day. People who will drop everything to come to my aid for even the smallest need. People who will let me open my heart to them and more importantly whom will open their hearts to me and let me in to be a friend and confidant. It is so wonderful to feel important to others but I NEED to feel as though I have something to contribute to others. Many of my friends have allowed me to do just that, even if all I could offer was a prayer for hope in their behalf. On my birthday I was reminded of how lucky I am to have so many in my life who allow me to just be me, and to have great hopes for those I care about. Thank you, to all of those people who have blessed my life with love, acceptance, and kind deeds. You are truly the angels whom God has sent to provide for me. Here are a few photos from the celebratory day.

A Tale of Two Turkeys

Ah the wonderful sights and smells of Thanksgiving; turkey, potatoes, cranberries, and Cornish hens? Wait, really? That tiny little bird should not be on the table at thanksgiving time. My mother decided she wanted to play a little trick on the only child she had coming home for the holiday of gratitude. I’m not sure I’ll be going home next year (*wink). Mom, dad, and I helped put together a delightful little meal, but mom was sure to give me the items that kept me away from the main meal, mainly the bird. She had this recipe for an a-m-a-z-i-n-g cranberry cream cheese dip and I had the privilege of making it. Thank goodness, because now the recipe is burned in my brain and it is delicious! Find a triscuit or Ritz cracker and start dippin’ baby because this stuff is good.

I was also in charge of the pumpkin crumble dessert. No pictures, but it was cake to make! So, dinner was placed nicely on the table and mom tells me to look at the turkey and how much it shrank. I, of course, flipped a little and asked, “How big was it before you cooked it!” She couldn’t hold back her snickers. Phew! I did not want to eat that bird. Then they brought out the real one. Thank goodness! It was a much prettier bird. It was a nice break from everyday life to spend some thankful time at home with mom and dad.