Happy Birthday to Jayden!!!

I will apologize right upfront for the length of this post. It's been a busy weekend and many times I have thought "I need to blog this." With that being said, just hang onto your bootstraps while I fill you in on my weekend.



Our weekend began on Thursday night. We went out to eat at Fuddrucker's (a favorite of the kid's) with my parents. You see- Jayden's fourth birthday is May 4th. Well, Nana and Papa were going to Hilton Head so they wouldn't be here for the celebration. We just began celebrating early. Jayden was elated to begin early...the earlier the better. We had a great time. We got there a little early so we decided to fill the time waiting for them to arrive with a little video footage. I think he's following in his Dad's footsteps, don't you? I can just see him leading worship one day in the near future.

Friday night, my husband and I got to go out on a long overdue DATE!!! We had to pick up Jay's present for Sunday, so it was a perfect excuse to enlist the services of Uncle Mike and head north to Macaroni Grill with NO kids. That doesn't happen often enough at the Richmond's so we savor every minute of it when we get the chance. Not only did we stuff ourselves silly at the Grill, but we then went to Target to cruise around and let our food digest. It was so pleasant to shop without two small kids and two pre-teens. Trust me, the pre-teens can be as difficult as the small ones at times. The mega shopping trip worked up quite another appetite and we went to DQ for moo-latte's. Okay, none of this was on my diet, but it was so enjoyable that I thought I would just work out twice as hard the next day. We won't discuss whether or not I actually did it, but it was still so worth it to just spend pleasant alone time with my husband. He really is so much better than I could ever have dreamed I would have for a husband. I love you, honey!!!

Saturday, Ken decided to take Will to see Ironman...not a chick flick-so the girl's and I decided to sneak out before the movie and get our toenails done. Again, this was a super nice treat...we really don't do things like this nearly enough. The little asian ladies were so good to my girls and gave us all extra special treatment. Yes, Bryn chose lime green and while I wasn't thrilled- I did want her to be happy and have a good time. It must be popular, the bottle was almost empty when she chose it. Erin and I went for the more traditional look. My girl's look like they have big feet in this picture. Now that I think about it, they do. Bryn's foot is the same size as mine and she just turned 10.

Saturday night, I put together Jayden's cake. I am not a chef or a cake decorator!!! BUT, when Will was four I made this dinosaur cake for him. A picture of it is in his scrapbook. It was awful. I spent hours working on it and it just looked cheesy. Well, Jayden has been begging for this dinosaur cake-the one in the scrapbook. Ken came up with the idea of taking cupcakes and placing them together so they made a dinosaur. He thought that might be easier. Well, it was easier, but it still looks CHEESEY. Here's a pic of the finished product. Jayden insisted that it be a blue dino. He got to help decorate it. No awards on this cake. He loved it and I guess that's what counts.
Now, I'm gonna wrap this up. I know it's a lot, but I can't close out this blog without saying how much I enjoyed the service at EMC this morning. The sense of community in that church is amazing. Ken and I were talking after church about the willingness of the members of this body to "bear each others burdens". I am so happy to be a part of a church that is willing to break away from the norm and follow God's leading when it is evident He is taking the service in a different direction. I loved looking around the room and seeing so many people in pockets praying in small groups for one another. Praying for people that they were led to pray for. I know that you guys have been through a tough few years at EMC. I'm so glad that you stuck it out and hung in there. God is doing great things in your body. It is so evident. I'm glad you invited me to the party and I'm glad I decided to come.
Hugs to you all,