Celebrating my 26th!

Jeff tells everyone I'm 30 but I've really just celebrated my 26th birthday! Of course with everything that's happened in the past year I feel closer to 30. I've even got the white hairs to prove it...in that way I'm catching up to my husband. But he'll always be a decade older and that makes me feel eternally young!
It was a lovely birthday. I've carried on the tradition of not doing work of any kind on my birthday. Going to school on my b-day was optional as a kid and that habit spilled over into my adult life.
I woke up to Jeff bringing me breakfast in bed--he scrambled eggs, made toast and picked up a Hazelnut iced coffee from McDonalds--I know it sounds weird but it's my favorite drink! How sweet is my husband? Very.
He took the day off work to spend time with me, but I didn't realize that and booked two spa appointments instead. A European facial steamed and tightened my pores...it was heavenly. And my hour-long massage was equally wonderful. I was like a noodle when I returned home. Jeff & I enjoyed lunch together. I ate a banana split!
We also watched a movie, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." It takes place in Hawaii so it was fun to recognize familiar scenery with Jeff since it was filmed at the Turtle Bay Hotel and I took Jeff on a tour there this winter!
Anyway, the sweetest part of my day was spending the evening with family. Mom Hopkins made a seafood extravaganza. It was the most delicious dinner I've ever enjoyed! Scallops, shrimp cocktail, and salmon--all my favorite foods! I stuffed myself on the feast. She also made two chocolate pies! So yummy...I made sure to make a wish before blowing out the candles.
Max and Laney created birthday cards and gave me little gifts. Max was so proud of his card. He said, "I made it myself. It says I love you and Happy Birthday!" Later on that night, he said, "I don't just like you. I love you. Did you see that's what I wrote in the card?" He just cracks me up.
Jeff gave me a lovely jewelry box...I can't believe I went all these years without one! Better still, he wrote me a lovely poem superimposed on a beautiful graphic. I want to frame and share it but he'd be mortified.
I also can't believe I went our entire marriage without clothes shopping! I am so proud. Jeff is so grateful. But thanks to birthday money from family I will be at the mall today, continuing my birthday celebration!
Thank you everyone for such a blessed year!

Happy Birthday, Nick!

This weekend the Hopkins clan rounded up the troops to head to Indiana to "surprise" Nick on his 30th birthday. Of course, his mind is so quick, he knew something was up and it wasn't entirely a surprise...But it was a blast nonetheless to celebrate his life and what he means to his family. Nick is as fun-loving as he is smart and witty...It was a pleasure to spend time in the lovely home he and Natalie have created for their baby, Ali.
About 15 of us (his in-laws included) met for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Indianapolis. My seafood pizza was delish...the fun of being around so much family was even better.

Nick blows out his 30 candles after a cook-out consisting of hot dogs, bratwurst, hamburgers, party potatoes and mac & cheese. Yum!
Earlier in the day while the boys golfed, the ladies took the kids to the zoo. Laney's dream of touching a shark came true!

The zoo had an amazing aquarium-like exhibit with cool shark features. Laney was in love. After watching a dolphin show, her Aunt Nat took the kids on a merry-go-round ride.

The smiles didn't last long...Poor Max sat on his lion with a dazed expression on his face as his animal stayed put while all the others rode up and down.

We each left Indiana treasuring sweet memories of moments shared with family. Mom & Jeff enjoyed the game times best...I didn't ask Dad but he probably enjoyed the golfing and smorgasbord of yummy but fatty food. Nick said it was all so special, he couldn't choose just one thing he loved best, a typical evasive male Hopkins response! I most enjoyed the conversations shared with the women of the bunch...talking to my sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, the lively ladies in my sister-in-law's family, and trying to get my two sweet baby nieces to babble!
When I married into Jeff's life, it came with lots of extras...some good, some bad. But I will enthusiastically say being included in his wonderful family is the biggest bonus of our marriage and I am so grateful.

Delaney the Evangelist

This afternoon I allowed Laney to invite a friend over for a playdate. An hour into their playtime upstairs, Laney rushed down and exclaimed to me, "I just made my friend a Christian!" [I'm omitting her name just in case she wants privacy]. Surprised, I asked, "How did this happen?" Laney said, "I told her all about the Lord and what God can do in your heart and how you can believe in Him and get to heaven. And she wants to be a Christian!" I could not stop smiling. She is so precious. I responded, "Well I think it's wonderful that you share your faith in Christ with your friends because He's the most important thing in all our lives."
Her friend wandered downstairs and said, "Well, I don't think I'm really a Christian. No one in my family is a Christian." So we had a great talk about her family and where she's from. I didn't say a word about Jesus--I just let Laney do all the talking! She said to me, "Well I tried to tell her about God during my sleepover but I don't think she took me very seriously. So I tried telling her again today and she actually listened." I asked, "What kinds of things did you tell her about?" Laney said, "Well I told her about Bible stories and I think they're really amazing and if she becomes Christian she can be with me forever in a wonderful place called heaven. If you're not Christian and you die, you're just dead in the ground. And everyone in my family is Christian so I can be with them forever."
[Tonight as I tucked Laney into bed I asked why she thought her friend accepted Christ. She said she asked her friend to repeat after her: "Dear Lord, I want you to enter my heart because I want to spend eternity with you. I want you to make me a Christian." Laney added, "I told her it was her choice and I wasn't going to force her or anything but I wanted to help her if she didn't know what to do."]
Laney made the same announcement over dinner when her father returned home from work. Jeff said, "Well, first of all, you can't make anyone a Christian--they have to accept the Lord into their hearts on their own. And only God can change people's hearts. But it's a great thing that you share. I'm proud of you. Good job!"
Just when I was thinking, "I'm so proud of the way Jeff raised these two kids to have a solid spiritual foundation..." Max piped up, "Am I a Christian?" Oh, brother.

Prairie Air Show

This weekend our family enjoyed the beautiful weather by taking the kids to the Prairie Air Show.

The Blue Angels dazzled us with their tricks but before seeing them take flight, Max and Laney wanted to tour the Fed-Ex plane. It was a pretty impressive size. Max was confused about where the people sit if there are no seats!
I was asked to write an article on flight lessons through the lens of a first-person narrative and after this weekend's experience, I just might do that!

They really loved touring a US Navy plane. It smelled like gym shoes and was warm with people crammed in like sardines. But the kids jumped from seat to seat and it didn't even phase them.

Of course no event in Peoria is complete without the city's pride and joy: Caterpillar. Practically all of our friends have ties to CAT. The kids jumped all over the tractors.
Anywho, that's a quick re-cap of the weekend. My brain is too fried to write more--Jeff's calling me to bed. We're so beat from last night because a neighborhood kid was throwing large rocks at a home on our street and instigated a fight with the residents past midnight. I heard them shouting on and off all night because I left my bedroom window open to feel the breeze. Not tonight! The fan is roaring and I'm making sure the doors are locked! Bye for now!

Real Men Wear Tights

Nope...it's not Halloween, but Jeff and I are decked out in costume! We attended a "Mystery Dinner" at church tonight...the purpose was to meet and mingle with other church members and invite people who are new to the church to experience fun fellowshipping in a non-threatening environment.
I was assigned the character "Tinker Bell" and Jeff was given "Peter Pan." He was NOT overjoyed at the prospect of wearing tights and a feather in his cap!
Boy oh boy, it was a chore to convince Jeff to wear my friend's green running tights but he finally caved. It was good for more than a few laughs, that's for sure!
He yelled, "This is indecent!" after running down the stairs to show off his attire. I about died of laughter. He threw on a pair of boxers and a belt over the tights to cover up you-know-what!

My friend, Jada, looked fabulous as Alice in Wonderland! It was such a fun evening, a very inventive way of getting to know other people. I suggested we host more social events at church and my associate pastor exclaimed, "Great idea! Do you want to head that up?" I did my best to duck that responsibility! I've got enough on my plate!

Flowers & St. Louis

Jeff rushed into our home after work last night, holding this beautiful bouquet of flowers arranged in an equally beautiful vase. He exclaimed, "Dearhart! These are for you!" Naturally, I was touched. Jeff never brings me flowers for no reason. I'm lucky to get a potted plant. So I thought he did something wrong and was trying to make up for it by buying me flowers. He acted insulted and asked, "Can't I bring flowers to my wife whom I love so much?"
After a few minutes of gushing over how gorgeous they were, I asked Jeff where he got them. "Nowhere special," he said. Naturally I was suspicious. Finally, he broke down and said he felt bad. He took them from the station--they purchased the flowers for the Air Show that he's working at this weekend. "But I had to lobby to get them for you!" he insisted. My husband is a piece of work.
I haven't been blogging because I've been beat with house cleaning and working. So here are a couple of pictures from our trip to St. Louis. We celebrated my birthday early because we didn't have to watch the kids last weekend.

We dined in the Hill, St. Louis' Italian district. This section of town boasts many great restaurants but this was my favorite: Trattoria Marcella. We ate a stuffed artichoke for an appetizer. Dinner comprised of lobster rissotto and shrimp pasta. Yummy!
Of course Jeff was thrilled to take a tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery--for his second time around. It was actually quite interesting.

This is Jeff looking at the prohibition exhibit. It's quite an impressive plant and it wrapped up in the hospitality room, giving all participants two free glasses of alcohol. I stuck to the soft drinks and pretzels.

Maid in Peoria

I haven't been blogging lately because I've been cleaning. And organizing. And cleaning some more. I'd rather have the flu than clean but we're putting the house back on the market and I'm crossing my fingers that the third time is a charm!
I included this photo of the dining room because it's a room that's given me great joy in recent times. Tonight Keith and Amber came over for dinner and games. What a blast! It struck my heart for the first time, really, that deep friendships have the potential to bloom within the context of family. Of course when your blood mingles with another there's always a connection but sometimes we can take family for granted and not really make a deep personal investment. I want to make an effort to be a true friend to my family members and invite them into my heart and home.
Well, it's midnight...Jeff is dozing off...and I've got to work on an article. Bye for now!