My Fourth Decade

And so begins my fourth decade as a member of the human race!  And there is no better way to begin it than with a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting!  YUM!!

It was one of the most amazing birthdays ever.  I just want to thank everyone who took time out of their day on Monday to call, mail, post, text or telepathically send me birthday well wishes!  I felt so special!  Thanks Mom for spending a couple of days celebrating with us and for crying those happy momma tears. :) Thanks James for going the extra mile to make everything special- I love you!! Thanks to my friends for coming over to sing happy birthday and share cake (even if you were forced out of the house despite having the flu!) ;0)

One of the best birthday gifts EVER was the news that we are not going to be in some crazy far away place for our next duty station!  Now, at this point, we're not exactly 100% sure where we ARE going to be, but we do know that it will be stateside and most likely West Coast.  We feel so extremely grateful that we will be able to remain within a day's drive of home and family and James will get the experience of serving this great nation on a Navy ship.  This is what he has wanted from the beginning.  The news has made my worrying mother a very happy person! ;0)

On another familiar note, 'tis the season for the taking of the family photo.  My kids really really hate doing this, and quite frankly, I think James hates it more than anyone!  We actually managed to get some pretty decent pictures!  Millie did an amazing job.  I am going to post a slideshow of them soon, but here are a few we took Sunday after church.  Annabelle managed to force a cute pose through her tired tears....