Kris' 34th B-day ~

34 ... and holding! "The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician; because the physician must start from nature, with an open mind. Paracelsus

Thank you everybody ... for my beautiful cards and Birthday wishes.

Well, I don't FEEL 34. What is 34 supposed to "feel" like I wonder? I woke up today to my beautiful family, a hot cup of coffee and some cards that brought tears to my eyes. Great - crying on my birthday! Ha, Ha, Ha. I couldn't help it though when I read the sweet words from Dennis and then from the kids. Dakoda traced his little hand, and Joshua wished me "the happiest of birthdays ever". We relaxed for a while, I spoke to my Momma and to Steve on the phone and then we went to the gym. I took the kiddies swimming. Joshua jumped right in. Dakoda was a bit more reluctant (to my surprise) but once he got in, his little eyes grew with wonder and elation. They were so cute! Dakoda just learned how to swim, and had to remind himself that he knew how before he decided if he was having fun. The jury wasn't out too long ... he was having a blast within seconds of entering the water. They jumped on my back and we swam to the deep end. We didn't care who was watching us through the very clear window leading to the main hallway of the gym. So what that I was pale, another year older, without make-up ... so what! That was my birthday gift to ME .... a moment of "so what". It was perfect.

Then, we came home and got ready to go out to the OG. Italian fast food at its' best. :) Ok, so I took that line from "the girls next door" - but it's true, it is Italian fast food. Yummy though.
Dennis had the waiters come and sing. There was a new guy who didn't know the words to Olive Garden's version of Happy Birthday. We all laughed as he sang "bla, bla, bla" and then admitted he was only employeed for the past two days there. It's ok, he tried.We went over to Target afterwards and did some pre-Christmas shopping ... as much as we could do anyway with two sets of little eyes watching us with anticipation for us to start the Christmas count down. It's been a happy day, a relaxing day - a WONDERFUL day with the ones that I love the most!
Thank you for being my family ... I couldn't ask for more, and I love you all so much!!!

Love,
Kris

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie