Happy birthday to ME!

So it's been almost a week now, and you've been so patient...as I'm sure you've been on the edge of your SEAT waiting to hear about my birthday! {Ha!!}

I really appreciate how much Ryan gets that my birthday is MY HOLIDAY. {And just so you don't think I'm selfish...I take this viewpoint on everyone's birthday. Everyone deserves a personal holiday!}

So he got up early and while I was still regaining consciousness, he placed this on the bed:

When we were dating, he bought me this journal, and we would swap it every week, writing to each other about our thoughts, verses we found...whatever. Then on Sundays {the only day of the week when we were guaranteed multiple hours together} we would read our entries to each other. We have kept up the tradition even in marriage, though the entries aren't daily now. He'd written a few for me leading up to my birthday and gave it to me with my gift!

And then...

It's the mark of a grownup: coffee and cupcakes in bed on your birthday. Oh, yes please.

SOMEONE wanted to help me blow out my candles.

After I ate, I hunkered down with the journal to read his thoughts to me. {tear.}

Meanwhile, SOMEONE stole the bow off my gift. :)

I had NO idea what he got me for my birthday...not even a clue. He was so excited for me to open it - talked about it for days leading up to my birthday. I held the box in my hands...it was heavy. Still no clue.

So I started to open it...

I stared at the box. It said Surface. I said to Ryan... "What is it? I'm so confused." He said, "SERIOUSLY!?!!!? You don't know!?!?!? You saw the commercial and said it's what you wanted!"

Whoopsie.

So I kept digging.

DING DING DING!!!!!

I figured it out! It's a TABLET!!!!!

I really am an idiot. How in the world I forgot what this one is called is beyond me and mine. I HAD seen the commercial, and I liked it because it's Windows compatible, so you can use Word on it. For this writer girl...that's a selling point.

Having said that, I never in my natural lifetime expected to actually OWN a tablet, so this was a huge, wonderful surprise!

And Braeya ate the plastic.

I didn't take the day off work this year, so I drove to work and enjoyed MANY wonderful gifts from my co-workers. A resounding theme was chocolate and coffee.  They were so good to me!

It POURED all day long, which was sad, but I didn't care! I still celebrated! Ryan and I hurried home from work and headed out for our evening date:

We went to the Pizza Shack in Tipton...

It's a buffet place...and it is GOOD.

And then we made our way to the cutest old theater...to finally see Heaven is For Real.

 It's this darling little one room theater with tons of character:

I really loved the movie. There was only one part where I thought the theology was bad, but the storyline was GREAT and it seemed to represent the book well!

It was POURING when we left, so we came straight home and...that was how I turned 36!!