Forty is Fabulous!

My fortieth birthday was the most amazing, touching, surprising, awesome birthday of my life!

My wonderful day started with my darling husband preparing breakfast & coffee; we spent some quiet time together before he headed to work. I was on the phone with my mom, when, around 6:30 a.m., my doorbell started RINGING! (You know how sometimes it rings louder than others, well, this was one of those times!) At the door was my gorgeous friend, Sarah, with an enormous, colorfully wrapped present in her hands. She was squealing, "Happy Birthday! Surprise!!"

Attached to the gargantuan box was a card, signed "from all of us" and with a note, "40 presents for 40 years". As I unwrapped the gift, I felt confused. (A mix of non-caffeinated coffee + early morning??) Opening the box, my breath was taken by the realization of my gift. Inside were forty perfectly wrapped little gifts, with a note of love & birthday wishes on each, all from a variety of friends...some from far away, some from friends I haven't seen in a while, some from new pals whom I have just met through Sophia's preschool class.

That my phenomenal friend would contact all of these women (some of whom she's never met) in order to surprise & honor me is just astounding! She and Alexa sat and watched as I opened each interesting package & read each message. I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up a time or two, during my impromptu "party with no people". After Sarah left, I just sat and marveled at how many thoughtful friends I have, and how lucky I am to know each and every one.

For lunch I dined with some of the amazing women who had participated in making my birthday so fantastic, then home to do some "chores". But my fabulous day was not done! As I arrived home, a beautiful "cake bouquet" was delivered...complete with 10candles. (Alexa insisted on reminding me that each candle represents 4 years!) Chris also sent me an incredible arrangement of red tulips & purple irises...they are stunning! My sweet mom also indulged my love of Longaberger AND my love of politics with a 2009 Inauguration Basket. :bliss:

Dinner time arrived and my handsome husband and daughters took me to a fun little Mexican restaurant, Mi Nidito. I felt so special getting ready for our night out, I had so many gorgeous, new pieces of jewelry to choose from! Ryan and Abby joined us, which made my night complete. We had a delicious meal & some typical family hijinks afterwards while picture taking. I fell asleep that night with an enormous smile on my face...feeling adored & cherished and thinking that forty is fabulous!!



I got to sit where President Clinton sat when he dined at Mi Nidito (back in 1999). I did feel something when I sat there, but it was probably just the baby moving! J/K
Here I am, cheekily showing off some of my new birthday jewelry. We asked a woman outside the restaurant to take our photo, which upset Sophia who wanted to be the evening's photographer. She boycotted the first family picture. We convinced her to face front with us, but she wasn't happy about it.
Sophia took this picture (and did a darn good job!)

Tonight we're (Chris and I) dining out with some of our close friends...one of the fabulous things about my fortieth is that we're STILL celebrating! ha ha

We Did It For Collin!

On Saturday, April 25, our family participated in the March of Dimes 5K Walk for Babies in honor of Collin.

The March of Dimes supports programs in our communities that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the serious problems that threaten our babies. The March of Dimes has been walking since 1970 and have raised an incredible $1.8 billion to benefit all babies. You can learn more at www.marchofdimes.org. Some day, every baby will be born healthy!



We partook in a little nourishment before the walk.
TEAM COLLIN AZ before the start of the walk


Sophia thought "walk" meant "race" and ran most of the route! We walked at a pretty brisk pace, but still couldn't keep up with her.

There were so many cool booths & family oriented activities at this event. I highly recommend anyone creating a family team and walking together next year, there are walks in most cities & it supports such a wonderful organization.

We had a great time and we were so glad that Ryan and Abby joined us. We were proud to have walked in gratitude for what the March of Dimes has done for all babies, especially those born with birth defects like Collin's. We were also proud to have walked in his honor; even though we're far away from him, we were able to show our love and devotion to him by walking for him.

Easter Blessings

We had the best Easter ever! Our Easter weekend was kicked off with Chris and the girls volunteering at the Tucson Big Brothers/Big Sisters Easter event on Saturday. (A group of Chris' coworkers ran the event.) It rained throughout the event, but the kids enjoyed helping out and participating in the fun.

I stayed home and made enchiladas, beans & creme brulee french toast for the following morning. Around 6, Abby & Ryan joined us for dinner, then all of the artists gathered for marathon egg-dyeing. (If it had been up to Sophia, all three dozen eggs would have been done in about 5 minutes!)

Sunday morning we were greeted with a "surprise" from the Easter Bunny; full Easter baskets and a plethora of eggs & candy hidden around the house. A full search commenced, and most of the treats were found quickly. (Not all, however, as I am still finding "sweet tarts" and other wrapped candies in various spaces!)

Ryan and Abby soon joined us for brunch, then we went to Mass. In order to SIT at our very large church, we arrived 30 minutes earlier than usual. After sitting sweetly for about 10 minutes, Sophia asked Daddy, "Where are those guys?!" and pointed at the altar. Daddy explained that the Mass hadn't started, that we were there a little early. Twenty minutes later, as the Priest and Deacon sat on the altar, Sophia smiled excitedly and said, "Now I can't wait for my favorite part to come!" Chris whispered,"What part is that?" Without skipping a beat, she answered, "When we go home!" Ah, the honesty of children!

Earlier in the week we'd had a hard time deciding what food to prepare, and we finally decided on an eclectic menu. Our family in Nebraska had celebrated Easter mid-week with a Mexican theme...it sounded so good, we decided to borrow the idea. However, the traditional ham, scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole called to us, too, so we compromised and made both! The enchiladas, beans and rice were as popular as the other items and no one left the table hungry. In addition, Abby made a delicious blueberry crunch dessert, I made a rumcake and lemon-buttermilk cupcakes. Some wonderful friends joined us and completed our perfect holiday!








Alexa gave up chocolate, donuts and soda for lent. We were VERY proud of her committment to her sacrifice as she was diligent and faithful for all forty days. She was pleasantly surprised by a bag of chocolate donuts in her Easter basket...that Easter Bunny, what a card! ;)

The Easter Bunny wrote a note for everyone's basket, and signed each with a self-portrait. Sophia confided in me later that "the Easter Bunny draws better kitties than 'Easter Bunnies'"!



Today our Easter blessings continued. Our close friends, the B's (whom we vacationed with at Thanksgiving time) came to Tucson and joined us for breakfast. The kids love spending time together, and of course the adults had a fabulous time as well!

In the afternoon we joined our friends, the G's, to celebrate Orthodox Easter. They have the most amazing backyard, nicknamed "The Garden of Eatin'" and it's an apt description. Fruit trees of every sort line a multitude of paths throughout the property. Grape vines & climbing rose bushes adorn an arbor that meanders around the garden. It's a magical, beautiful place, and as you can imagine, the perfect location for a giant Easter egg hunt! About 25 children searched for the 500 plastic eggs hidden amongst the lush scenery.




Afterwards we dined on a variety of baked treats and then had some delicious watermelon and watched the kids play. We reflected on how blessed we are to have such a wonderful life; with such a great family & such interesting, kind friends. Life is good!

Happy Birthday, Collin!

Collin celebrated his 2nd birthday on Saturday...we wish so much that we could have been there!

As it was, he had tons of family and friends there and from all accounts, they had a wonderful time! Erin outdid herself with cute decorations, great food and an amazing cake. The theme was "construction".

Here, compliments of my photographer mom, are a few pictures of Collin's day.
Birthday Boy!
My gorgeous nephew, Cauner, and Erin.
Everything is edible, according to my mother-in-law, Gigi, even the sandwiches! Don't they look real?
Erin's neighbor made the cakes...aren't they fantastic? She even made the nails!

An Unlikely Threesome

For the past couple of days we've been honored with a visit from Chris' younger brother, Brian. Brian is what we like to call the Grand Poobah of the Boy Scouts in Michigan & he had traveled to Tucson for a conference. Luckily enough he was able to add a couple of days to the end of his trip and come stay with us! It's been loads of fun...it would have only been better if his wife, Coco, and their three handsome boys could have joined him.

Yesterday the brothers decided to enjoy a leisurely day of golf.

According to the story, Brian was about to make a hole-in-one when Chris spotted a javelina ten feet from the tee box. He called out to alert Brian, who bravely whipped out his Blackberry and snapped a picture of the villainous, wild pig-like creature.The javelina, obviously terrified by the manliness & ferocity of not one, but TWO Nastase men, ran off quickly.

A short time later, our hero noticed it again, snuffling & grunting as if in warning. Sure that there was imminent peril, he valiantly grabbed his nine iron, yelled "en garde!" and shuffled, sword-fighter-like towards danger. Thankfully the javelina knew he'd met his match and retreated. The brothers resumed their golfing and were able to leave safely, in order to return and face their foe sometime in the future.