Pre-birthday celebration!

My favorite holiday of all time happens this week - my birthday! Growing up, this was the one day that I didn't have to do my chores (even if it was my day to do the dishes) or help in the kitchen. It was the day that I got to pick what we ate for dinner and what we had for dessert. As I got older, it meant more to me because, until recently, I never got to celebrate other holidays that are reserved for people who are romantically involved or for women who have children. It was the only day that I could be celebrated...and perhaps noticed and appreciated more than the normal every day stuff...and my family always did an excellent job of trying to make those birthday moments special! In fact, I would make every effort to elongate my birth-day into a birth-week; thus, tonight's pre-birthday celebration! In all truthfulness though, it's hard to get my two siblings (who live in UT) together any other time than on a Sunday and since my birthday is mid-week this year, I figured I would invite them over for Sunday dinner to celebrate together. For dinner, I made a version of what I would always have: oven-fried chicken (replaced by ranch chicken), homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and green bean casserole. I added a veggie tray this year for those who don't like green bean casserole and my sister, Krystle, made my traditional homemade lemon cake. Yumm!! Even my kiddos, who assert that they don't like cake, loved the lemon cake! I just loved spending time with my family. I try to see my sister at least once every other week (if not weekly), but it's hard to catch my brother. I wished my parents and other siblings could have been here too. Still, it was a great way to start the birth-week!

Mel, Scott, Kaia, Me, Nolan, Krystle, and Jordan