Happy 50th birthday!

Happy 50th birthday Jeff! I have to admit, we both had a moment when the number 50 had to sink in. Jeff still says it's just another day and another number, but it seems pretty significant to me. 50 years of loving and being loved; climbing mountains and lingering in seamlessly endless valleys; transforming mistakes into lessons and triumphs into strengths. For anyone who knows Jeff's story, you might guess that he would have some regrets or do-over wishes, but he doesn't. He knows his story was written by a divine Author who knew the end from the beginning. Perhaps that Author would have counseled Jeff on different story lines, but the end is still as it was written. Jeff is the person he is today because of all the big and small moments of his life over the last 50 years; and, if you ask me, he's absolutely imperfectly perfect! I am so grateful that he was willing to let me celebrate him this past weekend. Jeff doesn't like a lot of fuss, but I couldn't just let this birthday go without some fuss. Saturday (October 14th) night, we went on a date. I told him he could choose any place to go for dinner then I laughed out loud when he said he wanted to go get a salad at Harmon's Grocery Store. This was actually the perfect dinner for him...and was hilariously ironic that he chose what I would consider an "old person" dinner for his 50th birthday date. We grabbed our salads and headed to Canyon Glen Park in Provo Canyon to eat. There are some little significant memories this park holds for us. It was the last place we went before he dropped me off at the airport after our first meeting. It was where we committed our all to each other and our little family. It seemed fitting to revisit those memories. On the way home, we stopped at Magelby's to grab a chocolate cake to share with Jonas at home...and of course, we had to blow out a candle.

The next day (Sunday, October 15th) all the other kids (and Jeff's parents, sister, and bro-in-law) joined us for a family dinner. This is exactly what Jeff wanted. Laurin, Amber, and I considered doing a bigger party and inviting more people, but that's not what motivates Jeff. He did humor me as I "snuck" out of bed (he caught me) the night before to decorate a little, but I couldn't just let this birthday be like all the others. Plus, it was so fun to gather pictures of him from birth until now. He was such a cute kid!! We all enjoyed dinner together then opened gifts. Amber (with help from others) gathered memories from all of us plus some others and taped them to 50 gold balloons. Jeff loved reading the memories (and Carter loved the balloons). (And yes, the kids sucked helium to sing "happy birthday".) For dessert, Jeff just wanted fresh berries and cream. It may not have been a massive party or epic celebrations, but it was the perfect 50th party for Jeff. He felt loved and celebrated...and that was all that mattered. (On his actual birthday, Monday, October 16th, he worked. Haha! Back to life as normal. We had a busy evening with some of Jonas's extra curricular activities so it was a pretty normal day. I did bake up some biscuits for dinner, which he loves, and we had more berries and cream. I guess that's what 50 looks like.)