It was my BIRTHDAY......

 

And I have had a ball! The week's activities began with an Eat Pray Love group here on Monday evening.
 We did, indeed, EAT and then PRAY! And it goes without saying how much we all LOVE each other in this group!

The next day Amber came home! This is always a happy occasion!
I enjoyed watching her work while Louis Dean and I sat out in the gazebo. It is always nice when your grown up 'child' comes home. You don't even have to be doing anything in particular....just having them back home and close enough to LOOK at  for awhile does wonders for a mother's heart!

The next day was SUPER exciting and began super EARLY!! Amber and I are so NOT 'Morning People' and yet we managed to arrive at the Tarrant County Courthouse and park right smack dab in front of it at 7:15 AM! Abigail Rayne Parks is now officially adopted and we are all simply beaming with JOY! The judge asked us, "Do ALL of YOU officially promise to SPOIL HER ROTTEN?" and we all said, "We already ARE!" Although in truth, we are determined to love her and pray for her and teach her and train her and keep her as close to our hearts as humanly possible! She is a precious little baby girl!

On Wednesday evening Amber treated me to dinner at Rockfish and then we took in a movie at a nearby theater before returning home to watch a recorded TV program.....all the shows are new to Amber since she was in Scotland for a year!

We saw an episode of 'The Mentalist' and previously one of 'Lie to Me'....which she especially liked since the lead character is from the UK and she is SO familiar with all things UK now!

Thursday was another special 'Birthday' Day as I met my friend, Brenda, for lunch! We worked together for awhile at the same State Farm office and went to church together before that! Our friendship goes way back and we both have September birthdays. This great little BBQ place is just a few doors down from her office so we enjoy having lunch there so we can spend more time visiting!

Hobbis Barbecue......5459 N Macarthur Blvd, IRVING, TX 75038

Friday is what Louis Dean calls 'The Hair Run' as that is Mother's weekly visit to the beauty shop. He opted to stay home and work in the yard so Mother and I had lunch at Carino's together. What a perfect way to spend my birthday......with my MOTHER!!

The celebrating continued on as Summer took me to Rockfish for the second time this week.....I LOVED the fact I went out with first my youngest daughter and now my oldest! We had a great time visiting and I returned to Summer some needleworks SHE had given ME through these past years relating to MOM and motherhood. What a blessing SHE is now enjoying a new dimension as she shares her life with little Abby!

SO all in all I have had a wonderful week celebrating my BIRTHDAY! I was so surprised and touched at the number of people on Facebook who expressed birthday wishes and sent me little notes as well as the  cards I received in the mail and gifts that were totally unexpected! THANK you, ALL!! It has made me feel so good and taken the 'sting' out of growing older. I am praying to grow in GRACE as I age and hopefully not GROW anywhere else.....if you know what I mean!!