Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me...

Well, today is my birthday. I'm 37 years old. Which is good news. A few weeks ago I had been thinking I was turning 38. Then I counted it up one day and, surprise, I was a year younger than I thought! It's not everyday you get an extra year. I used to hate birthdays as Andrew will attest to. Looking back on it now it was a very selfish attitude.

This week I was in contact with a friend from high school. Our 20 year reunion is coming up and we've already started planning. I haven't talked to her in many years and was saddened to learn her husband of almost 10 years died suddenly. At the time, they had 2 small children and she was pregnant. Which made me think of our friends Troy and Ginger. Troy was killed in an F16 flying over Iraq within days of the sudden death of my high school friend's husband. Troy was killed November 26, 2006. Troy and Ginger have 5 children, the youngest 2 of which are twin girls who were about M&M's age when Troy was killed. I think of Ginger and the kids often and have prayed for them so much. It is one of those things that every pilot's wife is in a way prepared for, until it actually happens. It is like we are holding our breath waiting, hoping for the best, but knowing the reality exists where those men in class A's are standing at the door to change your life forever. Seeing, even from a distance, Ginger go through her grief, was sometimes overwhelming for me. Because you see...I am her. But thankfully by God's grace I am not. That used to make me feel guilty. But today on my birthday I am overwhelmed in a different way. I am thankful. Thankful for a husband who loves me, provides so ably for us, and is committed and faithful no matter what. Thankful for Michael and Mary Ellen who were prayed for endlessly for over 5 years, but which God had set aside for us long before that. Thankful for my very breath and the energy I have to care for my family. And thankful for family and friends who were with us on the long infertility journey and rejoiced with us when God revealed his plan. I am hoping to find some way to share M&M's journey into life one day. It is a testimony to God's magnificent timing and faithfulness. Many of you know pieces of the journey, but few outside Andrew and I know the full story. It is intensely personal and I am waiting for God to reveal and make me courageous enough to share it in some way. It is my testimony. Very few times in life do you see something come so beautifully full circle. And I am certain that we travelled the journey to bear witness to God's glory.

So many times we are asked, "what do you want for your birthday?" As I sit here, I know that there is nothing more I could ask for.

My cup runneth over. Psalms 23:5