Well, my birthday celebrations started on Friday already, even though my birthday fell on a Sunday this year. It started with Ms. Lupe surprising me by cooking for me. The food was delicious--she made ribs and potato salad. There was also cake, of course, and my kids singing for me. So the party at school was real nice, and then the celebration continued at night as I celebrated at Stacey's house. We got together our GiGG group, and we ordered Spanish and Chinese foods. That was amazing, even though it sounds like a weird combination. You just gotta eat it one bite at a time!! When you have roast chicken, chicharron, beef chow fun, etc, it's all good!! Anyway, the night was really a great time, and included lava cakes and a Wii tournament. Pat and Stacey had just gotten the system, so we got to really enjoy it. It was so much fun!! Well, that was Friday, although I'm already leaving out amazing gifts, phone calls received, cards, and lots of words of love...
Moving right along... So, I got home really late, of course, on Friday night. Well, if there's one thing I don't like, it's getting up early, especially on Saturdays, my day to wake up late. Well, Glaucia was sleeping over that night. So, early on Saturday morning, when there was a knock on my door, I thought that it was the boys. I ignored the knock, thinking, "Why in the world are the boys knocking in my room at this hour????" Anyway, the knocking continued, and when I kept ignoring it, all of a sudden, Débora walks in and I'm like, "Huh?" Débora is my friend who lives in Ocean City, and she was not supposed to be here!!! She just came to NYC especially to see me, and surprise me. Took a bus and all--one on Friday night and one on Sunday!! And what a surprise it was. I felt so bad, cause all I could say was "What are you doing here??" I know what a sacrifice it was for her to come, and that's why I couldn't believe it. She left early the next morning, but we got to spend that Saturday together, which was so much fun. The best thing about it was that there were no plans. It was all about just having a good time together. Those are the best times!! I still can't believe she came!!
Anyway, I must continue on to Sunday. My mom brought a cake to church, everyone sang Happy Birthday, etc. It was nice. Of course, I thought that was the end. Well, we go home, and right after we get there, all the people from church show up. My mom had invited everyone to our house for a surprise. So that was loads of fun as well. My mom and my sister had a strogonoff competition. I had told my mom that I wanted to eat either gnocchi or strogonoff for my birthday when she asked me. So my mom made gnocchi for me on Saturday, which was great, and then on Sunday, her and my sister made a crazy amount of strogonoff to feed everyone. I really had a lot of fun, and the whole weekend was great.
It's hard to describe all the feelings I felt. I mean, I guess mostly I just felt really loved, which is always a nice feeling. I was thanking God for giving me so many wonderful people in my life, who made me feel so special. Between the surprises, the presents, the food, the cards, the phone calls, the e-mails, etc... it just made my birthday one of the most special ones I've ever had. I really will never forget it. So if you were a part of that somehow, thanks.
