My birthday was today. I'm thirty-five.
I was chatting with a longtime birthday twin friend...in fact our moms roomed together at the hospital when we were born! She was having a normal day at home...her hubby was away for most of the day, she had baked her own cake, and was cleaning in preparation for her family coming over for dinner. I was sharing how my day was going to be pretty ordinary today as well...keeping fingers crossed that no one else would get the pukes, dealing with a few head colds, and just the everydayness of life.
We both agreed though that having birthdays as an adult are not quite as big a deal as when you're younger or before you have kids. We're learning to be less selfish with our desires for our day going our way.
That conversation got me to thinking about how my days are generally pretty ordinary. But, in reality,
each day holds an opportunity to see the extraordinary. It's there, I know it! I live it when I choose to.
It's easy to get bogged down in the mundane, the annoying, the same old same old...
I purposed today to see the extraordinary in my day even though it was pretty much an ordinary day. Kinda like counting 1000 gifts...
Thirty-five or so extraordinary things about my day...in no particular order, but in reverse of my actual day.
1} Cheesecake from Wegmans because I prefer cheesecake over birthday cake
2} 35 candles...totally lit up the darkened room
3} Chili's Carside To Go - Fiesta Lime Chicken
4} Wendy's for the kids - no meal preparation today - mama's day off
5} Thoughtfully chosen birthday gifts: rolly ink pens, candles, peanut butter cups
6} Excitement over using the pens to journal...I like the "flow" of these pens while writing
7} Fresh flowers in bright colors because they know that's what I like
8} These darling children who call me mama, who teach me more about love and forgiveness, patience and kindness, being selfless and giving than all the most wonderful people in the whole wide world. So challenging. So rewarding.
9} A surprise party in a totally decked out dining room with streamers and balloons galore
10} Secret party plans and whispers while handwritten lists were being made
11} Happy Birthday signs
12} Feeling and knowing this song in my heart:
What a Savior
13} Worship team - the friendships and blessings that have come from being with this group of talented people
14} Connected and comfortable to be my goofy self with these friends...laughter
15} Excited for the first time in a long time about music, singing, playing the piano...stretching and growing, remembering those starry eyed days of high school when music was in every part of my life
16}
Free
17} Time to work on a baby sized scrap quilt
18} Repeatedly pushing our awesome doorbell that plays songs...today's song...Happy Birthday!
19} My camera - capturing these extraordinary days
20} Laughing at some of the pictures I chose for this post...some are wonderful, some are not, some were taken with my dslr camera, some were taken with our family's dying point and shoot (I do NOT like that camera now that I am learning to shoot in manual!)
21} Eensy, teeny rickrack - thrifted
22} Hanging out in my sewing room imagining up wonderful projects with vintage sheets and rickrack and free patterns and embroidery hoops and, and, and...
23} Excitement about life
24} Cozy fire and boys who know how keep it going strong
25} Our home and how perfectly perfect it is for our family
26} Boys out shopping with daddy while Sadie and Mama "
kick it old school" and dance in Sadie's room. Yes, there is video evidence that I didn't attempt to load here. No, I'm not embarrassed by my dance moves...they're totally awesome...just ask the worship team...
27} French Vanilla creamer
28} This man - Sorry I chopped off your legs in this picture. You're still handsome even without legs. We both know that your toes wouldn't win any modeling awards anyhow. Seriously, I'm gonna make him haul in more wood and retake these pictures with his legs intact. I was just too lazy to put on shoes and tromp out in the snow to get a better picture. Kicking myself now. But not Mike from the picture...he's not kicking...he doesn't have legs.
29} Did I mention how handsome my husband is in the picture above. That's not just camera trickery I learned in my photography class. That's the real deal.
30} My husband - Godly, loving, hard worker, provider, super daddy, strong moral fiber, family oriented, indulgent of all my "craftsy/artsy" stuff, and on and on...
31} Setting out a thrifted picture...tranquility
32} Redecorating the top of the piano
33} Choosing fabric to cover the boring white shade. Sunday's project, perhaps?
35} A delicious, healthy smoothie with an umbrella for pizzaz
36} New mugs from Target
37} Amish fiction - let me hear a little whoop, whoop for clean, easy, mindless reading
38} Playing outside with Sadie while the boys were out shopping. I overheard her saying,
"I want to go outside. I'm going to sneak out." while she was putting on her jacket and shoes. Choosing to love her and head outside instead of enticing her to stay inside with treats and movies.
(Yes, I do that sometimes...don't judge me!)39} Pulling Sadie around in her sled...seeing the smile on her face knowing I made the right choice to take her outside
40} Her matter of fact statement, "All princesses wear rainbow gloves!" Mama needs to get herself some rainbow gloves...
41} Unlined rubber rain boots with the cutest polka dots.
Why don't I own winter boots??? Where do I live again???
42} Party feet - sparkly nail polish and hot pink flip flops - thrifted. I need that pop of color in my life everyday!!!
43} Meaningful notes and messages from loved ones and friends about my birthday, my life, the choices we have made and are making. Thankful for their love and support.
Thank you, Lord, for this life you have given me, for helping me to see the extraordinary in the ordinary days of life. So blessed!!!
That conversation got me to thinking about how my days are generally pretty ordinary. But, in reality, each day holds an opportunity to see the extraordinary. It's there, I know it! I live it when I choose to. 
1} Cheesecake from Wegmans because I prefer cheesecake over birthday cake
3} Chili's Carside To Go - Fiesta Lime Chicken
5} Thoughtfully chosen birthday gifts: rolly ink pens, candles, peanut butter cups 
7} Fresh flowers in bright colors because they know that's what I like
8} These darling children who call me mama, who teach me more about love and forgiveness, patience and kindness, being selfless and giving than all the most wonderful people in the whole wide world. So challenging. So rewarding.
9} A surprise party in a totally decked out dining room with streamers and balloons galore
11} Happy Birthday signs
13} Worship team - the friendships and blessings that have come from being with this group of talented people
17} Time to work on a baby sized scrap quilt
21} Eensy, teeny rickrack - thrifted
24} Cozy fire and boys who know how keep it going strong
28} This man - Sorry I chopped off your legs in this picture. You're still handsome even without legs. We both know that your toes wouldn't win any modeling awards anyhow. Seriously, I'm gonna make him haul in more wood and retake these pictures with his legs intact. I was just too lazy to put on shoes and tromp out in the snow to get a better picture. Kicking myself now. But not Mike from the picture...he's not kicking...he doesn't have legs.
31} Setting out a thrifted picture...tranquility
32} Redecorating the top of the piano
35} A delicious, healthy smoothie with an umbrella for pizzaz
38} Playing outside with Sadie while the boys were out shopping. I overheard her saying, "I want to go outside. I'm going to sneak out." while she was putting on her jacket and shoes. Choosing to love her and head outside instead of enticing her to stay inside with treats and movies. (Yes, I do that sometimes...don't judge me!)
41} Unlined rubber rain boots with the cutest polka dots. Why don't I own winter boots??? Where do I live again???
42} Party feet - sparkly nail polish and hot pink flip flops - thrifted. I need that pop of color in my life everyday!!!
I gathered a bunch of items - scraps of ric-rac, lace, & ribbon, chenille stems, embroidery hoops, chenille yarn (thrifted $0.79), spools of thread (thrifted $0.99), plastic containers, pretty doilies, flower sequins, rubber gripper shelf liner (purchased $1 each), cute baskets (thrifted $0.49 each), miniature fabric bags, felt, and buttons. I purchased a few more items not pictured - bag of colorful shaped buttons ($4.99), embroidery floss ($2.00 for 6 skeins), plastic blunt needles ($0.99 for 6), and I added a vintage hankie to each basket as well.
I sewed little tags for their sewing baskets. A 3x5 index card folded in half with a fabric heart sewn on the front. I put a teeny bit of glue on the fabric to hold it in place for sewing.
Some of the items rolled, gathered, contained in the fabric bags, and plastic container before squeezing it all into the sewing basket.
All packaged up and ready to go!
A great way to use scraps and novelties and inspire creativity!!! In all, I spent about $14 for supplies some of which I still have leftovers for the next sewing basket! I know some parents and kids might not appreciate a gift like this with some of it being thrifted and leftovers, but I'm sure the little girls getting these baskets will thoroughly enjoy them. I would be thrilled if Sadie received a gift like this from a dear friend! Gee, I think I would enjoy getting a basket like this!!!
Lovely ladies, fun conversation, delicious finger foods, miniature tea sets complete with teensy amounts of tea, sugar, and milk. We even came home with pretty pink flowers and pink chocolate covered pretzel rods...mmmm!!! 
Sadie was in tea party heaven...she stood here for most of the party pouring and sipping and dripping on herself and me!
Sweet picture captured by our host (thanks for letting me "steal" it from your blog, lovely Linda!) We treasure our dear friends!!!
He loves a good building project!
Hard at work
Opening gifts on his birthday morning
A REAL slingshot...oh, yeah! It shoots small paper balls really well for tons of fun IN the house!
Elijah LOVES reading "manual" type books...his favorite, well-used, well-worn book is The Survival Handbook: Essential Skills for Outdoor Adventure by Towell. We found these great books from Popular Mechanics that he's already taken a liking to: The Boy Camper, The Boy Scientist, The Boy Mechanic, and The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys.
And, of course, we all enjoyed the "traditional-9x13-sprinkle-filled cake" with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday! 