Birthday Fun

About six weeks ago I saw an ad in our church paper stating that the men's club was trying to get a group together to go see the Tigers (our State's baseball team) play.

When I checked the date of the game, I was surprised to see that the date was my birthday.  I thought it would be great to have all the kids and then some come to the game.

So I ordered tickets and prayed for sunshine!

One of our family traditions is calling the person whose birthday it is and sing the birthday song to them.  The song always ends with, "and many more!!!"  Throughout the day I received serenades from several people. This was my favorite!!

My dear one bought me a copy of "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.  It is lovely!

Caitlyn and Jimmy bought me a chocolate-almond bar.

Our tenacious one made me a pin cushion and a card.  The card said: "This present is full of pins and needles.  Good thing you're not sitting on it!"

This lovely bouquet was sent to me from my cousins;  Don, Sonmi and Sasha. 

After a rushed dinner and some delicious chocolate layer cake with bananas in between the layers (another family tradition), we drove down to the Tigers game. 

When we got to the stairwell that lead to our seats, it began to downpour!

It poured for about 10 minutes but the sky lightened a little bit with each passing minute and we knew the rain wouldn't last.  When we got to our seats, we found that they were just under a nice overhang which kept them mostly dry for us.  A trip to the restroom for some paper towels and we were ready for the game to begin. 

Though we were very high in the stands, we had a great view of the field (when all the pedestrian traffic was not in motion). 

Of course photos were taken, posts were make to Facebook and snap chats sent.  That's my mom and sister, Margaret, behind us.  The Tigers played a great game, scoring 6 runs in the first inning and one in a later inning to win the game 7-1 against the Chicago White Sox.

This is almost all of us.  Erin's friend, Rob, opted to take the photo instead of be included.  I don't know how to photo shop or I would add him!  Thanks, Rob. 

Overall, a wonderful celebration of my 52 years!  Here's hoping for:  "Many more!!" 

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Member No More

In May of 1994, when our fifth child was 8 months old, we bought our very first full size van.  A two tone taupe Ford E-150.  I remember a friend of mine, who also had just had her fifth child and drove a full size van, telling me, "don't let the gas tank get to E, it will cost you $30 to fill it!!"

Wow!  $30!  I wish.  The last time I filled the van (probably the 5th E-150 we've owned) it cost $96 and I don't think it was quite on E yet.

So, 1994, I was officially a "member" of the big van club.  Over the years we would go to different colors and have either a higher--up to 11, or lower --down to 7, seat count.  The 7-seater we bought three years ago and that was a downsize.

This year in January, we bought our final full-sized van.  It was a great price and only 2 years old with very few miles.  We thought I would drive it a lot longer, but I found that it had become cumbersome to drive it so often with just me inside.  Most of the kids drive now, and all but one have their own vehicle, so it was a real gas waster and getting to be a pain to park. This one, for some reason, had a very limited turn radius.

My mom was in the market for a smaller vehicle, so we spent a week test driving vehicles at two different dealerships, talking about which car was most comfortable, what color options were available, and how much she wanted to spend.  In the end, she got a 2010 black Ford Focus and I put my big van up for sale so I could buy her smaller Chevy TrailBlazer.

My van sold very quickly to a friend who has also been a long time member of the big van club.  They have 8 children, many of whom are not yet driving, so it was a great fit for them.

Last Thursday my "new" TrailBlazer passed the big test.  Would all the food I buy in my bi-monthly shopping trips fit in the back end? It did, but I can only bring one helper shopping with me now, because the back seats need to be put flat for the food to fit.

It is so much fun to drive; great pickup, super easy to park and back out of the driveway.  The newest driver in our family, who hopes to have his license soon, is so happy to know he will not have to drive the beast of a big van.  He is the first, of the oldest 7 kids, to not have to learn in a van and drive it until they purchased their own, much smaller, vehicles.

So, with no regrets, I turn in my membership to the big van club.  I am happy to be downsized a bit.  The nice part is, when the grandchildren come along, it is still high enough to make putting a baby or toddler into a car seat easy.  Always something to look forward to!