Its My Party

Birthdays are a big deal to me.

I'm still not sure why I love them so much, or why it is so important...

probably because I just like to be a diva,

but Michael is always such a great sport and goes way beyond my expectations.

 This year my birthday fell on a Wednesday.

A Wednesday that I had clients almost every hour from 9 to 6.

And a Wednesday (like every other) of teaching the middle school girls.

Michael made sure to make me feel extra special all day though.

First, I had donuts for breakfast.

Then, I got flowers at work.

(okay, I might have hinted at these things)

That's on top of the sweaters and earrings that Michael got me.

 I'm spoiled...I know.

Another sweet surprise was from the most adorable 6th grader and her grandma.

 ^^Is that not the biggest balloon you have ever seen? 

I loved it!

Last, Michael surprised me even more with a cupcake party at church.

This was totally unexpected, and unnecessary, but I appreciate his efforts so much!

My mind was completely blank when I blew out the candles and tried to make a wish,

and I realize now that at this moment in my life, all my wishes have come true.

I am blessed beyond belief, and can't thank God enough for my husband and my life.

She Said Yes

One of my best friends got engaged this past Saturday, 

and last night we threw her a little surprise party.

Saturday was also Claire's birthday, and that is the day he popped the question.

Her boyfriend fiance (Ahhh!) has been planning this for a while now,

and filled me and Michael in on the plan about 2 weeks ago.

I had so much fun planning the party with Sarah, and Claire's friend Ashlyn.

We wanted it to be absolutely perfect for our little Claire!

^ These cupcakes were a challenge

And they were store bought.

I got to the bakery yesterday and not 1 cupcake was made correctly.

They were supposed to be all white cupcakes, with white icing.

1 dozen were supposed to have mint writing that said "She Said Yes" on each cupcake,

and the other dozen were supposed to have white icing with pearls that we would later put a ring on.

1) The cupcakes have green icing

2) They made them half white, half chocolate cupcakes

3) The ones that had writing, had one letter on each cupcake

I decided I was okay with the green icing, but everything else need to be fixed.

The bakery people were so sweet, and fixed it immediately though.

And, I'm fairly certain they gave me a great discount!

Plus, they taste delicious.

Claire and Trey finally got there, and boy was she surprised!

 ^I also love Trey's face!

After Claire got over the initial shock, they told us the story of how Trey proposed.

It was so fun hearing all the details, and the little things Trey did to trick Claire, and throw her off.

And he did good!

We spent the rest of the evening just talking, looking at pictures from the engagement and taking pictures together.

^ Checking out the ring

^ Telling the proposal story

^ a little engagement gift

It was such a special time celebrating with Claire and Trey, and seeing how happy all their friends are for them.

It is going to be a great year of planning and parties.

I am so excited to watch as this beautiful couple moves into marriage together!

Simple Senior Gifts

A week ago, our church had what we call Senior Sunday.

Yes, it was on the same day as my graduation.

Yes, that does create a problem when your husband is the youth minister.

We won't talk about that though...

With Senior Sunday comes gifts for the seniors.

I have always had a hard time deciding what to get them.

Sure, gift cards are great, but they are so unoriginal.

And I don't want to be another person giving them a towel.

And then last year it came to me through Twitter.

One of the seniors tweeted that she wished someone had given her thank you cards for graduation.

And I made a mental note right then, that I was going to get them that.

It ended up being such a simple (and cheap!) gift.

I got everything at Dollar Tree, but I think that it still turned out really cute and useful.

I picked out a small plastic basket for each senior.

Put 2 packages of thank you cards, and a pack of pens, and then a personal card for each one.

So. Easy.

 I absolutely love them!

I haven't heard from any of the seniors whether they liked it or not, but I thought it was too good of an idea not to share!