A couple days before my birthday the kids were getting excited. They couldn’t understand when I said birthdays for adults isn’t the same as it is for kids – in the sense of excitement for days ahead. Of course, at 10 & 7 that is just uncomprehendable (is that a word?)…. I’d had a week of scrapbooking (I got 2001 done! woohoo!!!!) and it was time to clean the house (including mom & dad’s), anyway… I told the kids the best birthday gift from them would be to buckle down & put their all into helping me clean — they did it! The whole house was clean & restful all through Sunday & Monday, it truely was so wonderful.

On Sunday, after church the kids & I went to Carr’s for lunch, they wanted to get me flowers. It was so very sweet, they put their money together & paid for them on their own. They did have me pick which ones I wanted. Oh, how they’ve grown, in the past I’ve been given permission to buy them for myself. This time I stood & watched them spend their earned money.

On top of the clean house, on Monday – Mary had Cathy come babysit my kids and she & I went into Anchorage, in the end with the time we had, we went to REI only. I don’t think I’ve ever done that – drive to Anchorage, go to REI, and drive back out to Wasilla. When I got home, Cathy & the kids had made me a birthday cake. The cake & tulip’s were really pretty together.