31

Well, today is my 31st birthday. I almost made it through this year without any birthday attention. Not that I mind being 31, I just don't like all the attention. The older I get, the less I like to be noticed. A huge change from my younger days! Lance is in California, Drue is in Florida and Sam and Launa do not have any concern with dates (except for their birthdays). However, my ever-needing-to-know-what-the-date-is son, Lukas, asked me yesterday, "What is the date today?" I said quickly, Dec. 30. He looked at me quickly and said, "Tomorrow is your birthday. Hey, tomorrow is Mom's birthday!" The secret was out. At least to those of us in the van. Anyway, it is our family tradition to go out to eat at your choice on your birthday. The kids quickly chose Jason's Deli, our new favorite place to eat (they have free ice cream). And, because Wed's are kids eat free night, I consented. No cake or candles, just a nice dinner out with three of my kids. We took these pictures the other night when we were bored. I let each kid use the camera. Launa never figured it out. We let her try at least twenty times. I told her she could try again when she is four. By the way, my Mom called while I was in the shower and all the kids were in the living room. She left a message of her traditional singing Happy Birthday and my Mema also left a message of her traditional singing the last verse of the Happy Birthday song while we were out, so I guess the secret would have been out sooner or later. Lance also called and woke me up this morning with his own rendition of Happy Birthday. I think he made it up on the spot and I don't think he could ever sing it again. It didn't really have a tune. It had some "Happy Birthday to you", "O Lord Amen Hallelujah", and "Praise the Lord". Kind of three songs in one. It was sweet none the less. He said he had just woken up too and wasn't even out of bed yet.