Damien's 31st Birthday!

Yesterday was Damien's 31st birthday! It was a great day and we ended 2006 in a wonderful way! The day started with his birthday presents. The kids were so excited for him to open his presents from them. Michael gave him 2 boxes of Cocoa Pebbles and Claire gave him 2 boxes of Fruity Pebbles. They know that he loves sugar cereals, that Mommy rarely buys them, and that the gift for Dad would also be a gift for them! We have very smart children. We then went over to his parent's apartment to watch the last 49er game of the year and have a birthday lunch. Luckily, the 49ers pulled out the win and we all had a lot of fun eating 'football food' and Hellie's hamburgers. Lani, Eric, Seamus, and Megan made it down for the afternoon celebration and it was a lot of fun to gather as a group and to see all the kids playing together. Heavenly, Heather, and Ryan also made the trip which was really nice.

Later in the evening we all went to the Emperor's Garden for Damien's birthday dinner. It was such a beautiful dinner and it was refreshing to sit at a circular table where we could all see each other and interact. We both come from big families and are used to going to restaurants and being seated at a long rectangular table. When you do this, you only get to talk to the people right next to you and never get the chance to talk with everyone. So to be surrounded by everyone's faces was really neat! The food was amazing and we had a lot of laughs, too.

Afterward, we all came back to our house and had a Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Cake. My dad reminded me that it was Damien's "Baskin-Robbins Birthday" (Damien turned 31 and 31 Flavors . . .) so we had to do that. Plus, Michael had this cake picked out for him weeks ago and I had to do it. It was delicious and we were happy that Fr. Art could come over and celebrate with us. We toasted to the New Year at 10:00 p.m. and everyone left to meet friends or get some sleep!

I give Damien a lot of credit for having a birthday on New Year's Eve (not that he had a say in the matter). First off, a lot of people leave town for the holiday. If they are in town, most people have fabulous party plans with friends. This being said, it's hard to get a good group together to celebrate his birthday. I don't think he really minds, but I always feel bad that his birthday is pretty much overshadowed by a bigger holiday. One other mildly humorous part of his birthday is that he is always aware when his birthday is officially over. The count down 10-9-8 . . . is a blatant reminder that he'd better enjoy the last few seconds because when the clock strikes midnight, it's no longer his day!

I appreciated Damien even more than usual yesterday for being the amazing, sympathetic man that he is. He has stepped up in every way to help me be comfortable while I am on bedrest. He does the laundry, cleans the house, gets the kids up and puts them to sleep, does Claire's hair, cooks, all the while doing his own job as well. I said grace last night at dinner and I thanked God for blessing me with a husband who knows how to help me even before I need to ask for help. I get a lot of credit for my strength to get through this pregnancy and am praised often for my unwillingness to let this temporary situation consume me. Back in May, when we got pregnant, Damien too, agreed to take on whatever this pregnancy brought upon us. He knew that any pain we experienced, would be repaid in happiness once this baby arrived. So he deserves a lot of credit as well.

So, Happy Birthday Damien. Thank you for all of your support, your love, and the way you inspire me and the people around you to be better people. I look forward to everything the future holds for us . . .