Hey, Siestas! Thank you so much for all those wonderful birthday greetings! I am blessed beyond words! You’ll never know a soul on the face of the earth God has graced more than me. Truly “God’s love is meteoric, His loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness nothing gets lost. Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks. How exquisite Your love, O God!” (Ps. 36:5-7 The Msg) Yep, that was one of my memory verses. They sure come in handy, don’t they?

I had such a fun day! Around here, we all say that there’s no birthday like a birthday at LPM but, actually, anywhere you have some best girlfriends that make you laugh your head off and love Jesus twice as much is a birthday just like the ones we have here. Girlfriends are one of the dearest gifts of God in all of life. Besides the great fellowship and intercession, I got the neatest gifts! Keith gave me a very delicate necklace and a leg press. (How do you like that combo? That says it right there.) My staff gave me all sorts of things for my battered back yard. It used to be so gorgeous B.P. (Before Puppies). BUT, it’s slowly bouncing back with all my beautiful new birthday accessories. I had so much fun arranging all of them when I got home from work. I bet I didn’t make it in the house for half an hour and it was HOT. For once, I was too happy to care.

In addition to all my yard and porch gifts, I got the cutest note cards from one of my beloved correspondence assistants. Isn’t that perfect? I also got three gorgeous frames because my dear friend, Nancy, knew that my family is growing so fast, I haven’t been able to keep up with the framing. I promised her that I would not put dog pictures in them but she said I could if I wanted to. Michelle got me a really fun pink flat-iron cover for traveling (she got tired of waiting for it to cool off before I could pack it, I think) and Joel Rosenberg’s new book signed by the author! I was so pumped! I’m a huge fan of his and got to meet him when we were in Washington D.C. I also got a pair of summer sandals that are unbearably cute. Jenn, I changed into an outfit that matched them when I got home and put them right on my feet.

So much stuff, y’all. So much stuff. It was a grace extravaganza and I am so grateful for these fellow sojourners that I’d have to bawl to describe how I feel about them to you. You and all your greetings were icing on the Living Proof cake.

Then, we had family birthday last night at our house. Keith asked where I wanted to go out to eat and I requested something entirely different this year: carry-out Italian so we could just eat here at home and let the babies play. What’s a birthday without Jackson and Annabeth? This year I let Houston keep its fancy restaurants. I’d rather have the kids. I had a first yesterday: Jackson sang “Happy Birthday” to me on the telephone. It’s on tape and I’ll try to keep it forever…along with the one from nine months ago where he told me, “Bibby, I poo-poo on da potty! Got a race cah!”

Melissa and Amanda conspired on my gift this year and it was supposed to arrive Monday but never made it. I would have been plenty happy to receive it today but Melissa was beside herself about it getting here right on time. The package finally arrived at the Joneses at 6:45 this evening and they headed straight over with it. Then I knew why they were so excited! IT WAS A KINDLE!! This book nerd’s joy knew no bounds! I cannot wait to get some great stuff on that bad boy. I’m almost in a frenzy. I’ve probably told you before that I feel like a whole cheerleading squad lives in my head most of the time and at moments like these they act up the worst. Each girl immediately wanted to read something different so I’m not sure where we’ll start.

OK, THAT’S ENTIRELY ENOUGH ABOUT BIRTHDAYS. I don’t want to hear another word about it! I promise you I’ll give it 12 months before I bring that subject up again.

Now, for the main reason I got on here today. I thought, since I went on and on about Sunny and Beanie here recently with the anniversary of their sweet passings, I better update you on our darling and mischievous one year-olds. They are a scream. Sometimes literally. (“GIRLS, GET YOUR TAILS OUT OF THAT…!!! Fill in the blank with absolutely ANYTHING: pot roast, plants, toilets, diapers, mail, watermelon, etc. They even chewed some holes in my Slanket. I don’t care. I just have more places to put my arms through. Or my feet if I’m getting a tad warm.)

These are recent pictures of Geli (soft “g”, short for Angelina) and Star (real name, Queen Esther). They are so much fun. We would not trade them for anything on this earth. We just might not necessarily recommend getting two puppies at once but, then again, they are such BFF’s! Inseparable! They insist on eating and drinking out of the same bowl and often…how shall I say…potty at exactly the same time right beside one another. As in love with Beanie as we were and as special a place as she will always hold in our hearts, Geli just may be the most beautiful German Shorthaired Pointer we have ever seen in our lives. Well, Keith won’t admit that but, pressed for truth, I will. Star is absolutely adorable, too, and, honestly, so smart you can’t even believe it. She has an IQ higher than most humans. She is my constant shadow, just like her predecessor. I tell Star and Geli all the time that they have very big paws to fill. Just wanted you to know how in love with them we are and how you can picture them these days.

PS. Btw, watching Marley and Me was a big mistake. I put my face in a big red beach towel and wailed my head off. Didn’t sleep a single wink and that’s the shape I went to Pittsburgh in. Y’all tried to warn me but NO! I just had to do it! But, now that a few days have passed, I’m so glad I did. Not doing it again.

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