a wonderful birthday...
I knew this birthday would be a bit different. Turning 30 should be a big deal, I guess. But really, this day has turned out to blow my mind in so many different ways! I started the day as any other. Avery (our 3-year-old) came to me at about 6:30 this morning and said, "Daddy, I'm hungry." Nothing unusual there! Groggily, I pulled her up beside me and fell back to sleep. Avery soon noticed that her sister was up and she bounced out the go play. Then I realized that it was time to post the winner of the photography contest! I couldn't wait.
I checked my email and found a few more entries that were very compelling. I mulled them over for a few minutes, but decided I should definitely stick with Doug and Sara. So I published my winner-announcing post around 7am and happily went to fix breakfast for the kids. Sarah got up soon and I was treated to some happy birthday hugs and songs and cards. I soon took off on my bike and headed down for some wonderful Cafe Cubano 90s Blend coffee and spent a few hours relaxing and reading. It was wonderful!
I returned to the house for lunch and after more birthday greetings from the kids, I checked my email to find 2 very enthusiastic emails from the winning bride's aunts! Ever since then, I have been receiving all kinds of emails and posts to my Facebook fan page from different people including Sara herself, her mom, their officiant, and a coworker of a relative! I can't wait to meet Sara and Doug! They have quite a caring bunch of supporters!
We finished up the evening with mediocre Thai food (won't be headed back to that restaurant!) and cake and ice cream. It was a wonderful, low-key celebration because we only know 2 people really well in Charlottesville since we just moved here a week ago and they were out of town! Talk about true friends - leaving on your birthday...hmpf! :)
But I wouldn't have had this day any other way. It was relaxing and rewarding. I know that Sara and Doug and their fans all think I'm the one doing them a favor, but really I am the one who is blessed! I think I will make this contest an annual birthday tradition!
The following is an email (copied with permission) from one of Sara's aunts! And of course a picture of me enjoying my delicious cake my wonderful wife baked!
Peter, Good Morning!!..... and thank YOU for making my morning one I will remember ALWAYS!!! I'm Sara's Aunt Kim and I haven't stopped squealing/crying/laughing/cheering/squealing more, since 7:15AM!!!! I, along with Sara's Aunt Jo, began checking your blog around midnight last night and again around 6AM this morning waiting to receive confirmation of what we believed to be the only conclusion you could have arrived at :)~ I promise you that you won't be at all disappointed in your decision when you meet Sara and Doug. The video captures the essence of their personalities and the Unbelievably strong love they have for one another! The love for one another as well as the fact they are BEST friends is evident each and every time they are in your presence. They have laughed their way "together" through the stages of a maturing relationship including purchasing a house that has had many challenging issues all while focusing on the positives before them.....each other! Thank you for making a dream come true for my niece that I cRaZy love and for recognizing how uniquely special and deserving these 2 are. Come prepared to have a BLAST in May!!
Happy Birthday to YOU, I hope you plan to do something outrageous today!! Birthdays are VERY special in my family and a free pass to play hard ALL day. (actually, we kinda do that throughout the year...hehehe)
Thanks again, and I simply cannot wait to meet you in May.
Until then.......
Kim
Wouldn't that just make your day if you received an email like that! Thanks Kim!
(Please excuse the high-and-tight haircut. Let's just say the Hair Cuttery and I are no longer friends. And to those of you who follow my Facebook updates...yes, this is AFTER they fixed it!)