Project...Interrupted

Well, I didn't just quit this project. Well, I sorta did. Here's the deal:

I was unsure what my 40th birthday celebration might look like. Being during a holiday, it was hard to imagine anyone pulling off a bash with great turnout. DeVon threw a wonderful surprise party for my 30th birthday, but she’s in Iowa…and we’re not! I knew my friends here could certainly host a great party, but would they approach James like DeVon did? Anyway, it was important to James that my birthday be special.

So in stepped DeVon! Their plan for my celebration has amazed me. I can’t imagine a more meaningful way to celebrate life, family and friends! This is SO much better than the series of posts I had planned!

So, here it is…

Friday, November 7th, DeVon “surprised” me by flying to Texas to begin a 40-Day Birthday Celebration! Starting that day, I’d be receiving a gift or message from a different person each day. EACH DAY for 40 days. 40 days of celebrating my birthday. 40 days of hearing from people who love me. 40 days of being blessed! Oh my word. Just typing the words brings tears to my eyes! It took a while for that to sink in. Do I have 40 people in my life who would do that? LOL!!

So, now, instead of reading stuff just about me, you'll have the chance to read about those I love. Perhaps you'll be inspired by their generosity and creativity. Maybe you'll decide to bless someone in the same way I'm being blessed.

As for what I've already written, I may consolidate into one post. I'd like to continue with the idea, especially since so many of the thoughts are written, just not posted.

I'd also like my wonderful logo button re-designed so it will fit the new focus of the series of posts. I'm really looking forward to documenting this incredible adventure of birthday blessings! But I promise, the gifts are not all sappy and girly. Some are downright hilarious!

The experience has been indescribable, but I’ll try to explain what has happened each day and what the gift and the giver mean to me.

31 Days

Well, this is the week of our big PTO fundraiser, plus D brought the stomach bug home from school, so I haven't been able to get on my blog much. I'll try to catch up!



Things I Love About Where I Live

• I've made some amazing friends here.


• It only takes a couple of minutes to get anywhere in town.


• It's quiet and laid back.


• I've had the chance to get to know people who've lived in this little town their entire lives.


• When you ask where someone lives, you don't get an address, you hear, "Well, you know where so-and-so used to live?"


• Our undefeated varsity football team won the state championship last year. It was INSANE!


• Wherever you go in town, you see someone you know.


• The young Christian families are hungry for God and that has created quite a bond among us.


• I can call the florist and say, "Perry, this is Jill. Can you send something to..." I'm pretty sure I'm the only Jill!


• Half of the hometown crowd still has an account at the grocery store. They get a bill each month!


• Most of the people here are down-to-earth farming families, business owners, and educators.

There are certainly more things I love about this little town, but I've run out of time!

32 Days

More Things That Make Me Smile

• sharpies - no, really
• hanging out with little girls
• and old ladies, too!
• AE Drake Relay ice cream
• AE party dip
• going to son's school and getting at least 27 hugs from kiddos
• proving that a woman can be a good pastor's wife & be REAL @ the same time
• knowing I'm doing the very thing God told me I'd do back when I was 13
• seeing Miss E run up my sidewalk every morning, grinning and giggling
• hearing a nephew or niece say "Aunt Jill" for the first time
• seeing the combines cutting wheat
• listening to these cotton farmers tell their "stripper" stories!
• the way the snow and mountains look at dusk at our family getaway in Colorado
• hearing my best friend and her kids sing "Jingle Bells" because it's the first snow in Des Moines
• hearing Brandon call me "Mr. Jills"

33 Days

Things I Hated about Childhood

• scorpions!
• hearing young coyotes howling at night in the spring
• doing Christmas at an ungodly hour because Dad had to leave for work (didn't happen every year though)
• camping in "the bus"
• hearing my parents argue
• knowing older brother had messed up again, causing parents more grief
• not ever knowing what older brother would do
• having a big brother I loved, but feared at the same time
• RIDING THE BUS!
  

34 Days

Some Things I Loved about Childhood

• camping with my family
• going to church
• having my brother as my best friend
• finally getting a baby sister
• my girlfriends
• going to Dad's "firehall" on Halloween to be frightened half to death by other insane firemen!
• looking at store Christmas window displays in downtown Fort Worth
• attending Grandview Zebra football games
• visiting grandparents - more of that later

35 Days

Some Place I'd Love to Visit

• Prague
• Ireland
• Israel
• England
• Italy
• Canada
• Alaska
• Seattle
• Chicago (especially the Chicago Art Institute)
• Nova Scotia
• New England in the fall
• Savannah
• Jackson Hole
• Lake Tahoe
  

There are so many more, but that's all I could think of right now.

36 Days

Bad Habits

• not completing projects
• not cleaning up after myself RIGHT AWAY
• staying up too late
• not listening well
• procrastinating
• hitting the snooze button way too many times
• talking too much
• neglecting relationships
• telling everyone BUT hubby what the plan is
  

This is by no means the complete list. The rest will show up later, I'm sure. I'm just feeling very much like a SLACKER and need to find some chocolate to consume!