HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!

Today Rebecca turns 34! Last night she went out with some close friends for pizza and a Nielsen's frozen custard. She had a good time with her friends and it was probably nice for all of them to get a break. We got to bed laaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I think Rebecca couldn't sleep, because she was so excited about her birthday....

Cam woke me up early enough that the twins and I went out and finished the shopping for Rebecca's family party. The twins convinced me to buy a pinata...they are obsessed and won't stop talking about it. Essentially, they are driving us crazy, b/c they know it is filled with candy. They helped decorate the house with banners and streamers and balloons! They are still excited by the little things. Tonight we will have dinner and I'll take Rebecca to a new (and relatively close) gelatto shop--a favorite of hers from Italy.

Ten Things About Rebecca you may or may not know:

10. She is quite good at arranging flowers, a hidden talent she probably wishes that she got to use more.

9. Our marriage has survived because of her sense of humour. She has a quick wicked tongue and I often find myself laughing because of her insightful digs rather than being angry.

8. She could probably make money writing jokes--she loves the pun and the little play on words--she honestly makes up jokes by the dozen and tests them out on me, the kids, and my dad.

7. She loves words in general, not just funny ones. Just when in my vanity I begin thinking I can outpace her vocabulary, she schools me. Yesterday she exposed my thirty-six year misuse of the word droll--look it up, it does not mean boring or tedious, just the opposite!

6. She's a very socially honest person. She never pretends to understand something that she doesn't, and is quick to ask questions in order to understand where I would just nod knowingly but be inwardly confused. If you've received a compliment from her, it's been genuine.

5. She's always been in tune with the needs of her children and not been afraid to follow inspiration that she's received to help them. Soon after one of our little one's came to live with us, Rebecca felt prompted that we should do very specific things when dealing with the child's birth family and treat them in a particular way. A couple of years later during a court ordered mediation setting, the child's birth mother stood up and said that because we had done the very things that Rebecca felt we should that she (the birth mother) did not oppose us adopting the child and would help us to make it happen.

4. Rebecca loves birthdays, not just her own. She always takes extra care to make sure that each member of her family has a special day, going out of her way to do what it is that will please that person.

3. When Rebecca was in Italy just after we were engaged and just before we were married, we communicated by fax! It was much cheaper than phone and much faster than mail--does the fact that we were married before email was super-common date us? She probably wishes that we would do that again, I probably wrote more in that two months than I have since :(

2. Rebecca doesn't like the beach, too much sand--where is she taking the Young Women for Girl's Camp? The beach.

1. What would Rebecca like most for her birthday? a thoughtful post on her blog, a card, a phone call---just to know that she had been remembered -- unless you have disposable cash on hand of course!

I love Rebecca!