The Burp-bay Man

April 1997--I was finishing my junior year of college, and I had met this guy who invited me to his 21st birthday bash.  A first date followed a few days later, and the rest--as they say--is history.  Fifteen years later, our birthday celebrations have changed quite a bit.  The "Burp-bay Man," as Stinkus called him, celebrated his big night at. . .  t-ball practice.  But I don't think he minded--too much.

As with many things, I view birthdays differently now that I'm a mom.  The girls' birthdays hold such special memories for me, like realizing that the shirt R wore when Stinkus was born was the same shirt he had donned three years before for Sassy's arrival.  We now refer to it as the Baby Birthin' Shirt.  I loved hearing two different doctors both remark on each girl's head full of dark hair and long eyelashes.  I appreciated going through labor with Sassy and then REALLY appreciated when I didn't have to with Stinkus.  :)

When you're a kid, you don't give much thought to anyone else on your birthday.  It's your birthday.  Yet as a mom, you realize the role of the people who made it the day of your birth.  So today, I'm extremely grateful to R's parents.  Thirty six years ago they had no way of knowing that their gift from God would end up being our gift from God too.  So Happy Burp-bay, Daddy!  We love you!