My birthday. . .

. . and a few other things to remember about 2010.

I had a great birthday. Kevin and I went shooting (which was my choice, yes), and we both got some practice on his new gun. I like it much better than his old one. We went back to Grandma and Grandpa's and all the kids had made me a picture. We had pizza lunch and then I opened presents. I was very spoiled. I got a new church bag from Ray and Lynnette, and I love it! Kristi got me a Burgerville shake which I was not supposed to share, but c'mon, I've got three little kids. Sean fixed my van so it doesn't squeak any more and now it seems like a new van. Jennifer and Jessica got me a cute new hat. The kids got me some workout clothes and socks. Kevin got me a color laser printer--woohoo! After presents we all went swimming and had a blast and that made for a pretty full day.

A couple of other items of note for the end of the year. . . On Christmas night we were burglarized. We came home the morning of the 26th to go to church and there was a card from a police officer in the door. We had driven separately, so Kevin was ahead of the kids and me. He called me, which I'm glad he did because I was pretty shaken and was able to pull it together before I got home. The thieves threw a rock through a window and got in. They took Kevin's bikes, a safe from our closet that was bolted down. Usually the safe has Kevin's gun, but he had it. Unfortunately he had just put a bit of cash in there so that was gone. They also got away with my jewelry box which had my wedding ring in it. I was most sad about that. Fortunately it was insured. They made a mess and did some damage. It has been upsetting dealing with the mess and the damage and feeling insecure. We have learned, though, that all of those things are just things, and we can live without them.

On a much happier note, Kevin has experienced some good successes at work. He received the "New Innovator Award" for an individual through his company. This is a pretty prestigious award and he definitely deserved it. In October he went to a conference in San Jose and did a presentation on the project he has been working on. He had a good time, but we really missed him. He was sought out by another local company who he interviewed with "just for practice." They ended up making him a very good offer and his company could not compare. After a lot of prayer and discussion he decided to take the offer. We are so blessed that he has a good job.