Happy Birthday Ken and Shayla!

What a beautiful day for a birthday! Yes it's hot, but so gorgeous as always. Two of my favorite people in the entire world share a birthday and today's the day. Shayla is my oldest niece and it's simply impossible that she's 21 today. I still remember the first time I saw the cute little blonde thing with absolutely the tiniest nose! We weren't too sure about her mommy then, but Shayla stole our hearts from the beginning. Of course, it didn't take us long to fall for Nina either! It's such a blessing to watch a baby become a child and then turn into a beautiful young woman. Thank you Shayla for being such a joy. I love being your aunt.

And of course, it's Ken's birthday too. Obviously not his 21st, but close... We had his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter over this morning for brunch. It's always a pleasure spending time with this new family I'm getting to know and love. Aaron and Julie are a beautiful couple and Aribella is the apple of Ken's eye, as she should be. We had a lovely fruit salad filled with fresh fruits: mango, pawpaw, nectarines, plums, strawberries, peaches, cherries and bananas. YUM! Fruit certainly tastes better close to the source. We followed up brunch with a carrot cake from the local bakery. I know my limits with baking cakes and decorating. The cake was dense and moist and yummy and looked good too. Much better than I could have done!

Now with the house back to normal, the kitchen clean, and golf on TV while Ken is napping in the recliner, it hits me again how happy I am. My life has been pretty darn good from the start - I'm lucky to have a great family and friends. But nothing can compare to spending every day with someone who lights up when he sees you and makes you feel like the only person in the world. Every day I get to spend with Ken is a blessing and a joy. Thank goodness I had the courage to move here and start living my dream life! Thank you, Ken. I hope you have many more wonderful birthdays.