23rd birthday!

I seriously feel so blessed. The day started off with early phone calls from my parents. Christa and Kristin had sweet homemade cards for me as well as a new OSU mug! (Thanks Christa!) The first child I saw when I walked into school was totally one of my favorites (I know, I'm terrible), and she said in the most precious voice, "Good morning! Happy Birthday Ms. Andree!" SO adorable. Throughout the day, there were more phone calls and of course many facebook posts. Several text messages and a heytell message that melted my heart (you know who you are, and thank you :). Of course, I got the usual opera happy birthday song from Mamalu, which after 23 years, is still something I look forward to! And to jump ahead a little, I got to spend Saturday in Oklahoma City with my mom doing some shopping, talking, and getting a fantastic dinner at Cheesecake Factory!

As soon as school was over on Friday, I headed home to get packed up and head to Stillwater for a birthday evening planned by others. I knew that we were doing something for my birthday, but nobody would tell me exactly what. I only knew who would be there- Beth, Tommie Lee, Christa, Kristin, Amy, Dani, and myself. When we got to Stillwater, we went straight to Beth's, where I found out we were having a progressive dinner. The appetizers at Beth's were superb! I opened a gift (a great cardigan/sweater from Beth!) and we ate and talked before heading to Tommie Lee's for the entree. TL had prepared a delicious dinner for all of us, I opened another gift (a beautiful scarf from TL!) and we played a 20 questions game. Everyone had to answer questions about me and it was so hilarious to hear their answers! After dinner, we headed to Zannottis for desert and drinks. Such a fantastic night :)

So, let's get down to it...why am I raving about this evening and even taking the time to write about it? Well, it really is simple. It was the PERFECT party for me. I am a quality time type person. I love small groups of close friends and one-on-one time. My friends know that. I also notice details and delight in the little things in life. Examples: Beth had made little party favor bags for everyone to take. She planned the game and had the papers printed out on purple paper (my favorite). TL had the table set up and decorated so beautifully. There were even little name cards at our seats. The food was Italian (I love Italian food). So thoughtful, so precious. I felt like they planned it with me in mind, and as dumb as it may sound, it really made me feel special. Everyone there was such a delight! To have those women all together for a night- especially to celebrate my birthday- blesses my heart to an extent words cannot convey.

Needless to say, I have the best friends in the world.

To my dear friends, you are all amazing. I am so thankful for each of you and the friendship we share. Thank you for the most meaningful birthday I've ever had; it couldn't have been better. Thank you for loving me. I love you all immensely.