My birthday party!

For my birthday this year I invited 9 of my closest girlfriends to join me in going out to dinner and a movie on my birthday...this worked especially well since my birthday fell on a Friday this year. Six of them were available to join in the fun!

We started the party at the Beck's house in Middlebury. We rode in a minivan together over to Mishawaka. I brought along my birthday hat that Rebecca had given me. I was told to wear that while also holding a sign that said, "Honk! It's my birthday!" I sat in the passenger's seat and had to show the sign to every car, van, and semi we passed on the road! I even rolled down my window and showed it to a group riding bikes...they all yelled, "Honk! Honk!"

We had intended to go to an Italian restaurant, but it was too busy, so we ended up at Logan's Roadhouse instead. The atmosphere was a little more chaotic, but that might actually been better since our group did a lot of laughing!

This was my dinner....the Onion Brewski® Sirloin - A signature 8-ounce Top Sirloin Steak stacked on top of Michelob AmberBock® beer-braised onions, smothered with garlic butter and topped with crispy onions. For my sides I chose the baked sweet potato and a grilled vegetable skewer. It was all delicious, but waaaay too much to finish!

At Logan's they don't sing Happy Birthday, instead they have you stand on the fireplace hearth while they shout at the other customers to give you a big "Yee-Haw!" As you can see, I wore my birthday hat for that moment as well!

The wonderful women that I celebrated with!

Deanna, Tracy, Patty, me, Bonnie, Megan, and Char

Patty Beck and me. She's my home group leader, second mom, travel companion, financial mentor, cheerleader, etc.... I love this lady!

Me and Megan Bonham. Megan works with me at the college. She taught me how to play poker, introduced me to Max & Erma's, is an awesome confidant in all things - both work and personal.

Me and Bonnie Birkey. This woman loves God with all her heart, but can be real about life...no churchy stuffiness from her! She is great at marathon phone calls, saying it like it is, and making you laugh so hard you almost can't breathe!

Char Hochstetler and me. Char is my kindred spirit at GC. She was my mentor for a while and then became my friend. She listens well, asks great questions, and encourages me to live my life well. She is simply amazing!

Me and Deanna Risser. Deanna has known me longer than anyone else in this group. We survived high school and college together and are now navigating the world of being single adult women together. She inspires me with the purposeful manner in which she lives her life. She also is a great companion for lunches, trips, shopping, and just hanging out with on a Friday night!

Me and Tracy Buller. Tracy is a dear friend who is exhorts me to live my life more fully for God. She often dreams bigger dreams for me than I do...this often gives me the push I need to imagine "what if" in a new way.

Celebrating my special day with these women was such a blessing. It was a fresh reminder of how God has placed many unique people in my life to help shape me into the woman that I am. These weome are not exhaustive of the those that have impacted me, but represent those that have the most influence on my day to day life right now.

As the picture frame Patty gave me says, "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves."