Twenty-Four Hours...

This is the photo that greeted me on my cell phone on Saturday morning, with the caption, "Happy Birthday, Mom". I had worked the night before, and was sleeping, when Billy came into my room, sat down on my bed next to me and said "good morning, Mom. How much longer do you want to sleep?" I told him maybe another hour, and he left the room. In only a few more minutes, he came back in my room and handed me my cell phone and said I got a call. I tried to focus on the screen to see who it was from (no glasses when you are sleeping) and pressed the right button for the message and a picture popped up. I had to ask Billy who was in the picture? He said it was my kids! I thought, "how sweet, for my birthday!" I still didn't "get it" I didn't see (without my glasses) that ALL of those kids (minus Mark) were standing in front of my very own house!

So, with a sheepish look on his face, Billy took my hand and said I had to get up and so I did and I followed him to the front door, which he opened, and there were all of my daughters right there in my very own front yard! I immediately started crying and hugging and I was at a loss for words! It was all so surreal. And, not only the girls, but little Hailey and Parker and Rich and Brian, too! What an amazing Birthday present. Please, if I am dreaming, don't let me wake up!

Once I got control of my emotions and we settled down to reality -- it wasn't a dream, we started making plans for "my day!" First we drove to the beach house that Brian and everyone were renting on the beach and walked down, oh I don't know, maybe 250 steps (it looked like it!) to the beach.

Just about everybody took a turn at trying to fly Billy's kite in the brisk wind and we took lots and lots of pictures. (The bulk of the pictures will come to me later from Debi and Heather.)

After the beach, we all went to the "60's Cafe" for some really good milk shakes and a lot of good company. We had time to kill before Dean got off work and would join us for my Birthday Dinner at the Inn at Spanish Head. (More pictures that I am going to have to post later.) I don't know about anybody else, but my dinner was supperb. I had a cocoanut and Macadamia nut encrusted Halibut with Asparagus and Baked Potato that was out of this world. I think everybody enjoyed their own selections as well.

After dinner, we convened at our house and looked at picture books -- I had to show all of my girls their special pages in my scrapbooks. And the scrapbooks that I started for each one of them -- that are all a "work in progress".

All in all Saturday was a nearly perfect day. I loved just about every minute of it and am still pinching myself to see if it really was true.

This morning, Debi, Kim, JerriAnne and Billy went to Sacrament Meeting with me and then we all went to breakfast at Sambo's.

All too soon, the 24 hours were spent and I found myself, through tears, saying good-bye to all of my kids. Every time we go our separate ways, there is a hole in my heart the size of the Grand Canyon and it will be days before it starts to come together again. Like my son, Mark, I hate "good-byes". But, no matter how hard we try to avoid them, they come to us in many shapes and under many conditions. I will miss these beautiful faces and their wonderful laughs, but the memory of these past 24 hours will live on in my memory for the rest of my life.

Thank you, children for this amazing gift.