Surprise (belated!) Birthday Party...for me!

So Friday the 13th was a great day. I had a very fulfilling week at work...lots of critically ill/injured patients (which is sad for them and their families but that's why I do my job and love it). Worked very hard and enjoyed it!

I celebrated the start of my weekend off by going to Dunkin Donuts and getting a plain bagel and a coke (I used to do this almost every morning but have curbed that habit to save money). Halfway through the day, I got a call from Sharon (director of the Ethiopian program) who was calling to explain some post-adoption procedures that I had asked about. We had a great conversation. What amazes me is that, while they do this every day as a career choice, everyone at CHI is so genuine in their happiness and excitement for each and every one of us. No one has been nonchalant or removed from the process...very caring. Then I got an email from my friend Deborah (that adopted Kaili last year) that was full of support and kind thoughts (as well as an offer for some outgrown clothes, toys, etc.--very exciting!).

Here's the party part:
I went to my brother Todd's house for dinner with the family (sorry you had to work Dad--we missed you!). I had asked my brother Chad (who works at Best Buy) to look for an MP3 player for me (to take to Ethiopia) when he and Todd went last Saturday. I was surprised that he couldn't find me a good deal. Well, it turned out that the two of them (with their wives) had bought me one for my birthday. Now...the story behind this is that my birthday was several months ago! We don't get into b-days too big and I guess they hadn't gotten me anything yet (I had forgotten). So, tonight they had a german chocolate cake and my presents! They got me an MP3 player and case...it is so cool! It holds music and audio books and also MOVIES! It has a little screen (with an amazing picture) and has 2G of memory. I might be able to handle the plane ride now! Such a sweet thing for them to do! Such a nice little birthday...I'm now 29 and 4 months!

So, the wonderful end to a nice week. I'm very tired but am really wanting to upload stuff to my MP3...so it might be a late night tonight!