A Wonderful 25th Birthday!

So my birthday was last Thursday the 15th. It by far was the best birthday yet. After my small group celebration on Monday, and my friend Vanessa taking me out on Wed. night, Thursday was a fun day as well! Dina took me out for breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot “Famous Anthony’s” (they have the BEST sausage gravy and biscuits in Lynchburg) where I enjoyed my usual and a cup of coffee. I arrived to my desk to find it COVERED in balloons, confetti, streamers, and signs that said Happy Birthday. There was a “skinny” latte on my desk from Vanessa, and some cards from my friends. After work, I went to dinner at a new restaurant downtown called Waterstone. It is a really cool restaurant known for their amazing pizza, and it’s got exposed brick and stone on the inside; a really cool environment. Then I went home and enjoyed the BEST chocolate, peanut butter cake I have ever had in my life (homemade by my bestest friend who did an AMAZING job on her fist homemade cake. Props to you Dina!). I ended the evening watching Grey’s anatomy, sipping coffee in my PJ’s :0).

On Friday I was told not to plan anything and not to ask questions. I was told to pack clothes and dress warm. So Thursday night I packed like 8 outfits (I didn’t know what I would be doing, where I would be going….so I had to be prepared!) and anticipated my birthday weekend. I went and got my hair cut on Friday afternoon and my friend Sarah did an AMAZING job as usual. I left with a boost of confidence and was glad I cut my hair finally b/c I had been wanting to do it for a long time. She took her time to style it and made me feel beautiful. Friday after work I went home, packed the car, and headed north towards Charlottesville, DC, and Baltimore. I was not sure exactly where we were headed but I knew a bunch of people were going to be wherever we ended up. After an hour and getting off the Charlottesville downtown exit, I realized we were going to a fancy restaurant. We reached our destination in front of the Melting Pot restaurant!!!! For those of you who are not familiar w/ the Melting Pot, it is an upscale fondue restaurant where you sit at a table and share cheese fondue, salad, a main course of a variety of meat and seafood, and a delicious chocolate fondue. I had never been before but always wanted to. I arrived and felt like a VIP! The waiters and waitresses took my coat, offered me a drink, and kept saying happy birthday to me, and even got me a card and all signed it. I got in and realized that one side of the restaurant was reserved just for my party and about 17 of my closest friends were there for it! This had been planned since October and they all managed to keep it a surprise for me!

We couldn’t all sit together but had to sit at 4 different tables, but overall everyone had a blast! I cannot describe to you the overwhelming feeling I had that night other than blessed and grateful. I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends who love me enough to drive an hour away, walk through the cold to get to the restaurant, and pay a lot of money to eat someplace I have always wanted to go. As I sat there throughout the night and looked around at all of my friends having a good time with their fondue (many of them experiencing this for the first time), laughing, talking, and celebrating, I had to smile, and it almost brought tears to my eyes. I have such amazing friends, and am so blessed to have them in my life to share my life with them! After a 3 hour dinner and an amazing chocolate/peanut butter fondue to end the night, everyone bundled up and gave hugs to head back to Lynchburg.

Dina and I drove to Richmond, got there LATE, spend the night at a hotel, and then Saturday woke up, ate breakfast, and headed out to explore parts of Richmond we had never been to before. The lovely GPS “Gwen the Garmin” took us the wrong way and we ended up in the heart of downtown Richmond for a while. It was really cool to see that, and then we made our way to a variety of shops. After a nice day of shopping and relaxing we ended the evening at Red Robin where I got a free birthday meal!

Looking back it was the best birthday ever, and I had soooooo much fun! I am excited for this 25th year of life the Lord has blessed me with. I am excited to see what he does in and through me this year, and what he bring to my life this year as well.

Hello 25!!!!