My (im)Perfect Peace: July Celebration #2 // Our Couple Birthday

The celebrations continue!

My Adam and I have our birthdays only one day apart. This makes for a couple of fun days! Every year the celebration is different....and every year I seem to learn something about myself.

This year, both sides of our family were out of town all week for the holiday. Adam and I had to work this week (blessed to have jobs!) and so we did a little something to celebrate in the evenings, just the two of us. And for the type of week we had, "just the two of us" is exactly what we needed!

Turns out I had not thought through what else I wanted for celebrating my birthday. I didn't want to further complicate an already complicated week, so my goal was keep it simple. But do you ever think that something will be ok...and then discover it really wasn't? I am not complaining and have no regrets, but on my birthday, at the end of the day, I realized three things:

I want to do something different to celebrate my birthday.
I want a special, yummy treat.
I want to blow out at least one candle.

The evening of my birthday we went to Moe's and each of us used our free entree birthday coupons. I love Moe's and it was free and it was great! But we do go there a lot. After dinner we went shopping together; Adam got a video game with birthday gift cards and I got a new Bible. That was really special to me. I've been wanting a new Bible for a while and Adam encouraged me to splurge on a really nice study Bible; one I can dig into deep and make it mine.

Then we came home, and that was that. It kinda felt like a normal day. And I decided that a normal day for a birthday is not very celebratory. I really wanted to blow out a candle.

Nobody's fault. I didn't even realize it myself until it didn't happen! :)

So I asked Adam if we could get ice cream after dinner the next day. And I procured candles.

On his birthday, we went to Yamato, a Japanese restaurant with teppan-yaki tables. It is a birthday tradition for us to go to Yamato on one of our birthdays. We only go that one time a year and we love it every time. It's like dinner and show. A simple and perfect "something different" for celebrating.

Afterwards, we went to Cold Stone (we don't go there often either) and we got Cake Batter ice cream. It's the best! We brought it home and I stuck my candle in. Adam chuckled at me the whole time but humored me saying it was a "cute little quirk". Yep!

I blew out the candle and that concluded two days of just the two of us celebrating each other.

And candle or not, they were blessed days. Days for us to celebrate in the midst of working out issues of life. I am so thankful Adam and I are able to both work through and celebrate life together. As a team, as a couple....and always strengthened by God's grace.

We really are so blessed. Every year, I feel those blessings more and more. I do not dread getting older because God brings greater good into our lives as we grow. I love looking with expectancy toward the future. And I am also learning the blessedness of enjoying and celebrating the moment by moment. Yes, it is fun to have "a day" to celebrate a person or purpose...but every day is full of little causes for celebrations! Every moment of walking with God, breathing life, experiencing His goodness. These things don't just happen on birthdays and holidays.

I love that God is showing me how to celebrate the many small things each day.

I also love doing it up big sometimes too. And blowing out a candle.

As usual I have to document everything! These are bits of my favorite moments celebrating life with my Adam.