Twenty-Nine

I know my birthday was over a week ago now but a post is better late than never, right?

What a wonderful first birthday it was in Tulsa! 

I remember the week of my birthday, one of my co-workers asked me what my plans were and if birthday were a big deal in my family.

They were and being one of seven, our birthday was the one day that was "our day."

We were allowed to choose our birthday dinner and that was always a treat!

The last few birthdays have been a little different for me. 

I guess that happens as we get older and life changes.

In 2014, I was in China. My friend Laura had just arrived in China a few days before and it was fun to celebrate with her.

2013 was also spent in China. I remember having a combined birthday party with all of our babies who had March birthdays. It was also just a week before I was flying home for a two month stay to raise support for my 2nd year in China.

2012 is a birthday that will stay with me for a while. It was on March 13, 2012, my 26th birthday when I landed in China. I had bought a one way ticket and had no idea how long I was going to be staying in this country that had captured my heart so many years before. It was an exciting as well as terrifying time. I remember reading my birthday cards on the plane, somewhere between the US and China. 

2011 was the last birthday I spent at home with my family. 

Even though I am in a new city without them near, birthdays are still special to me.

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year and it started out sipping my coffee and enjoying a little treat  while I read my text messages and Facebook messages from family and friends. 

You guys really know how to make a girl feel special!

Growing up in New York, I always liked that my birthday was in March.

March is not always the prettiest month up north. 

It can be either still cold and snowy, or the snow may have melted and then it's just cold and muddy.

Since it wasn't the prettiest month, I thought it was the perfect time to have a birthday and was something to look forward too. 

In Tulsa however, spring is in the air.

The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the leaves are coming out.

New life is all around.

Back in February, Mom, Dad, and Kiah came to visit me in Tulsa for a few days and we had a little birthday celebration then. 

Since Mom always likes for us to have something to open on our actual birthdays, they brought me a present but I was not allowed to open it until March 14th. 

I like to actually have a gift to open on my birthday so I looked at it sit on my table in my living room for a month. 

That's right, I didn't even peek!

On my birthday, I found some beautiful jewelry inside made by my friend, Ashley. 

(Make sure you check out her Facebook page!)

I love them! 

Later in the day I had Starbucks with one of my co-workers and her daughter and then that evening I met up with friends for dinner.

We first tried out the Saturday night service at our Church which was awesome as usual. 

After 2 1/2 years of not being able to go to Church very often, I do not take this time for granted.

Going to worship the Lord with other believers was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday.

We then went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner!

They of course sang and decorated my cheesecake.

Yum.

I think 29 is going to be a pretty awesome year.

A Summer Party

Well... I had my DSLR camera back for a few hours yesterday to snap a few pictures of the big summer birthday party before it was sent off to the Canon Repair Center again for the THIRD time to be fixed. *Sigh* Hopefully one of these days they will actually fix it so I don't have to edit out those little black dots you'll notice in some of my pictures. Obviously I am tired of editing them out and so I just left them this time. 

Anyways, enough of my frustration about that. Last night we were able to have us all together including my aunt, uncle, cousin, grandma, nephews, brothers, the whole gang to celebrate my brother, Asa's, 23rd birthday (which was August 1st) and my nephew, Landon's, 5th birthday (which was July 11th, while I was still in China with my mom and Kiah). We had gorgeous weather and it was so wonderful to have everyone together for an evening of celebration. 

A summer evening at the Johnson's would not be complete without a little baseball. Obviously Micah loved it.

As did Landon!

The birthday boys: Asa and Landon. 

Landon decided to be a little ham for the camera, which I didn't mind.

Our neighbors who farm the fields next to our house, decided to do some work last evening. Tage and Landon were so cute sitting out on the grass, watching the tractor. I'm sure I'll have a separate post with all the cute pictures I snapped of the two of them.

Grandma or "bama" and Micah. I asked Micah, "can you look at the camera for Aunt Anneli?"

His response? "No." So there you have it. It's still a cute picture, even if he's not looking.

Present time!

And of course a birthday party is not complete without one of Grandma Rich's famous cakes.

The evening came to an end while sitting out by our new fire pit that Tage built. Having campfires is one of the things I have been looking forward to all summer. Nothing quite like a chilly, summer evening in western NY, sitting by a camp fire, roasting s'mores. Unfortunately I was too full from the pizza, chicken wing dip, veggies, and cake to eat any s'mores. I guess we'll have to do it again sometime soon. 

Landon has been anticipating this party ever since we arrived home from China. He already had a party on his actual birthday, but we wanted to do something when all of us were home. I hope it was worth the wait!

Year of the Horse

Since yesterday was Chinese New Year, we dressed the kids up in their Chinese silks. Do they look adorable or what?

Sweet kids... they just looked absolutely precious. The year of the horse is off to a great start!

Time to Party!

It's Chinese New Year time around here which is the Asian form of Christmas. Kids are off from school, businesses are closed, lots of eating and time with family happens. Oh yes, and there are also gifts that come in the form of money in a red envelope, also known as "hong bao." And don't forget the fireworks. There are lots and lots of fireworks this time of year. After all, they did originate here. 

On Sunday evening we celebrated Chinese New year with the nannies at the foster home. What else do you do for a party other than eat? As you can see, we ordered a lot of food!

We ate, and ate, and ate some more... it was delicious!

The actual Chinese New Year is January 31st, but with a few of our nannies and staff taking off for the holiday, we celebrated a few days early. No one seemed to mind... especially the kids!

It was fun to have all the kids together for the occasion.

They sure had fun!

Treasure decided that this was a great time to read.

We are finishing up the Year of the Snake and about to embark on the Year of the Horse. 

 新年快乐  Happy New Year!  

Party Time!

I just love parties.... especially birthday parties. One of my favorite things at the foster home is celebrating each child's birthday. I love making them feel special and loved. And, it's an excellent excuse to eat cake. When I lived in China in 2010 I didn't really like Chinese cake but now I LOVE it. I think it gets better each time. Maybe southern China cake is better than northern China cake? Or maybe it has grown on me? Or maybe, China as improved their cake baking abilities in the last 3 years. 

 Not to mention that they are absolutely beautiful! Cakes in the states don't look like this (that I know of). I especially love all the fruit on them. Makes it feel a bit "healthier" right? ;-) Ok, not really...

This month, we celebrated this little Angel who turned 1...

 ... and this Precious boy who turned 3.

The rest of the kids don't really care that it's not their birthday.... they just love eating cake!

 "Yeah CAKE!!!"

 Happy Birthday Angel and Precious! I love both of you so very much and love watching God work miracles in your lives.