Brithday Celebration

From Andy From Xiao Li

From Laura:

From my parents:

Everyone in this country celebrated my birthday. ok, well, not really but it kinda felt like it. My Bday happened to fall on the last day of the New Year here-and it's a BIG DEAL! We started the day with a birthday wakeup call of fireworks outside our window at about 6:30 am. We ended the day with everyone (literally) in our entire town setting off fireworks for about 2 hours in the evening. We finally gave in and went out there and joined in the madness of lighting fireworks that you would have to have a liscense to buy in America. It looked like Burlington city park on the 4th of July out there.


I was really hoping Emma Grace would like Tofu (we live in the land of Tofu and it's great for protein) so Xiao Li and I gave her some for lunch on my Bday. not a good idea. It didn't settle well with her and it came back up 4 times -all over our couch and Andy's clothes. I was out at the time. Marianne had taken me to a hot springs resort for the afternoon. (this place is really cool-there are tons of underground hot springs in our area of the country and this resort has lots of hot tubs with the hot springs water and different kinds of fragrances, aroma therapy types of things added in) So the plan was for me to go out for the afternoon with Marianne and then meet Andy for dinner, while some friends watched EG and then over to some friends for cake. After the tofu incident, we decided we better call it a day, so instead of a night on the town, I picked up Mc Donald's and headed home to firework central where we ate under the candlelight/light from the green fireworks outside our window. I tried to give EG as much white noise as possible to block out the sound. This strategy included the wonderful sound of running water (thanks to the tim huffman sound machine special) and the space heater that sounds like a small helicopter. It worked for the most part but I did have to rock her to sleep at first and then rock her back to sleep after one especially large explosion.

So, all in all not the day we had planned, but as I was rocking EG to sleep, I was thinking how happy I was to be right there holding my sick little baby girl with my wonderful husband waiting downstairs for me to eat cupcakes that were supposed to be for my after dinner party with friends.

Can't always get what we plan or want, but often what we do get is pretty awesome. I felt so loved as so many of you sent awesome cards and emails! thanks thanks!

I decided to write a little song describing my birthday (to the tune of 12 days of christmas-this would be the 12 hours of my birthday)

On my 27th birthday, the sweet Lord, my family and friends, and good ole china gave to me:

12 green rocket launcher fireworks (outside my window at 6 am)
11 awesome E cards
10 birthday text messages
9 cupcakes all for me and Andy
8 hours of happiness
7 friends to light fireworks with
6 calls home to check on my puking baby
5 changes of clothes (emma Grace)
4 vases of flowers
3 hours at a spa
2 cheeseburger meals
and a baby girl who doesn't like To Fu!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!