Party, party, MIRACLES, and tape

My wonderful mama knew I wanted to have a garden brunch for my birthday. Too bad there are 4 inches of snow outside. But when I arrived Sunday morning, I walked inside to find the kitchen and living room filled with gerber daisies and garden decor. It was adorable.

And, so fun--three of my friends from high school, whom I haven't seen in years, showed up for the party. We spent all morning catching up. Krisde's baby boy is almost two, Maria is a nurse working at a research lab, and Laurel has her masters in Communicative Disorders. These girls are awesome.

THE FOOD was fantastic. French Toast souffle, topped with pecans and drizzled in maple syrup. Bite-size chicken salad sandwiches on home-made croissants. Spicy sausage-stuffed mushrooms. Vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberries, raspberries, and apples. Delicious orange juice! It was heaven.

All followed by....da-da-da-daaaaaa: Blueberry Sour Cream Torte from the Dodo. It was so, so yummy.

My brothers and sister and I hung out in James' 'studio' making techno music and then watched a movie before heading over to Dad's house.

My sister-who-was-just-married is turning 24 next week, so we had a duel cake-and-icecream-and-board-games party. There was the Happy Birthday Song, and then we lit the candles again and the second time shouted/screamed the lyrics with no meloday whatsoever (this is sort of a pseudo tradition that we started recently). I learned how to play backgammon, but Dad beat me everytime. I said good bye to Sis and her new hubby; they were getting up at 4 am to fly back to their new home in Texas.

I said goodbye to everyone, I love you.

And on the way home I had a terrible mishap, but I was very very blessed.

Cruising along HWY 40, listening to a GLEE knockoff of Journey songs, a very large deer--maybe it was an elk?--is suddenly racing down the center of my lane, directly in front of my 65mph (okay, maybe 70+mph) tiny little sports car.

I swerved and missed the deer, but fish-tailed out of control. I remember praying outloud, over and over.
Off the shoulder of the road, out into the ditch, and into a sink-hole of mud and snow. My last thought as I was flying through the air was, "This is going to hurt."

But it didn't. I didn't flip or roll the car {miracle}. I wasn't injured in any way whatsoever {miracle}. My car was unscathed, except for the loss of the front lisence plate {miracle}.

The Lord truly looks down upon us and watches over us. It was a big blessing that reminded me of His love.

My amazing family drove out and picked me up, and stood up for me when the Highway Patrol Officer, the Sherrif, and two deputies (that's four cops, folks) accused me of drinking, fleeing the scene of an accident, and being contemptive. Oh, man. I was standing in the snow and mud in my slippers, trying to catch my breath! Of course I was contemptive!

Anyway, the night turned into a good excuse for a much-needed daddy-daughter talk (maybe I'll post about the brilliant epiphany about love that we discussed).

I called-in the next day and instead of going to work, washed my car and gorilla taped the bumper into place. That tape is strong. It looks great on my car.

A very eventful weekend. All-in-all, a really great weekend. I know Heavenly Father is aware of what I'm feeling and thinking and trying to accomplish. And He's looking out for me--these experiences are bringing me closer to the person I hope to be.

Lesson learned: it is okay to have two major car issues within the 24 hours following a resolve to slow down and be more aware instead of running around like crazy.