i'm not lucky, i'm blessed, YES.

I just had to include that "Yes" in the title because I always end up shouting that part in the song. That's really the only reason. But recently I have just been feeling so stinkin' blessed. The kind of blessed that's like "What in the hay could I have done to warrant such extreme outpourings of love and support?" I have such a great support system here in Idaho, I truly have a family away from my family and a home away from home in this community. When my uncle passed away, my friends were there to make sure I knew I was cared for. It was nice to know that my friends were thinking of me, praying for me, and available if I needed anything. 
My 25th birthday was the day after the funeral and so I got to spend it with my family. That was so nice. I never get to spend birthday's with my family anymore and it was a little treat during that period of mourning. 
I got a text from my friend Stacey who works at the school that I work with saying that she and another friend wanted to take me out to dinner when I got back. I agreed and was totally excited to spend some time with these two women! They picked me up last night, we went to Red Robin simply because Lauren said she wanted to embarrass me by making me stand on that chair with the spoon above my head and a sundae in my hand. If you want to embarrass someone on their birthday, you know that Red Robin is the place to do that! 
When we walked in to the restaurant and were being taken to a table, all of my closest friends were there waiting and shouting surprise. It scared me! As soon as I saw them I wondered why they were all there and remember quickly thinking that it was such a coincidence. It's crazy how in that moment you rarely realize exactly what is happening. 

Well, Lauren got exactly what she wanted and I was so embarrassed standing up on that chair. For someone who is generally outgoing and extroverted, I was super embarrassed! I think it might be because the whole evening caught me so off guard! I have never been surprised like that because somehow my spiritual gift is unintentionally ruining surprises, but man, I was feeling all sorts of shy! 

Those are the two little masterminds. They were super proud of themselves for being able to pull something off without me having the slightest inclination! I just felt very special last night because my friends all have jobs, academic requirements, homework, etc that seems to pile up every week but still, every single person I would have wanted to celebrate with what sitting right there. 

So Nicki definitely got it right when she said, "I'm not lucky, I'm blessed." Thank you Jesus for my sweet and thoughtful support system!