One of the biggest gifts of each birthday that passes is the gift of perspective. Each year here one earth makes the wish list smaller and the gratitude list longer, and we were so happy to celebrate this amazing man that we all love so much.

But let’s back up for a minute. Last week K caught some bug that’s been going around. Her symptoms were low grade fever, fatigue, congestion, that all settled into a seal barking cough. Fortunately (knock on wood), the rest of us have held up fine. See all natural wellness arsenal here.

Still, it lent itself to having a more withdrawn and low key weekend. Friday we made homemade pizzas and watched Shark Tank. Saturday Kaitlyn rested while David and I went o cheer on Hailey in her basketball game. It was a nailbiter and she ended up making the game winning layup in the last 9 seconds of the game! I went grocery shopping and then we had to sadly cancel dinner plans with friends because despite being on the upswing, K still was still barking. We spent the afternoon playing games (Spades & Dominion) before settling into an early movie night. The girls watched a remake of Peter Pan in our room while David and I watched Leave the World Behind. Have you seen it? I liked the premise and the suspense, but ultimately felt there were too many tangents and loose ends.

We decided to skip church Sunday, too, just to give K one more day. Hailey and I took on the task of making David his birthday request- a coconut cake! It sounds simple, right? Well, William Sonoma’s cookbook does not think so and over the next three hours we sifted flour, separated eggs, whipped whites, cracked open coconuts and used the water to make a syrup, shredded and toasted the coconut meat, and made a fancy stove top icing. It was intricate. But also, it was a ton of fun. H is such a joy to be around and we work well together in the kitchen. We were so proud of our result!

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Like most of the US, it was cold in North Carolina this weekend, so the girls put on ski gear to go out and break up ice in the neighboring pond. David and I worked out. I made burgers (and marveled yet again at how much I love using shower caps as plastic wrap)!

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I grilled burgers and toasted onion rings and made an Italian chopped salad, then we all ate dinner, watched David open cards, and sang happy birthday before devouring the cake. The cake was great; it tasted like a hearty pound cake and wasn’t overly sweet. Winner! Not that we will ever make it again because of all the steps, but at least it was a success.

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Now to get all mushy for just a minute; allow me to say a few words about David. I truly can not imagine a more wonderful man with whom to go through life. David is truly my rock; he’s steady as they come. He’s incredibly hardworking, a hands-on dad, an attentive husband, handy, adventurous, brilliant, a problem-solver, and gosh, does he make me laugh. I’m so grateful we found each other, as we compliment each other so well, both helping the other to grow in new ways. I love dreaming big and doing life with him; and am so excited about all that the next 365 days will bring. Happy birthday, babe; it’s going to be your best year yet!