Happy, Happy Birthday!

So tomorrow (7.25) is Jacob's birthday. We have some fun stuff planned to properly celebrate, and we had his home-cooked birthday dinner tonight, because tomorrow there will be a big group dinner. I think it was a success... when we came back to China in April, we brought some of my family's homemade sausage.

Yes. We brought sausage.

In our suitcase.

Customs wasn't screening much at the time... otherwise we'd have faced some interesting questions.

We also brought ribeye steaks, but that deserves another post.

So, we saved the sausage until now... and tonight we had sausage, cheesy potatoes, cream corn, and for desert, a german chocolate cake. (Not a very healthy meal... but it tasted good!) We even had iced tea! Lipton! (Also brought from home...) Jacob said he felt like he was at home; which means it was a successful meal, because it is hard to get things to taste the same here as they do at home.

So there's a funny story about the cake. I bake a lot in China. Like maybe once or twice a week on average. What makes this "funny" is my oven.

Its closest relative would be the Easy Bake oven. I never had one as a kid... but I do now! In addition to using the Easy Bake oven to bake my "masterpieces" (isn't that what every girl does with an Easy Bake?), I mix them by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon. In the USA, I had a very nice Kitchen Aide stand-up mixer which I used.... oh... maybe 3 times a year. And here I am with an oven big enough to bake 6 cookies at a time and no way to "whip" or "beat" anything, and I've turned into Miss Holly Homemaker.

Anyway, why wasn't I baking when I had all the right equipment? And now that it is 10 times more difficult, I desire to bake all the time? I really can't come up with a good reason; but it is a bit ironic, isn't it?

On a more serious note... Happy Birthday Jacob! I am so thankful you are my husband. Your kindness, generosity, compassion, and wisdom have been so influential in my life. We're coming up on anniversary #3, and these have been the best 3 years of my life! Thank you for being my partner; for always encouraging me to grow and change; for believing that we can do things out of the ordinary; for having the courage to go against the tide of our culture and believing that a life lived differently is still a life well-lived. I hope the next year brings you much joy and many new adventures. I know there will be difficult times, but I pray in those moments you always sense your Father's presence... and that you grow to a deeper understanding of how deep, and wide, and vast is his love for you. I love you!