Good Morning All;
Yes, today is Casey's 23rd birthday. Time flies...
We have been celebrating Casey's birthday at The Olive Garden each year... I think she saw a commercial for it when she was about 5 and there's been no two ways around it ever since.
Only one year was postponed due to snow- About 5 years ago. So that's a fairly good non~percentage of cancellations.
You ask who came? Take a peek below...
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Master Gabriel attached himself to the birthday girl, then charmed his way into everyone's hearts.
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Nephew Brandon, niece Brit, and sister Janet, wth Casey
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Good friends Chris Jaworski and Cheryl
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Friend Sarah, and son Andy
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Brandon with Tim, (Janet's husband)
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Ashley and Brandon,
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Jake Harkins, and his wife Jen too!
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Jesse Jasch and his kind and Sweet Shelley!
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Our special day would not have been complete without Kelli and Michelle
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Happy Hugo. Who had to leave wife Marsha at home due to illness.
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Greg, Master Gabriel, and our Birthday Girl
Gabriel was SO patient as he waited for his food! Such a wonderful young man- Mama Kristin has surely worked her magic, the love he has, the family is grand!
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Grampa Randy and Gabriel ~laughing at me taking pictures
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With our entrees came a choice of soup or salad. Cheryl chose soup.
She got about 4 bites of soup in this bowl too.
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Funny- And a bit shortchanged there. The picture does not do it justice.
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Our waitresses were more than capable; and awesome too!
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Ta~Da!
It was a grand birthday party!
We are in Minnesota-
We chose to leave a day early and drive through a bit of snow; than drive through worse weather today.
Lord knows this was bad enough- The roads 'turned' about 50 miles into the trip.
(And knuckles really DO turn white). As soon as I would think to pull over for the day, the roads would clear; so on we went.
But the 280 miles or so passed, little by little. At times we were able to go 70mph, and at others we were lucky to do 40 or so. I could just feel the tension between my shoulders.
Being that the end always justifies the means, I am happy that we are here, safe and sound.
It is cold. A few degrees (8) on the plus side of zero, with the wind chills being about 10 below zero.
Nasty. (Canada's fault I'm sure). hehehe
Time to close for now and adjust my position a bit.
Hope you are all well, and warm.
Love to all
XOXO
Me
Welcome to Minnesota and good luck Casey
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful looking celebration! Everyone looks like they had a good time. Master Gabriel is surely growing quickly.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it safely, if a bit stressed. I pray this surgery solves Casey's problems.
My prayers for you both.
OXOX,
Snotball.
Happy Birthday Casey
ReplyDeleteMaster Gabriel is adorable! Happy Birthday Casey! and you take it easy mama. I will be thinking and praying for you both.
ReplyDeleteGabe is getting SO tall!!!!! Such a handsome little man!
ReplyDeleteJanet looks very thin! Is this just the picture?
Looks like everyone had a great time... except maybe that lady in the background who is not thrilled with the picture of her...
Glad it was a good day! Also glad you guys beat the weather... I was worried.
Call if you need anything.
And Happy birthday to Casey TODAY!!!! I left my wishes for her over on her facebook page.
Casey's Birthday looked like the perfect gathering of friends and family. Those are always my favorites :D
ReplyDeleteOnce again you did a great job of taking pictures, where is your's with the Birthday Girl, Mom?
I am so happy you made it safely. FYI, I added Casey to this weeks Prayer Chain at Church. I will be praying often for you both.
Please tell Casey, we wish her a very Happy Birthday, and we are praying that this is her Ultimate Birthday Present for the year.
So good to see the love of family and friends coming together like this. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY!
ReplyDeleteGlad you also made it to your destination safely...white knuckles and all!
Stay warm! Hugs and Prayers for you all!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sweetie!
Will you please make it a bit warmer?
hehehe
XOXO
Me
Why IS it always so much colder here than in Green Bay? We have Lake effect from lake Michigan and to a small degree the bay of Green Bay itself. You have 10,000 lakes.
Are they ALL frozen over?
Oh brrrr....
Great to see everyone having a fantastic time on the day, Happy 23rd Birthday Casey, Anna Italian seems to repeat on me but I do love Pizza and Carbonara and a few other. Mandatory to have male facial hair, Yes !! Due to the coldness ??
ReplyDeleteSweet Snotball;
ReplyDeleteEveryone did have a good time! And even Gabriel, who doesn't really know everyone, had a fantastic time. I was worried about him, and being with all these strangers- But then realize that when one is 4, that the whole world is a kind place.
Kudos to Kristin and family for teaching him that!
As far as Caseys surgeries go, "from your keyboard to Gods eyes.
XOXO
me
Sweet Cab-
ReplyDeleteShe isn't 23 until about 10:08 tonight.
hehehe
XOXO
me
ReplyDeleteOf course he is adorable Sweet Pamela, he takes after his grandma! ;-)
I am trying to take it easy, (or any other way I can get it)...
Thank you for your prayers too!
XOXO
Me
Good looks run in this family Sweet Pea;
ReplyDeleteJust go look in the mirror if you don't believe me.
Janet is neither exceptionally thin nor heavy. She is just right. (it must be the way the picture was taken).
I am happy we beat the weather too. I hate being a statistic.
I promise to call if we need anything- as soon as I have a cell phone that is.
YOU have a safe trip too my sweet.
XOXO
Mama D.
Those are MY favorite times too Sweet Oka;
ReplyDeleteMine. With Casey?
Hmmm ?
I do have one of me with KelliBaby...
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Her birthday is February 17th...
hehehe
As far as presents go...
She got a few, and a few gifts of money too. (Always nice to have a little something to unwrap when it's your birthday). And a few of her cards were really funny too. (I love those)! We had to pass one around cuz it was sassy even and she couldn't read it out loud with young ears listening.
This is "Shamus".
Casey will have to tell you his story...
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Prayer chains are a grand way of asking ans thanking God for everything.
Thank you
XOXO
Me
ReplyDeleteOh gawd Sweet PeachieBaby, my hands still feel like they have a steering wheel in them.
I am not warm.
But I plan on getting that way as I will be standing in the shower soonly. hehehe
XOXO
Me
Facial hair is sexy Mr. Lester!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is the warmth it provides... I know lots of guys grow their beards for hunting season, and leave it like that 'til the sun comes out in April or May. hehehe
XOXO
Me
Oops.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I missed Sweet Little Courtney!
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Thanks for reminding me Face.
XOXO
Me
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEYFACE!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like y'all had so much fun!
I can't believe how BIG Gabriel is getting! What a cutie pie he is!
I am glad you left a lil early to get to Minnesota... Better safe than sorry.
Will keep prayers going that all goes well with this surgery and that recovery is quick!
Love and Hugs to all!
Slurkie :-)
Hi Mommy!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking all those pictures!!! One of these times I WILL remember to pull you out from behind that camera and steal a picture of you and me!!!
I'm so glad we made it here safe and sound. That sure was quite the nasty ride out here though... I'm glad we didn't see anyone in the ditch! It really keeps your hopes up when you don't see all those cars littering the ditches...
I remember once when we were driving out here and we could only do about 25mph. It was sleeting/snowing/freezing drizzling the last 60 miles if not more... We just kept counting all the vehicles in the ditch and praying we weren't going to be the next one! We did make it safe though...
Although my stomach did jump quite a bit when we ran into that little ice patch and the car jerked for just a split second... I think my stomach jumped up and greeted my uvula for a second... It was that same feeling you get when you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar! Very scary, but it didn't happen again, thank God!
It sure is FREEZING out here!!! Who shut off the heat???? It was nice in Green Bay, I even thought about going outside with just a long-sleeved shirt and a hoodie... Heck, on Saturday I was able to wear that sweater skirt outfit and not freeze to death... But here it's like the sun makes no difference when it rises! Canada sure has it in for us when we come here... Something about this place...
Well, I'm going to watch some more of my movie and relax... Big week ahead of me, just glad it's still two and half more days until the surgery... More time to sit and be nervous! I really am quite anxious... Worried about everything that could go wrong, but still hopeful that this will be my last. I'm not quite as worried knowing that I'm in the world's best surgical hands and have God watching over us! Plus, I'll get to wake up to you and my wonderful man when I get done with the surgery... With that support, plus all my other WONDERFUL friends, I can get through ANYTHING!
I love you MUCH MUCH!
~Casey
Hi Mommy!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking all those pictures!!! One of these times I WILL remember to pull you out from behind that camera and steal a picture of you and me!!!
I'm so glad we made it here safe and sound. That sure was quite the nasty ride out here though... I'm glad we didn't see anyone in the ditch! It really keeps your hopes up when you don't see all those cars littering the ditches...
I remember once when we were driving out here and we could only do about 25mph. It was sleeting/snowing/freezing drizzling the last 60 miles if not more... We just kept counting all the vehicles in the ditch and praying we weren't going to be the next one! We did make it safe though...
Although my stomach did jump quite a bit when we ran into that little ice patch and the car jerked for just a split second... I think my stomach jumped up and greeted my uvula for a second... It was that same feeling you get when you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar! Very scary, but it didn't happen again, thank God!
It sure is FREEZING out here!!! Who shut off the heat???? It was nice in Green Bay, I even thought about going outside with just a long-sleeved shirt and a hoodie... Heck, on Saturday I was able to wear that sweater skirt outfit and not freeze to death... But here it's like the sun makes no difference when it rises! Canada sure has it in for us when we come here... Something about this place...
Well, I'm going to watch some more of my movie and relax... Big week ahead of me, just glad it's still two and half more days until the surgery... More time to sit and be nervous! I really am quite anxious... Worried about everything that could go wrong, but still hopeful that this will be my last. I'm not quite as worried knowing that I'm in the world's best surgical hands and have God watching over us! Plus, I'll get to wake up to you and my wonderful man when I get done with the surgery... With that support, plus all my other WONDERFUL friends, I can get through ANYTHING!
I love you MUCH MUCH!
~Casey
And to EVERYONE that wished me a wonderful birthday:
ReplyDeleteYou are so thoughtful!!! I LOVE my friends and family!!! Have a wonderful week!
Love and Hugs!!!
~Casey
I was hoping these surgeries could end up being her Ultimate gift. You know, the end all of the suffering she has been having. I WANT THEM TO WORK
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good time was had by all..I like Olive Garden..but i prefer Carrabas Italian Grill.
ReplyDeleteLuckily we have both close by here. Olive Garden salads are delicious!
Glad ya'll had an uneventful trip. I remember one time going across the North GA mountains and Bruce hit an ice patch...thought we were going to end up off the mountain. We looked at each other and decided we were going back home. His paycheck could wait one more day.
Thankgoodness we were in his Jeep at the time.
Hope ya'll have warmed up by now. It was sunny here today..but the wind had a chill to it..although nothing like what ya'll are having.
Saying prayers that ya'll have a good nights sleep tonight and that the surgery goes well and this will finally give Casey te relief she deserves. Have a warm night.
2nd attempt tp comment here...
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel about these surgeries being the final ones that do the magic for her.
i SO want that to be true for her. It's just been so long...
And yes, it would be the very best gidt of all.
XOXO
me
Thank you Sweetie,
ReplyDeleteI have been witness to many an ice patch- And have always been fortunate enough to have had my own Guardian Angel taking the wheel at those points in time...
They are scary- a little twist, jerk, the wrong way... I don't even like to think about it!
Through the years, I have also seen a car (or ten) in front of me "lose it"- And then pray that they spin off the road instead of turning to hit me head on.
So scary. And yes, no matter how large the paycheck, it is nothing important enough to risk life and limb for.
Glad you were safe. And especially in the mountains.
Just the pre surgery appointment tomorrow.
then the real waiting games begin.
XOXO
Me
Happy Birthday Casey and I wish you all the best in your upcoming surgery ..You will be in my thoughts and prayers and I will also be praying that this will be your last surgery ..
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteSweet Carolyn!
And yet, we will take whatever we must to make her well.
Hopefully this IS the last one- I cannot honestly imagine being able to remove anything else. Although the andrectomy is not a removal, just rechanneling her liver enzymes, the ductowrk, to not backwash into her stomach (Whatever 50% of it is left after Friday that is)...
(Still.)...
And as far as removing anything else; gosh, I said the same thing last year.
I repeated it again last April.
And darn, here I am saying it again. hehehe
XOXO
me
I sent my birthday wishes to Casey's Multiply page after midnight last night!! What a lovely party
ReplyDeleteyou all had. I would love to crash your party and meet you all in person. What a joy that would
be for me. :)
I am so happy that you are there already and didn't encounter worse weather than what you got.
One correction....Canada would never send any cold weather up where you are!! lol After all I
did advise the powers that be not to do that!! :) Sending huge hugs and lots of prayers for a
successful surgery and a guick recovery. My prayer group will be praying for you both. Hugs and
blessings to you ... Love u both heaps and heaps!! :)
Thank you Sweet Bev!
ReplyDeleteHer sister, Jenné, called her at 12:01, leaving a singing msg for her too
We would adore having you join us! Anytime too.
You say the word, and my door is always open.
Huh? Canada the innocent? hehehe TAKE IT BACK!
(I swear Canada stalks me, takes aim and does this huff and puff thing to freeze my bones).
Even Punk makes quick work of it all when she has to be outside.
I just went out with her and it is darn cold... Methinks my cheeks will fall off shortly.
Please recheck those powers that be. hehehe
XOXO
Me
I meant to wish Casey a Happy Birthday yesterday but I never turned my computer on because I wasn't feeling too good and slept all day.
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never...
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY C*A*S*E*Y(!!!)
I loved the photos, it was almost like being there. Gabriel becomes more handsome every time I see pictures of him, and he did look like he was practicing his best behavior. I can't believe you have been celebrating Casey's birthday at Olive Garden for the past 18 years! I think that must have been around the time when Olive Garden's first opened.
Well anyway, I'm glad to see that everyone had a great time at Casey's party. I hope the pre-surgery tests went well today and I will continue to keep you both in my thoughts. Keep us posted as often as you can Annie. Good luck Casey!
Hello Annie...
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to hear from you, even when you yell at me!! lol So, here goes...NO I WILL NOT
TAKE IT BACK!!! Our temp was 40 degrees F today and Dave was on the veranda in his tee shirt
taking down his Christmas lights and then he got the cushions out and sat there in the sun for 1/2
an hour. So it's all your fault....you went the wrong way!!LOL
Praying and holding you both close to my heart. God Bless you both and the surgeons who work
on her. Amem
Bev xoxo
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh!
(And Dave made me jealous)!
hehehe (It must be a different part of Canada that stalks me then)?
Too funny!
XOXO
Me