Ok, I am not all that excited about another birthday tommorrow but I am very grateful that the Lord saw fit to grant me another year. My heavenly Father has given me more than I can ever thank Him for. A wonderful loving husband, precious mom, great family, Christian brothers and sisters, fantastic Christian ladies to work with, a Spirit filled church with a Godly pastor, our sweet dogs, my AR friends, health and every single blessing is from HIM! 

Most of all, I am so thankful that Jesus gave me eternal life through His shed blood when He saved me 23 years ago(so you know I am over 23;-).  Praise the wonderful name of Jesus Christ !  

Even though I could write about any one of my many blessings, I want to share with you today - A VERY SPECIAL friend !  His name is Brandon and he turns 15 tommorrow. We will be sharing a very special weekend to celebrate our birthdays together. My mom will be bringing her famous delicious homemade "from scratch" German Chocolate cake - my fave !!  

You see, my husband - Roger and I claim Brandon as "our son" but not by birth! Actually, he is the closest thing we have to a child other than our furry/doggie kids.(We also claim his 3 brothers!)

My close friend Melanie is Brandon's mom and she asked me early in her pregnancy if I would like to be with her and her husband, Dwayne in the delivery room. Now, she knew that I had never experienced that before so you know that she was really brave - not knowing how I might react. 

Of course, I was thrilled that she invited me and we looked forward to the birth. However, we did NOT know that the Lord would allow her to give birth to this very special child on my birthday!  Melanie called me early on Sunday morning - September 26, 1993 to tell me she was on the way to the hospital. I was so excited! Wow, I was actually there in the delivery room to see Brandon Lee Cornett come into the world and I didn't even pass out! That has been one of the most precious gifts that I have ever received. Thanks to Melanie, Dwayne and our Lord, we have an extended family(all 4 of their boys) and my mom has adopted "grandkids" along with her grand-dogs !

Now, thankfully - it didn't end there! Over the last 15 years, we have been together at some point for almost every birthday. This great kid, along with his older brothers are so very special to us. They all have sweet personalities, great humor and genuine qualities of love and compassion for others. I COULD NOT have ordered better kiddos - no, they're not perfect but close enough!  

For the last several years, Brandon's parents have allowed us to take him out of town for this special day. You would think as Brandon got older - you know about teenagers that he wouldn't be interested in being with us but he starts asking months in advance "Hey, what are WE doing for our birthday" !  What a joyful blessing!!  Thank you guys ! 

Watch for my next blog about the surprise birthday gift - Brandon is just beside himself trying to figure it out!!

Brandon - Sept 2007 at The Outdoor Pavilion-Lodges At Eagles Nest, Banner Elk NC 

He's just too cute ;-)

James 1:17 Every good gift and every PERFECT gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.