Last Saturday morning I woke from the kind of sleep that can only be described as semi-comatose. I was so, so tired after the long day and all the excitement I’d had on Friday, despite my nap. But I got up to find that the sun was shining (this did not last) and that I hadn’t dreamed it: I was in California.

And I was celebrating my mom’s birthday with her.

The day started out pretty low key. We sat around and sipped coffee, then my dad made batches of fudge. This is a Christmas tradition and he loves making fudge. I love to watch, because then the bowl is mine for the licking and who can resist that?

Steve and Shannon arrived, and Steve started dinner (he was the chef for the night) while Shannon entertained us. She’d just gotten back from a week-and-a-half long trip to the East Coast for a family reunion. Some of the stories were pretty amusing, like her trip with her religious stepmom to BibleLand (or whatever it’s really called) where she was banned to the parking lot to smoke.

After chatting awhile we let Mom open her birthday presents. Melissa and I both got her gift cards for Starbucks (I guess we didn’t coordinate that very well, although to be honest, I’d take a hundred Starbucks gift cards happily should they be given to me), Dad got her two pretty ruffly scarves, and Steve made her a wreath to look like the ones in New Orleans Square in Disneyland. I put up a picture of it because I really didn’t think I could do it justice describing it here. It’s so beautiful. Steve also gave me my Christmas gifts, four landscape photos (one for each season) that he’d made and framed for me. I’ll put up a picture of them once I’ve had a day off from work and time to hang them.

Mom’s best friend Debbie and her husband Frank arrived, and Steve served dinner. He made turkey meatballs on a bed of fettucini, mixed veggies, and cheese bread. It was a mini feast. About the time we were finishing dinner, my longtime friend Cambria arrived with her boyfriend Kevin and their three month old daughter Sakinah. Sakinah instantly took center stage, dazzling everyone in the room. She herself was mesmerized by the ornaments and lights on the Christmas tree. She was so cute, and so snuggly and warm and wonderful. I fell in love with her instantly. Cambria is an amazing mom, she kept snuggling Sakinah and telling her how much she loved her.

Mom said it was the perfect birthday and she couldn’t have ordered a better one. =)