Sweet Sixteen

On the 18th Carly turned 16...it is so hard to take that in. It seems like just yesterday she was running around with her little curly hair, chattering away... well... the curls are gone, but the chattering still remains...maybe things have changed that much!!! Except that I actually understand the chattering now!

We managed to totally surprise her for her birthday. Mickey and I purchased her tickets to go and see Phantom at the Kentucky Center. She asked for them months ago, and we told her no way, no how. They would be far too expensive. So then... she decided to ask for a car instead! Hmmm... a car or tickets?! Through it all, she fully believed that she would not get tickets (or a car!) and she began to tell us of other things that she would like to have. I was about to bust to tell her that we had them!

She was so excited when she realized that we had gotten her the tickets. It was unexpected but truly wanted, and that made it very special. As I watched the reality dawning on her face, it was so cool. She thanked us several times over the course of the evening, and even mentioned it again this morning.

It is kind of like the gift of salvation that we get from Christ... we ask for it... we aren't sure that we will receive it...after all, it's rather costly... and we might not be worth it... and then we get it... and it is free... and when the reality hits us, our faces reflect the magnitude of the gift... and like Carly, we should be thanking him over and over again, we should remember what a great gift we have received....

Oh...and I get to go too... a ticket was purchased for my birthday as well... and we are hooking up with my friend Rebecca and her daughter, Lindsay. What a cool way to celebrate so many birthdays!