Despite starting the day with the worst traffic I’ve seen on Hillsboro ever, the day turned out to be rather magical.

You’d think that after 40 of these things, I’d be tired of them. But they never seem to lose their magic for me. There’s just something about bounding into a place and announcing, "its my birthday!" that brings me joy and excitement. And I spent most of the day doing just that — or pointing to my big Disneyworld button that says, "Today’s my Birthday!"

I am now the proud owner of a black 30gb video iPod. Woohoo! I’ve already spent the better part of the night playing with it and checking out all the nifty little settings and such. But as wonderful as that is, it cannot top the present I received when I drove down my driveway.

As I came down in the darkness, my headlights caught three beautiful young deer making a dinner out of our hedges. One got skittish as I drove closer, so I stopped the car and just sat watching them, keeping my high beams trained on the three. Soon enough the third one came back to the hedge and began eating again. Then a third one came clamoring through the a gap in the hedges that I’d never noticed before. The four greeted each other as only deer can, hung out for a bit longer, then slowly headed toward the back of our property, out of range of my headlights. What a beautiful gift to come home to!! Nature’s beauty right there in my back yard. I wish I’d had my camera with me in the car so I could’ve shot some pictures of it. Simply wonderful.

The evening ended with a series of calls to and from my sister, Nina, who sent me a very delicious birthday card.
A perfect ending to a perfectly magical day. Thanks, God!