Terrell's 30th Birthday

Saturday the 20th at 9:49 am, my hubby turned 30~ and he handled it great! =) It's hard to believe, but I've been blessed to have shared 12 of those 30 years with him. Wow, that's crazy when I think about it. I love you Terrell! Thanks for being an amazing husband and dad who loves us and takes care of us and fills our home with laughter and fun. We loved celebrating with you and are so proud to call you husband and daddy.

Now for the details...

Typically we celebrate birthdays kind of the same way every year~ we go out to eat with both sides of the family (mine and his) and open presents and enjoy birthday cake or some other form of dessert. We are very spoiled by our families. =) But, with this year being one of those "big" birthdays, I decided several months ago that I wanted this birthday celebration to be a little bigger and a little more special than what we do every other year. And it worked out perfect with his actual birthday being on a Saturday. We didn't pull off a surprise party or anything extravagant (because he would not have been happy about that) but we did surprise him with things like guests, food, and decor and we made it bigger and more special than normal... which was my goal all along. Even though Saturday was filled with ups and downs and felt like an emotional roller coaster, in the end we were able to pull off the party without a hitch and I'm pretty sure the birthday boy loved it.

This is a picture of his invitation... sorry about the quality. Really wishing our scanner worked right about now! It was designed and created by Megan who is amazing and my official go-to person for invitations of any kind.

The party was a drop-in on Saturday afternoon for family and family friends so it was really laid back and casual.... just like my hubby. We decided to to do red and black because of Terrell being a UGA alum, and with this being the 30th birthday we had to have black. Our menu was also very Terrell-like and masculine with hamburger sliders, wings, meatballs, chips, fruit, veggies, and a super yummy red velvet cake. We did red and black tablecloths, red and black balloons, 90's music playing, and pictures of Terrell all over the room from the moment he was just a tiny baby to now with his own family and babies.

*I have to apologize in advance for my lack of pictures. I think I ended up greeting, talking, eating, or taking care of Garrison off and on the whole time, so pictures were forgotten about a lot. I wanted a picture of all the tables and all the guests, and a picture of me, Terrell, and Garrison. Oh well. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law made lots so hopefully Terrell will have more than just these to remember his day by.

Garrison and Allison being so sweet at the party

The food table almost ready

Another view

All the kids at the party except for our niece Shannon (How is it that my child is the only "older" one not looking or smiling?)

Terrell's birthday cake (that almost wasn't... it's seriously a miracle that we got to enjoy this cake)

While everybody sang Happy Birthday... with my sister looking on.

Enjoying daddy's red velvet cake

Selph Family picture

As I mentioned before, the weekend was filled with ups and downs. My little man was sick with a runny nose and sometimes low-grade fever, the air condition wasn't turned on at the Lodge when we arrived to set up for the party leaving us in a 90 degree room to work, and the cake just about bit the dust. My parents actually witnessed it fall apart and the cream cheese icing slide right off.

But, those "hiccups" were all sort of minor compared to the real heartache of the weekend... saying goodbye to my parents (and mine and Anna's too) 14 year old miniature schnauzer Molly. She was a special puppy and truly loved as a member of the family. She lived a good, long, and happy life and we all knew it was best for her to not have to suffer. I have great memories of her and Ginger (Molly's daughter) growing up and even after moving out. We were all really sad and heartbroken but at the same time at peace about it and looking forward to celebrating Terrell's birthday. A tough moment occurred when Garrison asked about Molly very randomly and out of the blue. We tried changing the subject and distracting him but when he didn't let it go we eventually attempted to explain everything through tears. I have a feeling he doesn't truly understand, but hopefully we can head off that question before he brings it up again and makes us all cry. I know he didn't mean to upset us, but to me it was like my cue to let the tears flow.

After all the craziness and heartache of the day, I loved celebrating Terrell's birthday and having something fun and happy to do. I loved watching his face throughout the afternoon. I loved watching him catch up with family and friends who were there. I loved singing Happy Birthday to him along with a big crowd of family and friends. I loved seeing him open his presents. And I really loved seeing and knowing how much he's loved. Terrell pointed out afterwards that we don't have tons of close friends our age, but that we're all about family. That's just us. We have extremely close-knit families and life long friends, and that is a huge blessing and gift from God and something we're always reminded to be thankful for, especially on birthdays.

Big thanks to my parents and Terrell's parents for all of your help, advice, hard work, etc. in making the party come together and fun for Terrell. I am SO thankful for ya'll!!!

Happy 30th Birthday Terrell! We love you!!