Birthday Surprises

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday. My hubby surprised me with a night out at the cute little tea room I blogged about earlier! He also surprised me with an MP3 player, which I have been wanting for a while. He got me a Samsung YP-T9J, which is sooo much better than one I would have picked out. He really did his research and found a totally awesome one! It can even play videos and slideshows! Not that I need it to do all that, but it's supercool and so very tiny and light. He also got me 2 other things I have been wanting for some time, but had no idea he even knew. One is a welcome mat that says "Warning: Dog can't hold it's licker," which is absolutely perfect for our slobbery dog Beau. The other is a glass cake keeper that turns upside-down and turns into a punch bowl.

My parents came up the day after my birthday to visit and see our new house. With them, they brought my new Kenmore Progressive canister vacuum cleaner (a birthday gift)! It may sound crazy, but I have been desperately wanting a new vacuum cleaner for months! I did some research and found these vacuums did well in Consumer Reports. I was soooo excited to vacuum with it for the first time! I did the entire house and was enthusiastic about it! Now it's just a question of how long my excitement can last. Cleaning is not my favorite task, but at least for now it's fun.

Unfortunately while my parents were here, my dad ended up in the hospital for 4 days after experiencing a seizure. As most of you know, he has a GBM (glioblastoma multiforme), the worst type of brain tumor. It's been almost 15 months since he was diagnosed. He has been doing so well, but recently there have been a few bumps in the road. He has his appointment at Duke tomorrow, so maybe we'll find out what is causing this increase in seizure activity. Please keep my father in your prayers. Thank you!

During my parents time here, we did manage to make it to Azalea Park, which is in downtown Summerville. Here are some of the pictures I took while we were there.