Al's Birthday!

Every holiday or birthday we have where Al is there to celebrate with us is precious now. Not that they haven't always been, but they have become doubly precious this year because we are once again reminded of God's grace in sparing Al. At this writing, he is doing VERY well.... the most recent report from the cardiologist is that his heart is functioning at 87 per cent capacity, and the portion of heart muscle that was dead is beginning to come back! Anyway, Al's birthday was an opportunity to be especially thankful that God has given him another year! All our kids who live nearby or at home came to help us celebrate. We had roasting chicken, salad, and baked potatoes, and salad. I made a fat-free devil's food cake with seven-minute icing, which was good except that the girls thought the icing was too sweet. We gave Al a pair of jogging pants and a shirt for exercising. That was on his actual birthday. Al's sister, Lisa, came on the Sunday after Al's birthday, and brought fat-free manicotti, so Gail, Missy, and Eric came then. Gail made a low-fat cake for that dinner, so we had a double birthday celebration for Al and Lisa. I made a salad for that day too, but I didn't have enough lettuce, so Missy called it an "unsalad"! It was good though, and we had so much fun visiting with Lisa. We gave Lisa a Willow Tree figurine which she liked a lot. I've always loved celebrating birthdays and holidays with my family, but even more so now!