mixed feelings

Who knew I could survive a surprise party...barely...?

I have to admit, it's rare that we are surprised, but we got blown away today. We were supposed to have lunch with some friends at their house - we were thinking of a low key, fun time for a few hours. We were definitely looking forward to it and Jaimie even made a special dessert for it.

Then we walked in...and that all changed...

There were a million (give or take) of our friends there for a surprise party to celebrate, well, us. Go figure. Who does that? It's not even like we are all that special anyway...we are just who we are and I guess today we learned that was enough. Laura had arranged this and had a bunch of our friends come together just to give us a pep rally. After having a great lunch, everyone came together in the same room and Laura had people say things they loved about us.

Let me give you a little insight into me - being the center of attention is never something I enjoy. I'm a big fan of doing things in the background, not getting much attention, and just going on with my day. I have come to realize that is one of the main reasons I'm not a big fan of my birthday - too much direct attention on me. Anyway...

So, being in a room with all of our friends directly talking about what they love about us was humbling to say the least. It was amazing to realize how many amazing people we know - friends that would give up their Sunday afternoon to come together just for us. At the end of everyone sharing, one of our friends actually made a song about and for us. It was amazing to hear the impact we have had - and I must admit I love being a Hartman - being Jaimie's husband and Taylor's dad. They truly are amazing and being in their family is nothing short of fantastic.

I can't thank each of you enough. As I said today, we are who we are because you guys bring out the best in us and help us to be who we are. Thank you Laura and family for hosting the event and even thinking to put it together. Thank you Nadia for helping to compile the list of people to invite. Thank you to all of the people that came - I'm still in a state of shock.

As just a little taste of our afternoon, here is the song they sang for us today. The person singing is our friend Darel (who has 2 of the cutest girls ever that play a really mean game of hide and seek).