47th Birthday Cupcake Extravaganza

I'll write about the cupcake fun later, but for now I wanted to post a link (click on the blog title above) to all my non-Facebook-addicted friends so you can see the photos from today. I think that you can see these images even if you do not have a Facebook profile. That is what I was led to believe. Hmmm. Can anyone confirm that?

47 Treats and a VERY DISCIPLINED Cootie!!

Deb arranged 47 dog bones into this lovely 47...and kept Cootie from eating any of them. Do you see why I think Cootie is the coolest canine in the world?!!  (Yeah, she had the hat on with the balloon on top, but I think she decided it didn't go with her outfit.)

XL7, FOUR eXampLe

Almost 47 days ago, I invited people to join me on a journey. That journey is about to end. Tomorrow I will be happily handing out 47 cupcakes that I will have baked and decorated myself. I will be turning 47 years old (same age as our president elect).

If I were giving out fabulous prizes for "47" images, I might have categories like "Most Inspirational 47" and "Most Contrived 47" and "47 Which Traveled the Greatest Distance to Be Here" and others. There would be winners in every category.

Lisa found some interesting and quirky 47's including this image of Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae -- a bunch of stars known to some affectionately as 47 Tuc.

I already posted the two-image set that Kristy sent that I'm calling "Flaming 47 - Before" and "Flaming 47 - Burning."

Sandy sent a set of images she collected in Thailand and I posted some of those previously. I'll repeat one of those because it is one of my favorites (not that I don't love all 47's). Really, I just like tuk tuks and have made

interesting connections with them this year, including one we found (well, a tricycle, actually -- they are called different things and have variations in different countries) on Palawan.

My friend Nadine CLARK made me a birthday card I like a lot -- for more than one reason. (And this, of course, got to me thinking about the business of greeting cards and how we don't make cards as much as we used to. Then I thought about all the people I know who actually DO make things like greeting cards. But, I digress.)

This last image is one of the ones that Charlene sent - giving credit for spotting this one to Mark. If you were not introduced to Roman numerals at some point in your education, this one will elude you. That may be why I like it so much - it is the dryness of the humor, perhaps. When they had time to go looking for 47's in the midst of their last weeks before moving to Ukraine is beyond me and just like them.

::NOVEMBER::

Uh huh. It is officially November.

Big month in my world.

I know, you're thinking that this is just one more self-promoting blog about my 47th birthday on November 7 and the post where I was kind of hoping 47 different people would add a comment. Well, that is not the point of this posting, but since you brought it up... there is still time.

Two things are scheduled to occur this month that will significantly impact my life for a long while. Deep breath.

Mark and Charlene Canada are moving to Ukraine where they will live and serve with SEND Int'l -- they leave on November 6.

I am 110% supportive of this next step of obedience for them and I am thrilled to see how God has orchestrated so many details and provided perfectly so far and fully anticipate He will continue to do so in the future. I can't wait to see the ways that God uses them in His work of redemption and restoration in the lives of they will serve.

But none of that changes that fact that these dear friends who have opened their lives and home to me over the past decade are not going to be where I can get to them very easily -- at least not in the ways I have before. Yes, I am thankful for the technology that will make this all so much easier. Skype. Email. Facebook. All good. But it's not like being able to hop on a plane and be with them in just a couple hours once or twice a year. I'm feeling very much like I felt when I joined Wycliffe and drove to Florida to live -- filled with expectation and excitement and peace and also filled with an aching sadness that just is.

The other thing is the November 22 Last Languages Celebration that will mark the launch of the Last Languages Campaign for Wycliffe. Both the event (which I've had the privilege to coordinate) and the campaign (which I'm fully committed to in every way) are stretching my horizons and growing my faith.

When I see the ways that God is orchestrating things so that He will be glorified in ways that are beyond our imagining, it takes my breath away. I truly believe that this leg of the journey for me will include things that will set my grew-up-baptist feet to dancing!! I also believe that I will face bigger tests and greater challenges than I've known before.

Today, at the beginning of November, I feel like I've finally made it to the font of the long, long line that twisted through the amusement park and have just buckled myself into my seat of the tallest, fastest, longest, craziest coaster of my lifetime.

My heart is pounding.

I may puke.

The very real smile on my face isn't hiding the also very real tears in my eyes. And truly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

2B-47

My friend Sandy was recently in Thailand and took a bunch of interesting and creative and sometimes silly photos illustrating my favorite number 47. Here are my favorite onese of those she sent to me. I just had to share them. Click on the image to see it full size in your browser. Can you see all the "47's" or not?

And, this gives me one more opportunity to remind those of you who need reminding (or beg those of you who need begging) that there is still time to post a comment on my September 22 blog post "47 days until my 47th birthday."

47 CANDLES from Kristy

On September 22 my blog post announced that it was 47 days until my 47th birthday. 

In the blog I requested or suggested a few things so that everyone could be involved in my celebrating -- or at least everyone who wants to be involved. (Yes, I'm throwing myself a party in cyberspace. And yes, it has come to this. Really, you shouldn't be surprised.)

So far 18 people have commented on that blog post -- 29 more and we'll reach my goal of 47. If you've not posted yet, there is still time. 

One of the other suggestions involved people finding things that represented or that illustrate the number 47 (a favorite numeral). The first photos arrived today and I have to share them. It is a series of two images. I put the first on at the beginning of this blog and will put the second one at the bottom. THANK you to Kristy for sending these. Kristy blogs on occasion -- no simple task for a woman with 5 kids in the house -- and I always enjoy her insights and amusements. Lipstick, Bandaids and Wet Wipe Baths. 

For more detail on the whole "47" extravaganza, read 47 Days to my 47th Birthday for yourself. Come on... everybody's doing it.  :) 

47 days until my 47th birthday

As a high school teacher, I found it beneficial (not what you're thinking...exactly) to announce my birthday beginning a few weeks prior. I usually started with "one month from today" announcements.

This past Spring I was thinking about birthdays and eventually got around to mine this year, did the math to be sure, and confirmed that i will, indeed, turn 47 in 2008 as I was born in 1961. Now, for some people the birthdays ending in zero are the significant ones. I may have great memories from my 40th b'day, but it was totally about some friends and a great, gracious surprise and not about turning 40.

Personally, I love the number 47.

Starting back 10+ years ago, a friend noted that I used the number 47 a lot as my exaggeration number. "There were 47 people in line in front of me at the post office today" or "my backpack weighs 47 pounds" or even "I'm going to eat 47 cookies right now." Like that. Once she identified this thing I do, well... I started hearing myself do it. And that was the beginning of what has become a sort of affection for the number 47.

When I went to the Magic Kingdom with some family a couple of years ago, we parked in row 47 and I had to take a picture. I've "been" number 47 at a few different places (like Crispers here in Orlando) where you place an order and they bring it to your table where you display your number so they can identify you. Sometimes I take a picture of that too.

So, for my 47th birthday I have a couple of ridiculous ideas.

First, I'd find it way too amusing if 47 different people posted a comment on this blog. I don't care if the comment simply reads "comment #15" (or whatever one it is) "from mary" (or whatever your name is, of course) "in cleveland" (but where you are). So...I'm counting on a few of you, my friends who are just strangely humored enough to do this and to recruit others to it.

Second, if you see the number 47 somewhere or something that reflects or represents the number 47 even...take a pic with your phone or something and email it to me. Consider it a cheap (but meaningful) birthday card. The new kind of homemade.

Then, if you work in Wycliffe's Orlando office (or live around these parts), I'm going to bake and decorate 47 cupcakes for the first 47 people who come by my office on my birthday (November 7...I should say that rather than making you do the math). They won't be super fancy, but they'll taste good. I suppose that's obnoxiously self-assured that I can even get 47 people to come to my office on any given day -- but for cupcakes, people do odd things.

I wonder what else I might do? 47 is just such a good number.