Best Birthday Gift EVER

It turned out to be the best birthday I can remember. And I didn't even know until it was already over.

Let's start Saturday afternoon. My friend Jacquelin and a girl from church, Kelli, came to our house and insisted they take our laundry to take home. I had commented to my friend on Friday that I am way too overwhelmed. Although unexpected, she took that as a call to action and her service was a great gift.

Nate and I went to Waikiki the night of my birthday. We went to Outback Steakhouse because a man we had taught gave us a gift certificate. Over dinner, Nate told me that Jacquelin and Kelli had asked that they would be allowed to come over while we were gone to clean our house.

How did they know that for a long time I've thought, "all I want for my birthday is help cleaning my house"?

Life has been so overwhelming that ... well, do I really need to explain? Taking care of 3 girls, including a demanding baby, running a business, and the house and errands with a husband that works 17 hour days, well, there's just not a lot of time left for the nitty-gritty.

When Nate told me I was speechless. And when we returned home the next day, it was like an episode of "Extreme House Makeover" when the homeowners return home. Not only had they completely cleaned our home -- from polishing the appliances

to washing the curtains, to wiping down and organizing our shelves
but they had also completely rearranged our furniture! And it looked great! Kezia's comment was that it looked like a hotel... okay, well, maybe not. But it was spotless, and with the new furniture arrangement, a lot more spacious in the livingroom!



And I'd like to mention that, besides Jacquelyn, the other 3 girls that helped I hardly knew (they're from church, so they're not complete strangers. But for how desperate I was, I think I'd be okay with complete strangers cleaning our house while we were gone, too.) But I do know that Jacquelyn and Kelli are both very busy people.