Happy Birthday Michael!

I want to wish a Happy 27th Birthday to my wonderful husband and best friend! I can't imagine my life without Michael, and it is so funny how I get just as excited, if not more, about his birthday that he does. It seems crazy, but Michael and I have been together since he was 19 and I was 20. It was so long ago, our first pictures as a couple were taken on film cameras. Nope, we didn't take digital photos back then! In fact, this is the earliest photo I could find of us when Michael was 20, and I was 21.

Now, he is the big 27! We are planning a date night on Saturday, but I made him dinner tonight. I called it my "Cracker Barrel" dinner because I made beer bread, turkey meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes.

I have never made meat loaf or beer bread, but they were so much easier than I thought. I've had the beer bread mix for a while, and I have been waiting for a special night to try it. All you do, is open a can of light beer, pour it in a bowl, stir in the mix, and stick it in the oven in a loaf pan!

Here's my first beer bread loaf!

I also made my first meatloaf tonight, and I must say it was quite delicious, and again, so easy to make. I mixed together 2 lbs. of ground turkey, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup ketchup, and a package of Stovetop stuffing, and I stuck it in the oven in my new Celebrating Home loaf pan. Michael loved it, and it turned out to be a good birthday dinner!

Don't you just love my ketchup decoration? I should have made a "27!"

Welcome to Michael's "Cracker Barrel" 27th Birthday Dinner!

The hungry birthday boy!

Along with a homecooked dinner, Michael got some great gifts. His brother and Caroline got him a swanky new pair of Aviators, since his other ones swam away in the lake last spring! Let's hope he can keep them until he's 28! I got him two sports books because he of course love sports and that's the only way I can get him to read!

I have heard so many great reviews about Drew Brees' inspirational memoir about his struggles after Hurricane Katrina and the awesome journey he and his team made to winning the Super Bowl. I want to read this book too!

The second book I got him by David Thomas is Remember Why You Play, a book about faith and the game of football. I had to get it for Michael to honor his dad because I know this is a book his dad would love and would get for Michael himself if he were here. I hope Michael loves it...he said he is going to read this one first!

I love birthdays, and I hope my hubby had a wonderful 27th! Not too many husbands get a blog post about their birthdays!