Here’s a recap of the highlights of my day…..Seven of my treasures helped me celebrate…..
Emma baked a fresh pumpkin (acquired from the patch that day we went and I blogged about it). In the meantime Graham made fresh apple sauce so it could be used as replacement for the fat content in the pumpkin bars that Emma was making out of the fresh baked pumpkin…. While the bars were baking Autumn came over and surprised me with a Pumpkin Spice Latte’ from Starbucks….and together the pumpkin bars and the Pumpkin Spice Latte?
Yummm!!
Dw came home and picked me up and my hot hubby and I went for lunch at a favorite restaurant that has an awesome salad bar….which also happens to give a free dessert on birthdays……..voila!!
Death By Chocolate….(guess it kind of neutralizes the salad bar)
Elijah was feeling sick most of the day and ended up with a 104 degree temp. He was not so birthdayish. Poor sweet little baby guy!!The afternoon I spent running out to the new house to answer a question for the contractor and writing my Memorial Box Post about the tornado (if you haven’t read it, please do! – you will be reminded of God’s orchestrating events for our protection)….I received dozens of texts and calls and FB messages from friends and family. I spent time talking to my big kids Abigail and Tyler and Sarah too. It was a sweet time of being loved on….
Emma made Beef Stroganoff (a personal favorite) for dinner….and for dessert? You guessed it – pumpkin pie!! (Made from the same fresh pumpkin)……Total Yummmm…
And today seems like as good a day as any to let you in on a little tradition here at our home. I have mentioned before that when I grew up my homelife was so desperately painful. Abuse abounded. There was never any fun allowed. Not ever. At all. We were not allowed to talk. It was a nightmare.
I vowed that my home would be the complete polar opposite. My home would be the kind that my kids would laugh and shake their heads for the rest of their lives over the crazy things we do in it. Out of the box stuff. Rowdy, wild & completely unexpected stuff. Infact the rule when our kids have friends over is this: What happens in the Saunders home, stays in the Saunders home. And our goal is to have one rowdy time living life to please and honor Jesus Christ. 
Many, many, many years ago I started a rowdy little tradition to make dinner time a tad more memorable. =) Here’s how it works…..When dinner is yummy my family claps to show that they appreciate the effort put into making it…and that they really like it. It is kind of a thank you for making such a delicious meal. And what do I do? I decided that is would be a bit more fun to just stand and curtsey while they clap. Only I am not the type to just stand and curtsey on the floor. That would be so predictable. Boring. Yawnish.
So instead…….I climb up onto my chair and curtsey.
Even though I have been doing this for the past 26+ years, everyone still always giggles….and the little guys? They love it!! Yes, mommy is 51 and climbing on her chair to curtsey. Then if they keep clapping (kind of like saying, “wow, dinner was stinkin’ unbelievable”) I gotta’ take it one step further. Why not? Life is short. Kids need to know that we have the funnest house imaginable! So here’s how it went last night – – dinner was so yummy we started clappin’ for Emmy…..and I snapped a picture just to demonstrate what I mean……….. 
But what if the family keeps clapping?? What should I do? I always climb up on the table, right into the center and take a curtsey there. Show ’em Emmy show ’em what I mean…..
Yup, that’s what we do in our home…..and anyone who makes dinner at our house does the curtsey or bow (if you are of the male gender)….when we start to clap…..Now remember what we do in our home stays in our home…..so mums the word, huh? And if you don’t approve? It’s okay. That’s what makes me me and you you. Besides life is just too hard some days/weeks/months/years….there has to be some rowdiness to lighten the load!
Graham was lovin’ on little Elijah Mueller….
And then we opened my presents…..Liberty made/wrote a book for me about me going on a trip to Paris (she is fascinated with Paris for some odd reason). There is one page she drew of me blogging at an outdoor cafe in Paris. We all laughed heartily on that one!
My handsome hubby is so exhausted…..
long days pastorin’ and long nights workin’ on the house….
No doubt I am an abundantly blessed woman – Yippee Jesus!
Oh what fun!!! Happy birthday sweet friend!
I am surrounded by 4 children right now. I pray by 51 I will be blessed by that many children to surround me. You have made a birthday more than a celebration of more that turning another year older.
OK, you really look like one of the kids in those pictures.
Wow, thanks for the reminder to have fun. We try to have fun but maybe we need to have even more fun.
Can you tell Emma to come back to Indiana and come cook for me???
I'm glad you had an amazing birthday!!!
Oh indeed you are one blessed mama! Love that I share that with you–all the way over here in Uganda. Where, I might mention, we are preparing to become a "bush" family as the Lord is calling my amazing husband to plant a church among the unreached of Northern Uganda!!! "Taste and see that the Lord is GOOD!"
oh linny! Sounds like a wonderful day. I have been ill and have had sick kids too so I missed it yesterday! I am sorry. I pray this year brings you so many blessings!!! love you!
and you dont look a day over 30! I think its great that you and the kids have so much fun. silly is AOK! and showing appreciation for a good meal is outstanding! wht a lovely family you have. you inspire me to be a better person, a better mother.
Linny your home is filled with Love and Laughter!!! I often think how much fun it would be to stop by for a visit!!! I am sooo praying that Jubilee Promise will soon be able to sit at that dinner table with you!!!!
Love and hugs,
Kathie
sounds like you had a fantastic birthday!
Linny,
you are indeed blessed! Thank you for sharing! I love your idea of standing on the chair and curtsying when you make dinner! It takes hard work sometimes to pull off a great dinner.
I would love to learn more about the fun things you do to make your lives more fun!
Have a blessed day.
We're praying for e and e!
love,
Alycia
No doubt blessed!
The table rejoicing looks fun–I think my table would cave in though :))
Fun stuff!
Thanks for sharing! As always!
Wow, that sounds like the most perfect birthday ever! I am so glad you were so tremendously blessed my friend!! ((hugs)) I LOVE hearing about what goes on in your home (but don't worry, it will stay in the Saunders home lol). I was brought up in a relatively uptight home so it never even occurs to me to do stuff the way you do- but I want to!! 😉 I just love how much fun you guys have and how everything is a memory that your kids will take with them forever.
Can I borrow Emma? I get tired of cooking and she sounds like she's awesome! 😉 And I loooove Autumn's hair!
I am tearing up, so happy for you in your beautiful life. I am so happy that God traded your ashes for beauty. He is so good. And my kids love the clapping and curtseying for dinner idea! We are totally going to do that. Could you share more of your fun ideas that you do? I'm sure we would ALL love to hear them and use some to make our homes more FUN! : )
how WONDERFUL!!! i never got a chance to comment before, but happy, happy birthday!! your blog is always one that i look forward to reading. it always has inspiration and laughter! your children are so blessed to have you as their mom. i love, love your happy/wacky traditions! thank you for sharing them with US! 🙂
Your house sounds like an absolute blast! 😀
SO glad that you had such a lovely birthday!
I'm so sorry that I missed wishing you a very happy birthday, but I want to do that now. HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY! I just love how you turned your abusive childhood around and not only stopped the cycle of abuse, but you have started a new cycle of love for family and the savior that is much stronger than abuse and will be felt for generations to come. You truly are 51 years young.
Keri
PLEASE, can I come live at your house? Oh, PLEASE?!?!? I just want to sit and soak it all in! What joy abounds there! 🙂 BUT…I guess I would not be able to cook, as I couldn't (physically incapable!) of getting up on a chair…never mind the table. But hey…can we substitute our child? 🙂 Cuz I wouldn't come without my sweet girl! 🙂
Love you!
Nancy in CT
Oh my gosh, that is the best thing EVER! I want to keep this in mind when I have a family. So sweet! Can I come be a part of your family??? I love mine and we're all pretty fun, but can I be a part of yours too??? 😉
Linny,
You are too much fun! How are the rest of us Mommies supposed to keep up with that? I like the curtsey/bow tradition. My second son has taken to telling me, "Mommy, you cook the best food!" He also informed me last week that when Baba gets really old and dies, he's going to marry me because I cook good (his words). So precious.
I am vowing that we have more fun in our house. I think I get too uptight about stuff.
Happy, happy birthday!!! I'm so glad you were well celebrated!!!
What a fun birthday. I chuckled at you on the chair. I became supermom one day with a cape and jumped off the chair. The kids still laugh about that today. They thought it was one of the funniest things they had seen mom do. Great pictures!! Hugs and love dear friend.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday, Linn! I'm so glad you had such a wonderful day.
Abundantly blessed indeed, as we are with you as well. Love having you in my life!!!!!
sounds and looks like a GLORIOUS day!!!
Linny it was a perfect day! Gosh your house sounds like so much fun, can we all come to live with you?
I sooo need to loosen up a little…a lot!
All that pumpkin sounds so good, that's my favorite.
LOVE! the cool whip eyeballs…priceless.
OH Linny got blessed me the day I found you!!!
Happy Belated Birthday! It looks like you had a great time.
Sounded like an excellent day. Aren't we so incredibly blessed! I always say that every year gets better. Love you!
Linny, I'm so glad that you had a special birthday (in spite of the strep).
I wish I could have hand delivered your TA announcement for your gift. God's ways are not our ways . . . and His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts. So I'm thinking, for a woman who has a way of making everything fun,from a broken down RV to a dinner curtsey, I can't wait to see what God has planned that is even better than anything you could have dreamed up.
By the way, we're a fun family, too, and I love your dinner idea. Like Holly, I'd love to hear more about the fun things you come up with.
God bless,
Kathie from Georgia
Happy Birthday, sweet friend! I L.O.V.E. this post! Love your family!
Connie
Okay, I'm coming to cook dinner for your family, because I want to curtsy on your table. That is so precious.
I realize that we are making memories, and with my little kids, I am reminded that we did NOT make enough memories with the big kids.
I'm so glad you had a Blessed Beyond Beautiful Birthday!
Robbie
You are not just blessed–you are a blessing. To me and so many others who read your amazing blog and say "Bless that woman's good good heart." What a joyous birthday party. Makes me want to climb right up in the middle of my own kitchen table and just dance.
I love it! a round of applause and a curtsy for a good meal. I think I'll have to adopt that tradition when I have a family.
I'm with Sarah…you look TOO young to be 51….and Emma is welcome to stand on our chairs and bow anytime she is willing to cook! Oh, alright…the table even!
Thanks for sharing your day. And thanks for the reminder about the FUN that should be happening!
Love ya, friend!
Happy Birthday!!! What a wonderful celebration of life!! I am SO going to borrow the chair/table dance!!! LOVE it. That is right up my alley.
Blessings!
So, I did a demo for my kids last night. I told them to clap for my dinner, and I stood on the chair to curtsy…couldn't quite bring myself to stand on the table! Then my oldest said, "So, which kid does this?" I told him it was the mom. His reply with big round eyes…"WHAT?" We had a good laugh! Thanks for sharing.
Happy Birthday, Linny!!!!
Julie
What a wonderful birthday! And such a great family. I hope, hope, hope my kids love me as much when they are grown as yours love you! You are one blessed woman! I love the dinner tradition! I am tempted to try that in our house, but i just can't see myself standing on the table LOL I wish I was more fun lol! Also I didn't realize Elijah's middle name is Mueller? I'm assuming for George Muller – we are just reading about him in homeschooling – WOW! – what faith!
Happy Birthday to a lovely lady. You sure are blessed. Enjoy!
I have been reading you blog for a while, but haven't commented before. After reading about your birthday, I just had to wish you a happy birthday and introduce us. I too had a birthday this month and turned 51. We are a happy homeschoolin family of 13 children, 8 homegrown and 5 hand-picked. We just brought our 3 newest children home from Ethiopia this year, and I feel sooo blessed!!! Like you, Linny, our friends are at the "empty nest" place, and our "nest" is brimming with the greatest treasures ever, our awesome children, and that makes me such a happy momma. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your blog. It is so fun to read about another family that "looks like us."
Dear, I'm so glad you had a wonderful day! Many more are coming your way! I'll miss you this next week but when i get home, we will be neighbors again!!!
I'm so glad you shared about your unique take on parenting. I could not agree with you more!
Growing up my mom was very particular about how things were done, not making messes, not looking unkept/messy out in public, etc. My brother and I were not allowed to decorate our rooms or even hang up posters, because she had a very specific way she wanted them to be decorated.
I'm not angry with her, in fact I consider her one of my best friends, and I do know now that she does regret some of that (especially the whole business with decorating our rooms).
Because of the way I was raised I try to do the opposite with my kids. If it's not going to hurt them, and it isn't going to teach them to be out-of-control, naughty kids then I'm all about it. If my daughter has a stain on her shirt, she can go to Target with me and I'm not embarrassed. If she wants to pick out an outfit that is wildly mismatched I let her and am proud of the fact that she has the desire to be independent. The other day we let our daughter play in a huge box of packing styrofoam and she had so much fun and made a HUGE mess, but it was totally worth it!
I know my mom does not always agree with my style of parenting, nor do a lot of my friends because it does get messy sometimes and it is more work but I want my kids to have fun, to be willing to try new things, and to not feel stifled by stuffy old rules. So maybe sometime soon I will climb up on our dinner table too 🙂
~Amy