More Birthday!

...And the party continued when I checked Xanthe out of school for lunch.  Eating still creates some anxiety for Xanthe, so I gave her a cheese stick on the way to the restaurant.  She just doesn't do well waiting for food, especially if she's hungry.  We went to the place with the fastest service in town, Tiny Spicy Chicken.  OK, it's really called Mandarin Palace, but you would do well to stick to always ordering the Tiny Spicy Chicken lunch special.  Nothing else is good, but the Tiny Spicy...delish!

Xanthe had a million questions and concerns about going out to lunch.  "Who will lead the lunch line if I'm not there?  Will I still get to eat lunch at school?  Do I have to share with Ptolemy?  Can you take me out to lunch again tomorrow?  What if my class is in a different room when I get back?  How will I find my backpack?"  For a minute, I regretted checking her out, but then she managed to relax.  She read me some of the cards her friends had written to her at school.  Landon wrote, "you are nice, friendly and cute."  I think the teacher had a list of adjectives on the board.  Everyone wrote basically the same thing, but Xanthe was especially smitten with Landon's note.  Every five minutes, she sighed and said, "That was cute what Landon wrote.  Want me to read it to you again?!"  I asked her if she had a crush on Landon and she said, "I think.  I think I do."

For dinner, Scott brought home a cute little cake.  (Smith's day-old bakery shelf.  I'm telling you, we're saving a fortune!)  Xanthe had to be sure to make a wish because she said her wish didn't come true at the beach when she blew out the candles on the pizza.  Turns out, she didn't make a wish and that's why it didn't come true.  I don't know what this kid could possible want, she has been so spoiled for her birthday!  Scott and I took her to Yogo Togo after dinner.  (Another place where you can get your food right away without waiting!)  Xanthe went a little overboard with the fro-yo, but when I told her to stop, she said, "Hey, it's MY birthday!"  And here she is in this video at seven years old, talking about Landon and being teased by Daddy.  She sure is a cutie.  I look at her and marvel at what it took to get her from her birth mother's womb to a yogurt shop in Kaysville on her seventh birthday.  There was more than one miracle involved, I can tell you that.

If I could see Xanthe's birth parents, I would hug them and tell them thank you for their bravery and sacrifice.  We will never know who they are in this life, but there will be a glorious reunion someday and everything they have lost will be restored.  All the heartache and despair, shame and grief will be washed away through the atonement.  Until then, we will honor Xanthe's ancestors by providing their/our daughter with love, learning and birthday cake.  You are loved across continents and centuries, Xanthe.