Today we celebrated Hannah's 30th birthday with a surprise luncheon! Oh, what fun it was to plan a special time to honor her for all the hard work she consistently does around the house! And...I think we pulled it off! She was surprised!
Sarah and I started early this morning getting the house and meal prepared for our guests. Hannah had been given specific instructions not to come downstairs for breakfast because Sarah wanted to get all the decorations and streamers up and the table settings in place for the eight guests that would be arriving.
To keep Hannah upstairs, we told her that we would bring breakfast up to her...pumpkin waffles! A great leftover to pull out of the freezer for a special birthday when time was tight with other cooking!
Sarah's theme was blue and white, snowmen, and snowflakes. Perfect for a January birthday! Here are a few photos of the table settings using the blue snowman plates, blue and white snowflakes hanging from the chandelier, snowflake place tags and snowflake napkin rings, and a fabric birthday banner: 
Sarah made the birthday banner from some old fabric and by tracing letters from the computer and attached it to the pie safe: 
Here are the decorations in the nook area adjacent to the kitchen. Sarah made the fleece snowman table runner, and the January plaque was made by a friend as a Christmas gift this year to our family. I'm looking forward to using all the different holiday plaques that she included. Thank you, Chris! 
Sarah's menu for the luncheon was: Panera Bread's Broccoli-Cheese Soup served in an Italian bread bowl, fruit, and parfaits (yogurt/fruit/granola) for dessert.
Has anyone tried making bread bowls and what's your secret? Sarah lamented that hers turned out looking more like bread plates rather than bowls: 
The bread in the center is pulled out to form a cavity, brushed with oil, and popped back into the oven to firm up a bit. All went well with that part of the recipe, but the "bowls" just didn't seem large enough to hold much soup.
While Sarah was busy in the kitchen, I was quietly greeting the girls who had tiptoed in the back door to surprise Hannah. Once everything was in place and all the guests had arrived, Sarah called Hannah down for lunch.
Here's Hannah just arriving downstairs and seeing all the pairs of eyes in the living room looking at her and hearing shouts of "Surprise!" and Happy Birthday being sung to her. She couldn't believe everyone was there because she hadn't heard a thing! Yes! Our plan worked! 
Everyone loved surprising her, and she went around hugging each guest and thanking them for coming: 
And more hugs: 
As the girls were going through the buffet filling their bread bowls with soup, Sarah was busy getting out real bowls so everyone could get a decent serving. In this photo you can also see the parfaits sitting on the counter: 
Sitting around the table on one side: 
And sitting around the table on the other side:
Here's a final photo below of the group of girls who came for Hannah's birthday. Thank you everyone for making Hannah feel special today! 
While the girls were having fun at our house, I was just down the road having lunch and fellowship with a couple of the other moms who had daughters attending. So I think all of us enjoyed a special day out!
Once everyone left for home, Sarah and I started making the main meal for Hannah's birthday dinner. But who wanted to think about more food??
Hannah's birthday selections this year: Philly Cheese Steak Pizza with homemade Naan, Cumin Lime Chickpeas, and Chocolate Magic Custard Cake. Everything turned out delicious, and the day was a success!
Blowing out the candles on the big 3-0 cake: 
Happy Birthday, Hannah! We love watching how the Lord is making you daily more like Himself!
~Deb
Happy Birthday Hannah! What a special day you had. Hope this next year is one filled with many blessings for you.
Victoria
Posted by: victoria | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 01:38 AM
Happy birthday Hannah! You look lovely and happy at your party.
Posted by: Rose | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 05:06 AM
Happy belated Birthday to Hannah!
I love all the decorations, and the menu sounds delicious. What a labor of love for a sweet sister and daughter. So sweet. Thank you for including the links for the recipes. I took a look at the recipe for the soup and want to try it. We love a great broccoli cheddar soup.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Posted by: Toni | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 06:33 AM
Happy birthday, Hannah! Looks like you had a wonderful day!
Posted by: Tammy | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 07:58 AM
Lovely celebration!!! Happy, happy to your Hannah!
D xo
Posted by: Dawn | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 08:03 AM
Awww, what a wonderful surprise! It looks like you guys pulled it off beautifully. Happy Birthday Hannah!!! Your expression looks happy and surprised. :) May the Lord bless you ABUNDANTLY this coming year as you continue growing in the grace of our Lord! Big hugs to you!! Love, Mrs. "O" Sarah , what a sweetie you are to organize such a sweet expression of love! NICE job!!!
Posted by: Chris | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 08:06 AM
Happy Birthday Hannah! You look beautiful as do all the young ladies that attended your celebration! Blessings in the coming year!
Posted by: Diane | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 10:12 AM
Happy, happy birthday Hannah! It looks like your day was lovely! We pray that you have a wonderful year to come!
Warmly,
The Hammond Clan
Posted by: The Hammond Clan | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 10:49 AM
Glad you were surprised !! Looks like it was a nice time had by all.
Posted by: Tammy C | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 11:30 AM
Awww, I'm so glad the surprise was pulled off! It was so fun to see the expression on her face! Sarah, you did a beautiful job on everything. Thanks so much for including us. It was a real blessing to take part in celebrating Hannah's Birthday. Many blessings, Hannah, for the year ahead!
Posted by: Anna | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 12:04 PM
Happy Birthday, Hannah! Everything looks so pretty, and the menu (for both meals) sounds delicious. God bless you, Hannah, as you continue to serve Him there with your family!
Posted by: Susan | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 12:40 PM
Happy Birthday, Ducky!!
Posted by: Jonathan Girotti | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 05:17 PM
Happy Birthday Hannah! Wishing you a year full of God's richest blessings! You are such a warm and lovely family. I wish I was your neighbor! :)
Sharon B.
Posted by: Sharon Baksa | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 05:39 PM
Thank you for all the warm wishes, everyone! It was a very memorable day. Everyone did so much work to make it special for me. :) I am blessed.
Posted by: Hannah | Friday, January 10, 2014 at 07:22 PM
Happy Birthday, to a sweet and pretty young lady. You are beautiful inside and out! May God give you many more wonderful years to serve Him. Great job on a job well done, Sarah and Deb!
Posted by: Carolyn | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:02 PM
Happy belated birthday, Hannah! It looks like your day was perfect. I can't think of a better way to spend your birthday than being with good friends and family. I love the snowmen decorations! Many blessings to you as you turn 30.
Posted by: Bobbi | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:57 PM
Belated Happy Birthday Hannah. Hope your birthday was great.You are so beautiful and has a family who loves you very much.(me included).Tell all hello foe me.
Brenda
Posted by: Brenda Perdue | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 06:22 PM
Belated Happy Birthday, Hannah.
Looks like a wonderful day.
Posted by: Nic | Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 03:10 AM
Just got on to see your birthday pics, Hannah! Looks like you had a wonderful day!!
Love, Courtney
Posted by: A Facebook User | Friday, January 31, 2014 at 08:04 PM
I always enjoy looking at the pictures of your dinners and celebrations. Looks like Hannah had a very nice day. Here's a link to a recipe for bread bowls that I tried a while back. The King Arthur site might have other recipes and tips as well.
http://beckasblog.ivman.com/?s=bread+bowl
Posted by: Becka | Saturday, February 01, 2014 at 01:17 PM