Today is the Big 40 For my oldest son Brad.  Boy does time fly.  It was just yesterday when I could clearly see that I had a son.  November 30, 1968 was a big day for me too.. having a son.  I came from a family of 6 girls… so the thought of trucks, baseball, snakes and bugs was a new world I was not familiar with.  All I can say… after 40 years is… it’s been a pleasure and a delight to have James Bradley Griffiths in my life.

He was the best child…and so bright.

Last night we celebrated.  Family… friends and good food.  This is my second son, Wade… who came 11 months later.  For 22 days a year… Brad and Wade are the same age.

The lighting of 40 candles takes a little teamwork.  Help is needed to get all the candles lit before the first ones burn out.

There we are.  This is Brad’s beautiful wife, Martha… and a great mom to 4 young kids.  All candles lit and ready to go. Red Velvet cake… Yum!

With this many candles… it took more than one “huff and a puff”… but he got them all.

This DVD surprise was a gift from Brad’s wife, Martha.   I contributed photos of Brad as a baby, youth and young man…Martha gathered photos of their marriage and kids… and Katie, my daughter, helped Martha put things together…. and Waaa Laaa… a photo album on disk.

40th birthday gifts are always fun.  His brother gave him a Lava Lamp…reminiscences of the 70’s.  And I dug around in the my memory box and found this old 1968 Arizona license plate… from the state where he was born.  I also found three audio tapes that would be important to him.  The first… was his baby blessing… given by his father.  The second was the 1970 Griffiths Christmas Party… where Brad… at the age of 2 recited “The Night Before Christmas”… with a bit of help from Mom.  The third tape was Brad from his LDS mission in Sao Paulo Brazil.  I had them put on disk for his long term pleasure.

I’m sure Brad will agree… that the best gifts he has are his wife and 4 children.  Martha and Brad married late, so their family is young…ranging from 6 years old to 4 months.  This is Abram… celebrating in his mom’s shoes.

Brad, what more could I ask for… than to have you in my life for the last 40 years.  Happy Birth Day to me too.

Happy Birthday Brad.

Thanks for letting me celebrate my joy with you.

Till Later,

Kathy Griffiths
Insightful Nana

P.S.  Brad… if you think time has flown by… the next 20 years will be here yesterday.
P.P.S. Hey look… here is Brad’s DVD photo album from his party. Take a look… it’s fun!