28 Down

28 years have flown by - I mean FLOWN by! I can't believe I'm 28, an adult, a wife, a mother! It's crazy sometimes to realize how quickly the time is passing and to then realize it is only going to continue to fly by. My birthday this year was amazing thanks to everyone who helped my celebrate. I literally celebrated all weekend long. Friday I went to lunch and a movie with Beth & Amy and had a wonderful time laughing my butt off with them. Saturday we celebrated with dinner at Aaron's parents' place which was delicious! Sunday we ate Chili's with my family and then had some wonderful cherry chip cupcakes for the special occasion at mom and dad's. Monday was actually my birthday and I celebrated with my 2 favs! Aaron took the day off and we went to Dauset Trails for the afternoon and then celebrated with dinner at O'Charley's that night. We also visited our friends Brandon & Sarah who welcomed their baby girl Natalie on Monday. Not too shabby if I say so myself. Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes via phone calls, cards, and facebook messages. You all made my day very special!

Just celebrating!

Priviledged

The other night we went out to dinner with some wonderful friends. Our friends are fantastic, in fact this post is about our friends - all of them, but through our discussions at dinner my mind wondered. It is apparent that some of our friends are a little better off than we are. Don't get me wrong, I know there are lots of people in the world and probably even down the street that are worse off than us, but I just started thinking. What defines a life as privileged? Is it what we do or have? I've never been skiing, ridden a jet ski, owned a new couch, bought expensive clothes, we don't have cable or new cars or even grass growing in our front yard. When Levi was born I didn't buy him new nursery furniture - not because I didn't want to, but I simply couldn't afford it. I guess you could say I was having a little pity party about all the things I didn't have and wasn't able to do. Don't we all go through moments like those? Then it dawned on me...I am privileged. My privileged life may be different than others, but it's a privileged and blessed life nonetheless. I had the best childhood of anyone I know. I lived near my grandparents and cousins and was able to make lasting friendships with them because of it. We spent many summers playing outside, digging in the dirt, going to Jenny's "school", jumping on trampolines, watching Disney movies, swinging in the tire swing, kicking our jellies off and onto the roof of our trailer, watching my dad build our house, singing The Little Mermaid a million times (come on girls join with me...Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?...), celebrating holidays together, and going through difficult times together such as job losses, miscarriages, and deaths. Being able to count on these people makes my life amazing and completely blessed. The moments I've shared with family and friends has made me who I am today. I don't think I would trade these moments for any amount of money or opportunity. I've been able to travel (a little), go to college, start a family, pay my bills, worship freely, stay at home with my growing boy, and put dinner on the table every night. What is more privileged than that? So in honor of all those people who helped me make these memories and supported me along the way - I say thank you! I'm glad you're part of my life. I hope you all feel as blessed as I do.

For Myself

This post is all about me...not to be obnoxious or anything, but since the beginning of the year I've started doing a few things for myself and this little post is just to document that. Feel free to continue to read or to browse my family/friend list for some more interesting posts. I promise not to get my feelings hurt. In January I started attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). I just want you all to know that it has been an amazing experience. As all you mamas know doing anything unrelated to your kids is almost impossible while they are awake, and while he would nap I would find myself doing dishes, laundry, preparing dinner, or taking a moment to myself in front of the t.v.. My Bible study time had become hit and miss to say the least. Through BSF I have found the Bible again. Each week we are giving a reading for each day and questions to reflect on. We meet once a week in discussion groups to discuss our questions and then attend a lecture on the reading. Not only has BSF held me accountable to study the Word, but it has encouraged me to study the Bible beyond just the surface. I am learning new things every week and trying to apply what I'm learning to my every day life. The other great thing about BSF is that they have childcare - for free! This isn't just any childcare, but they teach the children the same things I am studying, but on their own level. They teach the kids to listen and read the Word and to have a quiet time in prayer. Levi loves going and I'm so excited to see all he will be learning as he gets older. If you want to know more about BSF or where there are classes near you check out their website on the link above. The other thing I've started since the new year is working out. In today's culture you can't be oblivious to how important exercise is for your health, so I knew I had to make it more of a priority. After Levi was born I started walking on our street, but if it rained or was too cold the workout didn't happen. This past summer I re-injured my knee by spraining my ACL & MCL. I knew I had to strengthen my knee so exercise it was. Last month we joined the YMCA and I've been so happy with our choice. I thought this was going to be something I was going to have to force myself do, but I was wrong. I love going to the gym and working out. I've discovered that I can do more and push myself further than I thought. It has been great, and knowing that I'm going something good for myself make it even better. That's it for now, but here's to lots of new things to come! My blog won't let me do paragraphs today. Sorry for the one huge gigantic posting.

Happy Birthday Moo!

Yesterday my grandmother celebrated her 81st birthday! This picture is from her 80th birthday celebration last year. Isn't she awesome!!

Moo, we hope you had a wonderful birthday and continue to celebrate all month long.