Flirty Thirty Birthday!

Today was my birthday. Technically it still is, but most of the day is over. It was beautiful. I want to share all the wonderful things that I witnessed today on my birthday.

But first, let me tell you how much I've loathed this day coming. For weeks I would moan when I so much as glanced at the calender. Then when it came time for me to remove the Febuary page and mark in all the appointments in March I grimaced everytime I came across my birthday. I never did mark my birthday on the calander. There's a reason for all of this groaning and pouting. I've turned 30. Ok, so today hasn't been bad. But the days leading up to it just about drove me crazy. I went through all the thoughts of "ok, I'm 30. What have I done with my life?" I thank God I have such a wonderful, tell-it-like-it-is husband. First he told me to stop whining and pouting. It wasn't getting me anywhere. {that didn't exactly make me feel better} But then he proceeded to tell me the things I have accomplished. I'm a better cook. I can veggies and such. I can bake bread. Plus I make a mean eggplant parmesean. (Mmmm...)

He also informed me that he knows that I do all the laundry in the house and he really appreciates it. We joked that at one point I wasn't always the best at doing laundry. I didn't even seperate the colors. One time, when had been dating for about a year, I shrunk one of his favorite sweaters. It wasn't one of my proudest moments. But it's laughable now.

I can also crochet. I'm still building on that skill. But I love to do it when I'm feeling tense. Something about sitting in a chair {or bed} crocheting something makes all my worries go away.

I'm also a budding photographer. I'm still unconfident and shy about taking other peoples pictures. But I'm working at it.

So yesterday, Matt affirmed me that there are a lot of things that I have accomplished. He also said I just need to quit beating myself up. *sigh* He's right. It's just so easy to compare myself to other people. But I've come to realize, that I'm me. That's all who I'll ever be. And I'm ok with that.

Birthday:
We woke up to our toddler, David (2) climbing on top of us. {as is his normal routine} Saying "Hi!" and giving us both big cheesy smiles. It's a pretty good way to wake up if you ask me. Next Matthew (10) came in and gave me a hug and a kiss and told me Happy Birthday. After that it was time for him to go to school so we bid him farewell and sent him on his way.

It is well known in my family that I do not move very fast in the morning. I'm more categorized as being a night owl. So anyways, I laid in bed for a little bit, revelling in the fact that Matt was home for the morning. (he only gets Thursday mornings off) Matt popped out of bed and took David with him. I didn't really know what he was up to, all I knew was that I had the whole bed to myself. Does that sound selfish? Hmmm... Either way, it was lovely to just lay there in the quiet and sleep a little longer. A while later he comes in with a stack of pancakes and I get breakfast in bed. {insert ooey gooey love about my husband}

He left shortly after that to go take care of a job he is helping a friend with. So I just lounged in my bed until it was time to start getting ready.

I am the Activity Days Leader (8-11 yr. old girls) and Matthew is in Cub Scouts. They both meet at the same time. So Matt came rushing back to pick us up. We drove into town, dropped off the necessary people and I headed to the church. I was first greated by Auburn. She is turning 12 tomorrow which means she is moving on from Acitivity Days to Young Womens. She is a very sweet girl and she brought me a present! It was so adorable. A necklacke with the letter A and sparkly stud earrings, fuzzy socks and CHOCOLATE!!!

I was next greated by Lucy (age 8) she presented me with a sweet card and a bottle filled with sand. I was a bit confused at first but then she explained to me that it's called a "find it". Basically you have to turn the bottle all around and find all the things she has hidden in there. What a cute idea!

So after we had our little gift exchange I wanted to teach the girls how to play Yahtzee. It's by far one of my favorite games. I fully expected to not finish the game, I just wanted to make sure they understood the rules at the end. About 30 minutes before it's time to go we hear the door open and the girls start squeeling. All I can hear is "BALLOONS!! BALLOONS!! AND CAKE!!

My dear friend Amber Galbraith had brought roses, HUGE balloons, and a delicious chocolate turtle ice cream cake. Sooo good! I ran over and gave her a hug, That was the sweetest thing anyones ever done for me. The cake was gone lickity split and we all left soon after that.



Back at home:
When we got home Veronica (Matt's Mom) Megan, Talina, Alexis (Matt's sisters) were waiting for us. I sat down and let the cooking begin. Matt started grilling the meat. Megan made a vanilla cake from scratch and put it together and iced it. Talina and Alexis got the drinks ready. It was a family effort. I felt very loved.

As for my present, Matt got me the most amazing thing that he knew I would love. It's a one hour Swedish massage! I am constantly having back problems, so I will be making my appointment post haste!!

So after all that moping and pouting this day has been wonderful. I know that many more wonderful days will be coming. 30 isn't so bad. I feel more confident in myself at this point. I'm not just a 20-something, I'm now a 30 year old woman!! I've finally come to terms with that. Is it a bit silly or crazy? Maybe. But this is the path that I had to take to come to terms with my age.