The big 3-0!

I've been thirty for almost a whole entire day now, & I must say that so far, I'm loving every moment of it !

It has been an absolutely wonderful day & I have been spoiled rotten {which is exactly how birthdays are supposed to be, right?}!

I should have known it was going to be an awesome day when I woke up this morning to Jett stirring through the monitor & rolled over to see that it was TEN O' CLOCK!  What one year old sleeps in until 10:00???  Apparently, mine does!  I swear, I'm getting that little boy a pony for his next birthday!  He is the BEST baby & knows the way to his momma's heart--SLEEP! I haven't slept in that late since, well...I can't even remember when!  I must say, it was NIIIIIIIICE!  {Oh...I'm totally kidding about the pony part.}

Jared took the day off to celebrate with me, & once we all rolled out of bed, he & Jett had me follow a trail of balloons to my big birthday surprise!

This is what I found at the end of the trail:

A NEW CRAFT ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jared has been working so hard over the past month on this birthday gift for me!  He had new lighting installed, built floor to ceiling custom shelves, & purchased the perfect pieces of furniture for this adorable little nook of a room!  I cannot think of a better gift for my 30th!  It's a place that is all my own, where I can let my creative juices flow, & put my own little touches all over the place!  I CANNOT WAIT to get in there & let the creating begin!!!

Jared even set up a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!  {Is he not the sweetest?!}

And the fun didn't stop there...

There were more fun gifts to open! {with Jett's help, of course}

A yummy lunch & birthday dessert at the Cheesecake Factory!

{I think someone enjoyed the sweets even more than I did!}

A shopping spree--courtesy of my momma!

A relaxing spa pedicure!

Cupcakes from my favorite little bakery in town--Baby Cakes!

And the very best part of my day...

snuggling a cozy jammied baby who smelled absolutely delicious after his bath!

It was a birthday that was nothing short of beautiful & I will remember it forever & ever.  I was pampered, & treated, & spoiled, & loved by so many people in my life today.  I am one blessed girl & there aren't words to adequately express just how full my cup is at this moment!

Thank you to all of you who left me notes, sent cards, & wrote messages on my facebook!  You know how to make a girl feel loved, that's for sure!

Thank you to my absolutely amazing hubby!  You make me feel like a fairytale princess so very often, but today you made me feel like a queen!  Thank you for every little detail, every bit of thoughtfulness, every bit of hard work you put into making this day a day I would remember forever & ever!  I love you so very much!

Because of my friends & family & the great big bunch of love & support I have in my life, turning the big 3-0 has been one of the best days I've ever had!

This weekend holds even more fun for us!  Jared & I will be celebrating seven years of marriage & we've got some neat things planned!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!






 

goodbye twenties...

Tonight I am closing the books on my twenties.  I am skimming through the worn & tattered pages that have already been written & turned & read a million times over.  I am reflecting.  I am remembering.  I am cherishing.  I am sifting through each & every year; what it meant, what it brought.  Some of the years I don't want to turn the page on.  I want to sit quietly & get lost forever right there in their moments--like year 28-- when the universe shifted & I became a momma.  How my heart was awakened to a love that rocked me to the core & how I have been forever changed because of it.  Or year 23, when I anxiously walked down that aisle to meet my handsome groom at the end of it, about to embark on a journey of building the life we had been dreaming of.  These are the years I could re-live over & over again.  The happiest of happy.

Then there are years that I can barely stand the thought of facing again.  Hard years.  Years that brought me to my knees.  Ones carrying deep heartache, tears, & pain.  It's those years that I want to turn the pages on quickly, pretending they're not there.  But instead I keep turning, keep reflecting.  I remind myself that even though they aren't the pretty years, the ones I want to showcase to the world, they are still my years.  The intricate pages that make up the life I've had thus far.  They are the pieces of MY life.  They are years that have molded me, grown me, & impacted me in such a way that I am who I am because of them.  There is beauty to be found in those years as well.

Tonight I say goodbye to my twenties.  I say thank you for the fun, for the energy, for the youthfulness that those years brought with them.  I gaze at the many life changing events that have shaped & blessed my life, & I can't help but smile through some grateful tears.

As I close up the book on my twenties, & nestle it snugly upon the shelf, giving it one last glance &  farewell smile... I carefully slide out a different one...

This book is brand spankin' new.  It has never been opened before, never even been touched.  It's pages are crisp & clean, & don't turn as loosely as the book I held in my hands just moments ago.  As I cautiously pick it up & thumb through it's pure white pages, the scent of fresh paper breezes up into my face.  These pages are blank.  They haven't been written on yet.  These pages need an author to come & write their story upon them.  They are waiting eagerly for life to come & fill them up.  These pages await the joys & triumphs; even fears & sorrows that will be scribbled across them.

These pages are mine.  They belong to me, & me alone.  They are the years I believe whole heartedly will be the best years of my life.  The ones I will reflect on one day & yearn to have back.  The years that I become more settled, more grounded, more "me".  The years that I will stand in who I am, & make no apologies to this world that tells me it looks strange & different.  The years that I will sink into my own skin & get all comfy cozy in it.  I hope during these years to let some "stuff" go, to give forgiveness more freely. I hope to grow, to stretch, to become stronger & wiser during these years that lay before me.  There are dreams & goals & hopes & wishes that I have for the years that are awaiting me, & I anticipate that they will blow all of my expectations straight outta the water!  Will there be some heartache?  No doubt.  There will be years I want to grasp & hold onto forever, & ones that I wouldn't mind if the door hit on the way out.  That's just the way life goes.  But even in those tough years, there will still be beauty to be found between the lines.

I'm going to embrace these years.  I'm going to savor these years.  I'm going to live these years.

I say all of that to say...

why, hello thirties.  It is so nice to finally meet you.

Easter Highlights

You know, Easter 2011 just may very well go down in the history books as the best Easter I've ever had!  It was an absolutely perfect weekend for so many reasons, & here are a few of the highlights to prove it!

My very first time hiding Easter eggs as a "Momma"!

Coloring eggs.  This ended up being a fiasco {as you can imagine it would be with a one year old}.  First, Jett tried eating the egg with the shell on.  Then he dumped egg dye all over the table.  And finally, he slam dunked an egg into a coffee cup of dye resulting in splatters of blue flicking everywhere, & an egg sporting a rather crackled look.  It's so funny, while the egg dyeing whirlwind was happening around me, instead of frantically cleaning up the mess & removing Jett from the chaos, all I could do was stand there snapping pics & cracking up laughing!  I was drinking in every less- than- perfect moment.  Because whether they were perfect moments or not, they were ours, & they were meant to be savored.

My boy going on Easter egg hunts!  He had two egg hunts {one with my parents, & one with Jared's}.

My pretty pastel Easter cake!

Getting all dressed up for church on Easter Sunday!  In all the years past, Jared & I have gone to church with my family in my home town.  But now that we have a family of our own, we are finding the importance of spending Easter Sunday at our own church.  It was an absolutely beautiful service & it was amazing being surrounded by people we love so much.  Our church is not simply a church.  It is a family.  It is a place that feels like home.  And it was wonderful to spend Easter Sunday there!

How incredibly handsome my little Jett Jett looked! He is the sweetest little thing I've ever laid eyes!

The Easter baskets!  Jett received quite the loot from the Easter Bunny!  Between Jared & I, grandparents, & aunts & uncles, he ended up with a grand total of four Easter baskets!  Can we say S-P-O-I-L-E-D?!  It really does warm my heart to know how loved & adored my little boy is!

The Easter Bunny remembered me & J too!

There was a bunch of fun!

{Jared learning from his dad how to juggle Easter eggs!  These two are a mess!}

{Jett got the biggest kick out of DaddyBoy jumping over him!  He laughed from the belly up!  It was the cutest thing!}

And a whole lotta love!

And when you add each & every one of these highlights together, it's what a perfect Easter is made of!

Happy Easter!

Matthew 28:6a

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.

HE IS RISEN!

HAPPY EASTER!

Good Friday

Matthew 26: 39--
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.


Thank you Lord Jesus for your ultimate sacrifice. Thank you for seeking the will of God for your life & laying that of your own will aside.  Thank you for the glorious example you have given to me in that in order to seek the will of God for my life,  I must fall upon my face to my Father in heaven.  I must let my desires, my wants, my wishes, my dreams--my WILL-- fall away & accept HIS will for my life.  Thank you Lord, for hanging on that cross, so that my sinful self could be set free.  Thank you for your forgiveness to me.

It's a dreary, gloomy day outside today, & I can't help but find it quite fitting.  I don't think it is a coincidence that the Lord is using it as a reminder to me of what happened on this day so many, many years ago.  Today I reflect on what Jesus Christ did for me & though my heart is heavy, it is equally as full.

With Easter approaching in just a couple of days, we are really getting all geared up for it here around here!  We are anticipating a beautiful weekend full of Easter traditions--spending time surrounded by family, dyeing Easter eggs, baking & cooking delicious Easter goodies,  Easter egg hunts out in the yard, & celebrating the resurrection of our Lord & Savior!

Hope you have some beautiful celebrations in store as well!

A JINGLE & A CLANG

A bright sunny day.  Just minding our own business.  Hanging out on the driveway enjoying a little family time.  Zooming push toys.  Blowing bubbles.  Coloring with sidewalk chalk.  Climbing the front steps.  You know, the usual.

And then it happens.  Out of nowhere...

It's faint at first, barely there.  We perk up a little, crank our necks to try & get a better listen.  It's the slightest little noise way off in the distance--a jingle.

Is it?  Could it be?  No, surely not.  It's not even summertime yet.

As that faint little melody crawls closer & closer, our eyes widen & a jolt of excitement runs up our spines!  We recognize exactly what that little jingle is without ever laying eyes on where it's coming from!   Calliope style music blasting from loudspeakers, paired with the brash clanging of a bell can mean one thing & one thing only...


ICE CREAM TRUCK!!!!

As the ice cream truck inched it's way down our street, I nearly broke my neck racing inside the house to grab my camera!  As I dashed off like a crazy person, I did manage to holler over my shoulder for Jared to grab some cash!  This would mark Jett's very first experience with a frozen sugary treat from the ice cream truck & I'll be darned if I was gonna let it slip by without proper documentation {aka: a million photos}!

The trucked stopped right in front of our house.  That's no surprise considering we were the only nuts running towards it, flailing our arms, waving, jumping up & down, & relentlessly snapping pictures {okay, it wasn't that bad. But looking back, I am a tad embarrassed}.  Let's just say I'm pretty sure the ice cream man caught the drift that we wanted to buy some ice cream.

Jett's very first ice cream truck treat-- a syrupy sweet cherry bomb pop!

At first he wasn't too sure what to think of his sweet treat.  He tasted it with hesitation, & his face puckered when the cold touched his tongue.

But it sure didn't take long before he realized that frozen treats aren't so bad after all!  Before we knew it, he was a sticky faced mess in a state of sticky sugary bliss, & there was no separating him from his new found love!

And this is what he looked like when mean ol' momma had to take the bomb pop away because it had dropped to the ground & was covered in rocks & dirt.  Poor pitiful thing.

Don't worry, little Jett.  There are many more days ahead that we will be minding our own business when suddenly we hear that jingle & clang off in the distance.  Where we will chase after the ice cream truck & cool down from a hot summer's day with a yummy frozen treat.  Where we will sit on the front steps outside our home, dripping cherry bomb pops & orange sherbet push pops until we are satisfyingly sticky messes!

I love days like this that can take me right back to my own youthful summers.  I love how experiencing it as a momma & seeing these moments through my little boy's eyes means even more than it did when I was just knee high to a grasshopper.  I love how a simple afternoon out on the front steps of our house can be transformed into memories of yesteryear & new memories in the making.  I love how life with this little boy comes to mean more with every single passing day & the best times we have aren't the ones that are elaborately planned out, but are the simple ones where we are just living life together.  Just another small reminder to make the most of the little moments.

Little moments like an ice cream truck putting down our street with just a JINGLE & a CLANG.

An "Egg"cellent Day!

On Saturday morning, Jett & I loaded up bright & early, picked up our friends Stacy & Jude, & headed off to the Easter Egg Extravaganza that was held at a local park in our town!

Even though it was absolutely freezing outside & we nearly froze our tooshies off, that didn't stand in the way of two mommas on a mission to make some memories for their little boys!

 We went on a Choo Choo Train Ride!

The boys had their faces painted!

The Easter Bunny made an appearance!

And of course... there was an Easter Egg Hunt!

I absolutely LOVE these next two photos of the boys!  They were waiting so patiently for the Egg Hunt to begin!  Such little sweeties!

LET THE EASTER EGG HUNTING BEGIN!!!

As we strolled out of the park, the boys happy as clams with lollipops plopped in their mouths, Jude exclaiming how much fun he had, & Stacy & I chattering about what a truly great time it had been, my heart was simply overflowing.  There is something that happens inside a momma's heart when she knows she's done good.  When all of the hustling & bustling to get out of the house, the packing & loading down of two small kids & a stroller, the braving of the freezing cold temperatures--when all of that pays off.  It's that moment when you look into the faces of two little blue eyed boys, their eyes full of excitement & wonder & you know as a mom, you did good.  And I must say... we did darn good!

To finish our day off, we went out for some lunch.  Stace & I exchanged some more mommy wars as our little guys played under a nearby booth!  

  

The day left me feeling overly blessed.  Blessed to have such great pals!  Blessed to have a sweet little boy!  And blessed to be a momma!  

It was an "Egg"cellent day I won't soon forget!