35 years

So I know that it is no longer officially my birthday, but since I have not yet gone to sleep I still consider it to be so.  

Today, I am 35 years old.  This means I move up to the next age bracket on all surveys.  My older sister welcomed me to her age bracket and my husband said, “Don’t worry, you married a younger man”.  I love them both.  I was lying in my bed, and yes I realize it is 1am, thinking how incredibly blessed I am.  I was thinking that I have had such a wonderful life thus far that I had to write something down.  Since everyone is asleep and no lights are on, I figured I should do this on a the computer and not try to strain my eyes with pen and paper.

Anyone who is reading is welcome, but please bare with and forgive me if I get too sappy.

Wonderful things about my life.

1. My incredible husband.   I really do thank Heavenly Father every day for letting me marry Stephen.  He is amazing and is always thinking about what would make me happy.  He lets me take long naps on Sundays and keeps a spare chair at his desk so we can watch The Office together while he is working.  Of course this list could go on for a long time but we’ll save it for another time.  Our anniversary is less than a month away.
2. Three beautiful, intelligent, happy children, Kasmir, Antoinette, and Anna Zofya.  If you look at them you will instantly know they are brother and sisters.   Their laughs and smiles brighten everything around them, but they are each so unique inside with such distinct personalities.
3. The gospel.  There is no way I could survive in this world today without my faith and knowledge in the Plan of Salvation.  Knowing that God’s plan includes me and that I can overcome any struggle I am allowed to face is such a powerful thing.
4. The opportunity I had to share the gospel with others.  My mission is on of the most amazing times of my life.  I have not experienced anything since that I could not apply some lesson that I learned as a missionary.  That’s not to say that I haven’t grown since, but that eternal truths learned will always help to guide you.
5. My parents.  I was raised by two of the best people to every grace this earth.  My mother is the most kind and selfless person that I know.  She is an angel that I am lucky enough to call Mom.  It is not surprising that she married my dad, who is a great admirer of beauty.  Together they taught me to see beauty in everything in this world.  Not just to see, but also to search for it when it was not so obvious to everyone else.
6. My brothers and sisters.  The relationships I have with my siblings is something that I pray my children have when they grow up.   Yes, there are alot of them and each of them have amazing gifts.  I love that we can sit around talking forever without ever running out of something to say.  I love that, as adults we still gather around my mom’s piano and sing.  I love that we are so connected that no matter what we would do anything for the others.
7. My home.  This is a very old building with a lot of character.  There are probably hundreds, or thousands of things that need repairing here, but it has housed me for most of my married life.  We work on it occasionally and then abuse it some more.  I love that it has a huge yard for my children to play in and if I get too bored I can play knocking games with Megan through our kitchen walls.
8. My friends.  Stephen and I were talking about some of our friends from high school and beyond while at dinner tonight.  I am so happy we had great friends during those vital years.  I’m sure it is my friends who helped me remember who I am and kept me on the right path.  Not to mention, we had a lot of fun.
9. My friends now.  Though I am still friends with those mentioned above, I rarely see them.   I wish I saw them more, but life is crazy and we are all busy with our families and what that brings along with it.  I am so grateful for my friends now.  I love that I can get lost in a conversation about something other than kitties, polly pockets, and video games.
10. Family vacations.  I went on some amazing vacations when I was a kid.  Sometimes it was skiing, or sailing, other times camping or visiting relatives.  I had so much fun just being with my family on an adventure.  Now my husband and I get to take our kids on vacations.  I love to see them bond together when they have no one else to play with and discover that are having just as much, if not more, fun.
11. My camera.  I have a few cameras and each one is indespensible to me.  These bring me my first creative outlet.  It’s like therapy for me to have a camera in my hand.  More than that, it feels more like an extension of me.  I love freezing moments to look at later.  Memories are fun and being able to hold them in your hand and show someone else is even more fun.
12. Water.  I love water!  Maybe it’s the desert rat in me, but there is almost nothing better.  (I’m going to slow down with the descriptions now because it’s getting late.)
13. Dancing.  I honestly can’t hold still if I hear music.  Sometimes of course that music is just in my head and I get some very interesting looks.
14. Reading.  Getting lost in a book….
15. All my nieces and nephews.  It’s fun to watch little extensions of my siblings running around.  I love you all.
16. Ocotillo.  The old Ocotillo, where we grew up.  We still have a tiny patch and I hope we can preserve what there is, but I love the old place where we could ride our bikes down long stretches of dirt road, hayrides down shady lane, catching tadpoles in the ditch, making forts in the torn tree and whatever else tree fell after a storm, tons of horses, playing in the barn.  Think now, but on a bigger scale and about 10 degrees cooler from all the crops around.
17. Ocotillo now, my kids version.  It’s still great!
18. Bing Soo.  Yummy!
19. my bed.  Ok so I’m tired now.

Well I was going to keep going but my head feels like it will roll off if I do.