Life and Love: A birthday Post

I sit here pondering this birthday of mine.

Thankful for the opportunity of life on this earth (something not every little life is privileged to). Everyday filled with blessings of one kind or another. Everyday my heart beats & my lungs fill with air is another opportunity to share love. To laugh. To smile. I might even be lucky enough to bring someone to tears... hopefully of joy :) And then sometimes, actually pretty often  that I am humbled by the gift of those blessings lavished over me.

I love birthdays.

Why do I love birthdays? Why do I find them so wonderful?

Because, it is a special day that can be utilized to bless the socks off of all those amazing people we know. A specific day  to show them our appreciation for this time they are spending on this earth. It is a reminder of where each of us has come from and all the potential for things to come. A reminder of the miracle of our creation. I was SO loved my God that he chose to place me here & now for such a time as this. And not only that but he placed me with two young (barely) adults that saw value in  me before I had anything to give them. The loved me enough to bring me into this world & sacrifice so much for my little life. The loved me before I could love them back. And they have continued to love me more all the time.

Life is good. And I am thankful for each day and moment I am given.

Even on days (such as today) when the sun is hidden by clouds & my kids are losing their minds & I'm functioning with far too many ridiculous emotions. Even when I wake up & realize I left all the meat out overnight that I had just bought at the grocery. And I lock my keys in my van at wal-mart. Even then- Life Is Good. God is good. And I know that. But then Jesus sends me yet another reminder that he is the giver of all good gifts and send me a little love note by way of my sweet friend. Poor girl had no idea what she was walking into but on this day of my birth was exactly what this Mama needed. $10 and free babysitting was all it took to send me on my way leaving her with hungry, screaming kids and the reassurance to take my time.

So yes, It is well with my soul. And most of my problems are "first world" problems anyway. But  He cares for even these and I am so blessed to live such a full and wonderful life. And it's my birthday & we're all still breathing (at least I assume you are since you are reading this).

Celebrate LIFE. Show some love to someone special today because it's my birthday and you are breathing <3

YAY! Happy Birthday to me and Happy Labor day to my wonderful Mom & Dad!

May Mission

So I had all these hopes of being a better blogger this spring... So yeah, about that...

Honestly, I have been so busy & just haven't made time for this little special part of my life. For those of you that don't already know- my family will be making a 600+ miles move to Kentucky this summer. We will spend at least the next year there spending time with our family. My husband is being deployed with the Army this fall & we truly feel in our hearts that moving to Kentucky & near most of our family is what God is directing us to do. We can't wait!!!

On top of making plans to move & taking a week to go visit land of the blue/home of the horses, our kids have been constantly sick with some kind of viral bug. I thought/hoped we were finally past it but unfortunately, Malakai seems to be taking another ride with it. Can we say, ANNOYING! Oh well.. just means a few extra snuggles & a whiney, tired 4 year old.

And to really ice this cake, I am in the midst of starting a business as an Independent Designer with Origami Owl and having a blast with it! If you've never heard of Origami Owl before, be sure to click the link and check it out! Beautiful lockets, charms & chains that are designed to allow you to tell your story in a wonderfully unique way.

All these things are great but they are just a side note for this blog post....

May has to be one of my 2 favorite months of the year (October is the other). Everything is really starting to come back to life. The sun is warm and the grass is green. It is filled with park days and open windows. Daylight comes early and evenings are beginning to last a little longer. All of this would be reason enough to love this month but what really, truly sets this month apart from all the rest is that I was born in it. Yes, sweet people, this is my birth month. And this years happens to begin the last year I will spend in my 20's. Good grief that is hard to believe. I can remember (literally) dreaming about the day I would get my driver's license. And I remember looking forward to the day I would finally leave my "teenage" years behind me. 

As I have considered things I would like to do for my birthday, I realized just how blessed I am. I am surrounded by amazing, loving people. I have a beautiful family and our needs are always provided for. And although it would be all too easy for me to come up with a list of things to do for me, it has been laid on my heart how much more of a blessing it would to bless some unsuspecting strangers or not strangers but at the very least, people. Specifically 29 people (or at least 29 different acts of love) on my birthday. But it doesn't stop there- I'd like to ask you all participate. During the whole month of May, are there at least 29 friends of mine that are willing to do just 1 "random" act of love and report back here on the 30th to tell us all about it. Feel free to email me to share ways that you are planning to bless some people this month. My goal is do at least 1 act of love every day until the 29th & an additional 29 on my birthday (which is May 6th). I'm really excited about this and I meant to get this written yesterday but it's all good. 

Please, will you join me in celebrating my birthday by loving and blessing some people this month??? :)