30 years

Today, I am thirty years old.  My mom just informed me that I was born at 12:11am and came out screaming!  I always have been a little dramatic...

I don't feel any different being thirty, but I am very aware of the blessings God has brought me through the wonderful years he has given me on this earth.  This past week, I have experienced an overwhelming amount of love from my family and friends.  I feel so grateful to have them to celebrate with.  I also feel like each year, I become a little more aware of who I am as a person.  I am not as afraid to stand up for what I believe, say no when I need to, not worry so much about what other people think of me.

I have quite a bit to write about, including the two WONDERFUL birthday celebrations I had this past week, but I wanted to first post these few pictures of my day today.

I woke up to Rick wishing me a happy birthday, and a tray full of starbuck's drinks that my best friend, Laurin got early in the morning.  I love that she was in town on my birthday!  We have grown up together and it made it so special to have her here!

 When I arrived at school, my adorable students wished me a "happy birf-day" (we are working on the "th" sound) and my aides decorated the front classroom with balloons.

My instructional aides are fantastic!!!  Not only are they wonderful with the students, they also are very supportive of me and I consider them friends.  I feel so incredibly honored to work with them everyday.  Today, they made my birthday even more special with this sweet gift.  I was overwhelmed with emotion when I opened the gift.  It is a beautiful decorative letter "M" with personal pictures of my friends and family decoupaged on.  It is AMAZING!  The first photo I saw was of my sweet grandparents who are in heaven...I lost it and began weeping right in front of all of my students.

I totally have the "ugly cry face" in this picture, but I could not control my tears.  Thank you so much, Sharyn and Holly!  I treasure this gift so much!

Rick and I went to dinner at PF Changs and enjoyed a dinner alone with one another just talking about life and what our hopes are for the next 10 years. When we arrived home Rick gave me a box of yummy cupcakes and a beautiful card...again, I cried.  I always cry reading Rick's cards.  

I also received another box of cupcakes from our friends Blake and Becky!  Thank you!  I clearly will need to begin the workout routine after tonight!  :)