Birthday Week!

I have had the best birthday week ever, thanks to my wonderful husband and friends.

I went to dinner with my friends and walked Christmas Tree Lane on Saturday night.

Sunday we went to Pasadena where I was surprised with a gift from Tiffany & Co and dinner with my sister and best friend.

Monday we went to Disneyland.

I was surprised with a second day at Disneyland on Tuesday.

We had a great time with my parents at dinner on Thursday night. I was surprised with an awesome bike and some other rather cool gifts.

And tonight Blake had something planned, but due to the whether I think it is being postponed.

I received a card each day from my wonderful husband...some sweet and some really funny.

Blake has made me feel so special this week. I am so glad that I have such an amazing husband who loves to show me how special I am to him.

Can't wait for all the birthdays I will get to share with him in the future!

A Quarter Century Year Old...My Birthday!

Today, I turned 25 years old. When most people turn 25, they freak out, they feel old, etc etc. I however, feel the complete opposite. I feel so young and am excited for the life that is ahead for me, the life that God has planned out. This past year has been full of many new adventures and many lessons learned. I'll post my annual year in review blog in the very near future .

I had the best birthday weekend, spending time with my friends on Friday night, spending time with My Love on Saturday night, and spending time with my family today. Along with a great time being with people, I was showered with love and birthday wishes through phone calls, texts, and facebook (oh, and I got some really awesome presents!).

I love celebrating my birthday, and this year is no exception. I usually celebrate my birthday week, but this year I am taking the whole month due to turning a quarter century year old (minus Thursday the 11th for Berger's bday, Saturday night the 13th since we are celebrating Blake's birthday, Blake's actual birthday on the 21st, and Jesus gets all the credit on the 25th, and I'll give him the 24th too). On the 10th I am celebrating my birthday with Blake's parents. On the 12th I am going out to dinner with 2 of my very good friends for my birthday. On the 15th we are celebrating mine and Blake's birthdays with my extended family. On the 18th I am going out to lunch with a friend for my birthday. On the 20th Blake and I are going to Disneyland for our birthdays. And on the 28th I am going to brunch with some of my close girlfriends.

A month long of celebrations where I get to spend time with the people that I love most in this world, people who are a part of my community.

So here is to being a quarter century year old and loving every minute of it!

A time of reflection

Every December, I have a birthday...it is inevitable. And every December, I like to reflect on what has happened in my life in the past year. The highs and lows, the great and the horrible, all of these things have shaped me and define who I am to this day. I do not want to be like the Israelites who did not remember all that the Lord did for them. My life is drastically different than I thought it would be a year ago looking ahead. Here are some of the lessons/experiences that I have been through in my 23rd year here on earth...

-At this exact time last year, I had accepted a full time job at one of the premier lobbying firms in Washington DC after completing an internship there. My life today is vastly different than I thought it would be.

-I think I have the Jonah complex. Not because I am trying to avoid what God is asking me to do, but everytime that I try to move away, and move away permanently, God brings me back to Fresno through one circumstance or another. I have never purposefully disobeyed God in this, but have felt that He was giving me the choice...

-As a woman, I need to be grounded in theology. Theology is one of those words that usually scares people off, but theology is about a relationship with God...really knowing God. When hard times hit, and we are not sure why God is allowing certain things to happen, if we are not grounded in who Christ is, our whole belief system can be rocked.

-It is essential to ask God the tough questions...it draws us out of ourselves, beyond our circumstances and into serious dialogue with God.

-I am running the race that God has marked out for me.

-I once asked a friend if there can be two paths set out before me, and if she thought that I would end up in the same place no matter which one I chose. She didn't have an answer for me. But I now believe that no matter which path I choose, as I seek Him, He will keep on track. It may seem like I zigged when I should have zagged, but since God is sovereign, there is no missed opportunity. I have never missed an opportunity. I am in God's plan A for my life. There is no plan B if God is sovereign.

-I like to be in control, which means I very much dislike not being in control of certain situations...which happens often.

-I am constantly learning how to shed my own expectations.

-When you choose to enter into a relationship with somebody, you give up the right to not be hurt, as does the other person.

-I have an amazing family who loves me more than I realize sometimes. The older I get, the more I appreciate them. We constantly laugh when we are together. It is great when the four of us are able to be together, which doesn't happen a lot these days.

-My sister is becoming one of my best friends.

-Ending a relationship with somebody you really care about is extremely hard, even if it is for the right reasons.

-I still haven't figured out how my heart can be in three places at once...

-People in the United States are extremely ignorant to the injustice that occurs in the world.

-People enter into your life for only a season sometimes, and only God knows the reasons why.

-I eat vegetables now! For those of you that know me, I hated anything green until about April of 2007.

- I still feel so small when I sit out and look at the vastness of the ocean. I am reminded of how big the God I serve is.

-God is faithful.

The list could continue on, but I think this is good enough for now. It brings me joy and excitement to think off all that happened this past year and to look forward in anticipation of what God will allow me to be a part of and the circumstances I may encounter in the year to come. I think I need to take more time to reflect on the things that God has done in my life. It is good to remember.

Best 24th Birthday ever!

From my previous post, most of you know that my birthday was on Friday December 7. Although I am a year older, I don't feel older. I remember when my sister turned 24 and was telling me how old she felt...maybe it is because I work with quite a few older people who talk about their life as in the past and I have most of my life ahead of me, Lord willing.

Thursday night, Ashley, Amada, Blake, Gia, Brian, Bella (baby Davis), Luke and Sarah, Brandon and Megan, John and I went to Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. I had such a great time with my friends. We talked, we laughed, we made fun of each other...all of the usually happenings when we get together. By the end of the evening, the girls were all at one end of the table and the guys were at the other. The guys talked theology and seminary while the girls talked about....well, you name it we talked about it. :) I got some really great gifts, but they def didn't beat spending time with them celebrating my birthday.

On Friday, the parentals and I headed down to Pasadena. I was up WAY too early on my birthday. We got to my sisters place about 11, and then headed to Disneyland! I love Disneyland. I am not even sure why...probably because it makes me feel like a kid. Since it was suppose to rain, and did earlier that morning, there were not a lot of people there, which was extremely nice. My friend Rachel who lives in Costa Mesa came and hung out for a few hours. We left the park a little after 5 to go to Downtown Disney to get some dinner. We ended up eating at the Rainforest Cafe, which is loud and a lot of fun. After dinner we headed back into the park for a couple more hours. My parents had never been to Disneyland when it was decorated for Christmas so we had to go back for it to snow :) We left right around 10 to go home. We literally spent 6 1/2 hours inside Disneyland and went on 14 rides...it was phenomenal. I had such a great time with my family. We constantly laugh when we are together. I am appreciating my family more and more these days.

Friday night I stayed with my parents in the hotel...bad idea. It was a suite, but my bed was the pull out bed from the sofa. Although I was extremely tired, I didn't sleep that well since the top of the bed was in a slanted, upright position. It was horrible. I love sleep, and when I don't get enough rest, I can be a real big...well, you get the picture. So I had to remind myself all day Saturday to be nice, since my filter clearly was not working due to lack of sleep...

On Saturday, we went to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. I had never been there for breakfast...it was good, but not anything spectacular. Then I had to go...I mean, I got to go to my sisters White Coat Ceremony for PA school at USC. It was not as long and boring as I expected. The speakers were actually kinda entertaining. It didn't hurt that I had my phone with me. I sent a few work emails, sent a few text messages, surfed the web a little...it helped the time pass right on by. Saturday night my friend Carrissa, and also my sisters roommate, came shopping with us and then out to dinner with the fam to PF Chang's. Great food followed by great dessert. When it comes to my birthday, I don't just celebrate for a day, I try to get a whole week out of it. Each place we went, we told them it was my birthday. At PF Chang's, they have this great fried banana thing with coconut ice cream. One word: phenomenal. Then we headed to Coldstones before we went back to Stacey's apartment where I passed out from a food coma...not really. I was staying at her place on her blow up air mattress. I slept so good that night!

Sunday we got up, went to good ol' IHOP for breakfast...they have these really great pancakes right now. I had strawberry cheesecake pancakes....might sound sick to you, but don't knock it 'til you try it. I am not a real big fan of breakfast in general, but these were good! We got home from Pasadena around 3...we made a pit stop in Visalia to see my grandfather. We went out to dinner on Sunday night to continue the celebration, and because my mom didn't want to cook.

All in all, I had a pretty good birthday weekend. The only complaint is the lack of sleep on Friday night, but in the scheme of things, even that wasn't a big deal. My parents told me that this birthday was going to be hard to beat...I told them they better get ready for my silver birthday, my quarter of a century year old party...cuz I only turn a quarter of a century old once!

It's my birthday!!!

Technically, it was my birthday, it ended 11 minutes ago. My birthday extravaganza weekend began on Thursday evening having dinner with a group of my friends, continued at Disneyland today, and will continue the rest of this weekend in the LA area. I realized last night that I have a great group of friends. Everytime we are together we are constantly laughing and giving each other a hard time, but I also know that these people would do anything for me in a moments notice if I needed it.

For all of those that called me or text me today...thank you so much. I definitely felt the love on my 24th birthday. :)

One of my best friends husband, and a good friend of mine, Luke Mundy, wrote a blog about me that was really nice. Check it out here.

Luke, just for you I changed my layout...I was sick of the pink background too, but was too lazy to change it!

More on my birthday extravaganza with pictures later....