29 for the first time

Another birthday rolled around for me last week . . . this one #29. It was good--busy (and tiring) but good, just like most days these days. I spent the morning with family and flowers.

I spent the afternoon and part of the evening at a women's conference for my church that I helped plan and organize.

My responsibilities at the conference included welcoming our 300+ attendees from the podium (eek!), introducing our various speakers and presentations, and moderating a group discussion (still with the 300+ attendees). Maybe not my preferred birthday activity, but I was glad to do my part and didn't sweat too badly.

I also got to participate in a slightly more comfortable part of the program with my cello. Back in Iowa I arranged a little string ensemble number for a church youth meeting--I dusted it off, pulled together some musicians, and we played it as our final musical number for the conference.

The chapel didn't have an orchestra pit or much open space in the front, so our little ensemble was in a very unconventional formation--but we made ourselves heard and our sound made me happy. The whole conference felt very successful, and I definitely felt like celebrating by the end--celebrating the great turnout and spirit of the meeting, celebrating that it was over, and celebrating 29 years with my baby and my sweetheart at home.

Twenty-nine is good, although a lot of the time I feel much older--perhaps it is the sleep deprivation or the bewildering fact that I have three children now. Also, I wasn't openly mistaken as a high school student this past year. And I'm okay with that.

I wish I could sleep a little more and shower more frequently. It would be nice to have a few more moments of calm and a few less moments that evaporate in chaos. But I guess fatigue, greasy hair, and fast-flying days are just part of this stage of life for me. And I'm okay with that.

Valentine Wishes

For Valentine's Day I had three main wishes: 1) To spend time with my loved ones (of course), 2) To eat strawberries and chocolate, and 3) To get pictures of of my daughters in matching pink attire. 

My life is so good that I am almost always surrounded by those closest to my heart. I'm sure I take it for granted that wish #1 comes true all the time--not just on Valentine's Day.

My life is not quite so good, however, that our family never gets sick. We have had all kinds of runny noses, coughing, sneezing, and even a little bit of puking in our house the last couple of weeks. I got hit with some of this pretty hard on the 14th, so neither chocolately fruit or photo shoots happened that day.

Thankfully, Presidents Day was much kinder, so wishes #2 and #3 both came true then. Here are the results of wish #3:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was obvious when it was time for the photo shoot to end, but I am so happy that my Valentine wishes came true. And that these three little valentines love each other so much.