25

So, I turned 25 last month! Woo hoo! I love birthdays! But 25 isn't too exciting really. As a female, the only 2 things that happen when you turn 25 are that you can finally rent a vehicle without a fee, and you get to check a new box in the "age" category on surveys. What an exciting life.

We went to my parents' house in Arkansas for the birthday weekend. We drove and took both Oscar and Baylee. Neither of the dogs had been to their "new" house (they moved May 2007) so it was interesting to see how they adapted. Oscar had a hard time because he was the smallest of 4 animals, one being Baylee, the other being Bonnie, the "just as big as Baylee" 9 month old puppy. My parents also have an 8 year old lab/beagle mix that is pretty territorial and grumpy. So, needless to say, it was going to be very interesting! Oscar also doesn't do stairs very well. The poor thing has only had to go up and down 3 or 4 steps at a time, unfortunately, there are about 15 stairs to get to the back yard. With a little coercing, he finally made it down, but then needed much encouragement to come back up. All of this going on, while Bonnie wouldn't leave him alone! By the end of the weekend, Oscar figured things out and went down by himself and came back by himself! I'm sure he was very glad to get back in the car to come home to his safety place! :)

Baylee did very well on her first car trip longer than 30 minutes to McKinney. She was a little anxious on the way there, but after playing non-stop with Bonnie the whole weekend, she was pooped by the time we left, and within 5 minutes of being in the car, she was crashed in her bed!

My parents had a cake, which was wonderful, and we also went shopping and played "Rummikub", a new favorite game. On Sunday, I got to visit my dear friend Hilary, who I hadn't been able to spend time with in over a year, so it was very nice and wonderful to catch up and see her new house! I'm not sure how much longer they will be close enough for us to actually drive up and see them! We'll take advantage of it while we can!

God has blessed my life so much in the last 25 years, I thought maybe I should make a list of 25 things I'm most thankful for. They are in no particular order, just whatever comes to mind first!

1. My wonderful husband who loves the Lord and me

2. My dogs

3. My parents

4. Mariette - who is such a blessing to have as a mother-in-love

5. Steve and Judy - who we are getting to spend more and more time with

6. My 4 nieces - it's wonderful to have 4 beautiful girls that I can adore but still remind me I'm not ready for children yet

7. My job - my kids open my mind every day with wonderful blessings and challenges

8. Synergy - without a group of Christ-followers, there's not telling where I'd be right now

9. Amy Jackson

10. A life of being brought up in a home and family

11. Musical talent

12. The opportunity to go on lots of vacations as a child - now that I'm grown up and want to go on one, I'm too cheap to pay for it

13. My trips to Europe

14. SAI - i had a group of girls that allowed me to grow and stood by me

15. The Tomsons

16. My extended family

17. My piano and horn

18. My relationship with the Lord growing each day

19. Living in a variety of places that helped open my eyes culturally

20. not getting everything I want (I never thought I'd be thankful for that, but now I know why)

21. being fortunate enough to help others in many ways

22. Candace

23. our financial blessings

24. Facebook - allows me to be a better long distance friend

25. pedicures and massages

I do live a very blessed life, and I thank God everyday for those blessings. I just hope every year that I can continue to add to those blessings and give back to God and others what has meant so much to me! Thanks to everyone for contributing to a great 25 years of life!