Birthday Month is here! 2016

33 is approaching… Wow! This is crazy! So much excitement along with every other emotion has happened.

I have to say that I am very excited for this age! This year! These moments that I am about to embark on!

Things that I am learning everyday… I am learning to fall in love with my body. It is a struggle everyday, but I am really trying to just embrace this body that I have been given. It’s this body that has housed 2 children! This body that has allowed me to have the experiences that I have had and will continue to have. I am realizing how important it is to be strong and not skinny. For so long the focus has been to lose weight and get that perfect body… Finally at this age I can say that my focus is on being strong! I am learning to be more thankful for this body… It’s this body that allows me to care for my family and perform everyday tasks that are taken for granted. It’s this body that I am learning to just embrace.
I am learning to let go of some of the control. This is a tough one for me because as most people know I am a control freak. I am learning that I don’t have to sweep my house 3 times a day… There are more important things going on.
I am learning to forgive! This one is huge! I am learning that there really is more to life than holding grudges.
I am learning that experiences really are the most important… This is something I have been focusing on now for about 4 years. We have incorporated Christmas vacations instead of crazy presents. We decide on a place that we haven’t been and find a few things do do and leave for about 3 days! We have been exploring our surroundings.
I have learned that taking the first step in any situation is the hardest, but once you take that step there really are no limits. I am happy to say that over this last year I have started and completed Insanity, t-25 (alpha, beta, and gamma, and gamma hybrid). I became an official runner! I am getting back into running a little, but I am in love with weight training!

Most importantly I have learned that I am worthy of love! I deserve good things! I am loved! I am important! I am needed. I am fun!
I say those things because there are days when we (I) tend to forget that.

As 33 is upon me I will say that this past year has been probably the most crazy…  I think each year has had a lot of changes and that’s healthy, but moving 1200 miles away from life as I knew it to a place I had only seen in pictures was pretty crazy. Over the last year there have been a lot of firsts! We have visited a bunch of parks, new beaches, new places, and met new people. I have started lifting weights, I cut my hair off, I have impressed myself with my ability to cut and style the kids hair, I have let my creativity take hold of me a few times, and I think I have tried to really live this life that I am lucky enough to live.

I am so blessed. God is so good! Through all the heart ache that has taken place throughout my life, I can honestly say there has been way more happy moments. I am blessed that I get to raise three children. God has given me this opportunity! What a beautiful thing this is. There are lots of tears and moments of being confused and terrified and every emotion you can imagine, but more than that there are moments of pure joy that I get to experience. I still ask God what he was thinking when he thought I could handle this… Then I look around and realize that he knows what he is doing because he has placed this beautiful man in my life that I get to parent with, that I get to experience this life with… This beautiful man that inspires me to be a better person. This incredible man that reminds me on a daily basis that he thinks I am pretty awesome.. God never gives us more than we can handle.

I get to live in this beautiful sunshine state! I still find myself in disbelief that we actually made this huge move! It’s just proof to me that this world really is our play ground and it’s up to us to take that step to go and play! I know that I am choosing to take steps and leaps and I am thankful that I get to take these steps with my beautiful family.

My birthday wish for myself is:

I want to be able to look in the mirror and see myself the way that my loved ones see me! I want to embark on new challenges. I want to feel more confident. I want to take time out to pray more. I want to spend more time helping in our community. I want to try and embrace our new hometown more than last year. I want to learn to tell myself positive things about myself. I want to show my kids how to love themselves instead of finding the negatives. I want to strive each day to be better than I was the day before. I want to display more patience.

My hope is that I can impact people in a positive way. I want to be able to bring a smile to your face. I want to spread the fact that acceptance is so important. I want to show people that we are all human and we all have a story and the key is to share your story. Find the light in your tunnel. Find the beauty in your canvas. We are made of broken pieces, but sometimes those pieces are the most beautiful!

At almost 33 – I choose to live! I choose to love! I choose to embrace every emotion that I get to experience this coming year! This life is mine and I am thankful to be me!

Happy Birthday to me!