35 years

I turned 35 on November 15th. I had a really nice birthday. It started the week before when my friend Janice took me and the kids to Chick-fil-A for lunch and she even brought a really cute little cake with a real flower on top. We also celebrated at my mom's the weekend before my birthday with dinner and cake and some nice presents, and on the day of my birthday Doug made me a fabulous gourmet meal and we had more cake. This past weekend we went to Disneyland twice in honor of my birthday and I really enjoyed it as this is my favorite time of year there.

The weekend before my birthday was also important as it was veteran's day weekend and we went out to the desert because my mom wanted to take us to Patriot Park out there to see their flag presentation. They had a USA Flag up for every service person that has died in the war on terror. There was something like 4200 flags. To me it was presented in a way that honored their service and sacrifice. It was quite a sight to see. I had to reflect on how precious life is and how blessed I am that I have made it here for 35 years. Each flag had a tag on it with the service person's name, age, what branch of the military they were in and when and where they died. Some of the people that died were quite young.

I have been very introspective about life over the past couple of weeks. Turning 35 felt kind of weird. As if in no time I wil be 40 then 50 and on and on. Aging has never bothered me but it did make me think. Am I happy with the way I haved lived over the past 35 years? What do I want the next 35 years to be like? In pondering these two questions I would have to say overall I am very happy with my life today but I am not living the fabulous life I imagined I would have at this stage when I was kid. I imagined I would have a ritzy house, with a ritzy career to match and an amazing vehicle. I also imagined I would look fabulous. I would be athletic with a trim body and I would have everything together. Well I definitely don't have everything together but who does? I gave up my career in favor of being a great mom and I think that was a good decision and I can live without the ritzy house, career, and vehicle although a new car would be amazing. I don't have a rocking body and I think thats something I definitely need to work on. Because when I look at what I want out of the next 35 years I need to be healthy and active.

Over the next 35 years I want to live life not watch it pass by and wonder where all the years went. I have two awesome kids and a loving husband and I want to enjoy all my time with them. I think I need to take more trips to the park with the kids and spend less time in front of the TV. I also want to get more deep in the word of God. I feel like I am just barely comprehending what God wants my life to be. Over the past couple of weeks I have started two new bible studies. One is with my homeschool group and we will only meet a couple of times per month but the other is a couples study with some friends from church at their home. Doug is going with me and Elijah plays with the other kids while we do the study with 4 other couples. I have felt God's presence in my life more so in the past couple of years since I have gotten more into church than I have in all the preceding years combined. I am excited to see what will happen next in my relationship with Christ. Which sounds so weird because several years ago I was wondering if God really even existed. I guess I also am thinking about how I want people to remember me when my time comes. I want to be thought of as the type of person that sees a need and fills it. I want to be remembered as an outstanding mother, and a good friend. I want to be someone that people feel like they can talk to and rely on. I want to be honest, encouraging, and loving. So these are the things that I want to be sure to focus on over the next 35 years. I'm looking forward to enjoying and sharing more life experiences with all of you. If you are reading this please help me stay on target and not get distracted by things that don't matter. Take care!
Love Joanna